Wisconsin rolls out Covid Exposure Notification System

originally posted by: Sookiechacha
a reply to: beyondknowledge

Well that will kill the wireless accessory market.

We have it here in California. It's completely voluntary. I downloaded the app to my iPhone a few weeks ago, Haven't received an alert yet.

"Hey! Is this thing on?"

California gave a party and only 1 showed up.

a reply to: JAGStorm

This is why people should always turn their bluetooth OFF on their phones!

You'd be shocked to know how much stuff it is used for! Pretty clandestine stuff too.

They even use it at my work for some pretty disturbing stuff.

Only time I have mine on is in my car, and as soon as I get out it gets shut OFF!

originally posted by: JAGStorm

originally posted by: DBCowboy
Thank god!

I was wondering when Big Brother and the Authoritarian state would make an appearance.

At this time it's still voluntary.

As long as your bluetooth is turned on in your phone, trust me, it is NOT voluntary!!!

Far from it!

a reply to: Flyingclaydisk

My Bluetooth is always turned off.

PS.. I used to monitor work phones. We knew everyone that was cheating, and would know all kinds of scandalous stuff.
It was better than any soap opera. Seriously if I needed a break, I would read, crack up, and then get back to other stuff.

People please assume 100% of your work computers/cell phones are being monitored & read and that someone is laughing at your sorry butt! We could also see the people that were on their phones 14 hours a day, every day!

a reply to: Mandroid7

Guess what? You can't turn off parts of it. So you might as well start cancelling your accounts now. I work in this sector and understand how all this technology works.

Bluetooth - Is anonymous, BUT it is a lot more granular, and can track you down to a foot or so. You can turn this off.

Cellphone - This tracking you cannot turn off, and it is NOT anonymous. In the old days the tracking used to be about a block or so, but now the tracking is down to about a meter or less. It was a government mandate when cellphones started to replace terrestrial landline services. It's called E-911 Phase I and E-911 Phase II. You can look them up if you like. They're both implemented now, and have been for a while now.

ETA - With bluetooth, I can tell you not only where you are, but how fast you walk, and in which direction. Superimpose this data over a floorplan of the building you are in and I can walk right up to you, shake your hand and tell you what the MAC address is on your phone. With a cellphone GPS, I can tell you where you are within a meter or so, but it takes longer to update. I'll also know what direction you're moving and roughly how fast, but I won't be able to pinpoint your exact location until you stop for about 15+ seconds. BUT, I'm also going to know your name, the physical address the phone is registered to, and the phone number of your phone (of course, by law, I'm going to need a warrant for this, but no warrant is required for bluetooth).

BTW - This kind of stuff is not tinfoil hat stuff! It's real, and it should scare everyone! Wouldn't hurt my feelings one single bit if cellphones and smart phones vanished from planet Earth by tomorrow morning. Most intrusive and disruptive technology ever invented by mankind! (and people THRIVE on it...if they ONLY knew!!)

originally posted by: JAGStorm
www.tmj4.com...

The notification system uses Bluetooth technology to let you know if you have come in close contact for more than 15 minutes with someone who has tested positive for COVID-19. If a person does test positive, they are given a code and can voluntarily and anonymously let others know through the app. The notification will then inform other uses of the date of exposure and instructions on what to do next.

I think this is a good thing. This works in S. Korea. I don't know if it will work here.
People are worried about security & privacy but a lot of people give those up with google/fb etc..

From what I've read each state decides if they will roll this out. It uses Bluetooth & radio signals to
determine if you've been within 6ft for longer than 15 min with a positive person.

A lot of people don't know what they're giving up when they give those up with Google/FB/ETC. So in this case, it appears that the concept of what they have to lose is more palpable for whatever reason. I kinda think that's a good thing because it leaves some hope that people are not completely stupid.

And frankly, if you've been in a crowded place for more than 15 minutes, you should probably just assume that there's a high probability that you have been exposed to it.

People already know what they need to do to reduce their chances of being exposed to it and many people do the bare minimum. Like if they're supposed to wear a mask in a store, they'll walk around with their noses out. And they'll do stupid things like going to bars and restaurants and having large family gatherings at their houses with no masks. Going to a bar is not a necessity and people should be able to live without it for a couple of years.

Most restaurant visits are unnecessary as well. Seems like most people do wear their masks at stores when shopping. Which is good. But those might be less likely to spread things since people are unlikely to be within 6 feet of the same person for a long time in a large store.

Yet, another reason to leave my cell phone at home. Retirement is looming. On my last day, I plan to throw that f***ing thing in the ocean. I don’t intend to be tracked.

a reply to: Flyingclaydisk

I have no reason to use Bluetooth. I keep it off to extend battery life in my cheap phone. Yet everytime I turn around, it has been turned back on.

No one uses my phone but me, so it is being done outside my control.

Also, I was told about an app that removed the COVID surveillance program installed on all phones, which they claimed we were in control of.

I downloaded that app and it removed the program. For a while. The program is back on my phone, and the uninstaller program is frozen.

So much for free choice.

a reply to: NightSkyeB4Dawn

Exactly!

BTW, many cars will turn your bluetooth on automatically. My phone has a way to "lock" it off, and this seems to work (I think), but really the only way you can be absolutely sure is to simply just not have your phone on your person.

Like Nickn3 above, the day I am no longer required to carry a cell phone for work is the day I'm going to smash it with a sledgehammer, then light it on fire and burn it to a crisp and then scatter the ashes across the barren desert! I hate them!!!

a reply to: BrianFlanders

So, if I'm reading you correctly, you have no issues with Big Brother keeping tabs on you then, right???

If your answer is 'yes' then we are at opposite ends of the opinion spectrum!! As far as I'm concerned, what I do and where I go is 100% "NUN-YA'"!!!!

originally posted by: Flyingclaydisk
a reply to: BrianFlanders

So, if I'm reading you correctly, you have no issues with Big Brother keeping tabs on you then, right???

If your answer is 'yes' then we are at opposite ends of the opinion spectrum!! As far as I'm concerned, what I do and where I go is 100% "NUN-YA'"!!!!

I did not say that.

I actually don't own a smartphone and never have so if they are going to track me, they are going to have to find another way to do it. Everything I own that is internet connected stays at home when I go out. Even my car is a 2001 model that has no bells and whistles. Which that isn't really by choice. That's because I'm poor. That is also the main reason why I don't own a smartphone. The other one being I don't have much use for one and don't know that many people I need to stay in contact with constantly.

But....you know? The average person bought into this whole smartphone house of cards and I am proof that you can live without one. Or at least, up until now and for the time being you can. People chose to integrate these gadgets into their lives and "sell their souls" to the tech companies so they were pretty much giving their permission (frankly whenever you buy into something like this, you should know that they're going to drag you down whatever bumpy road they choose to travel along with them).

It is the price of mobile computing until someone figures out how to make more money not selling their customers out and not stabbing them in the back as soon as it becomes expedient to do so.

As far as the whole thing with Google and Facebook? Well, these people basically own the internet for the time being and if the time ever comes when they don't, someone just as bad or worse will take their place. If they want to track me, they'll track me. If I want to stop them, it might be theoretically possible for a while. Eventually, they will win because they have the money and the resources and the brainpower to do whatever they want. Do I like it? Not really. I'm 50 years old. I'm not going to spend the rest of my life trying to prevent these peeping toms from watching me sit here scratching my balls. If it's really worth that much to them, I guess I can't stop them.