i wasn't comfortable with onstar before :S (cracked article)

[slick rick]

Originally Posted by Rogue Leader

The article is blocked here at work (I'd be interested to see what it says), but if it was about them giving away your info whether you're a subscriber or not, that is over they rescinded that.

#3. OnStar Is Narcing You Out

OnStar is that incredibly convenient product many drivers would literally be lost without. Its automatic crash-response system, stolen vehicle tracking and roadside assistance are just some of the features that make this system so popular. In fact, they field over 15,000 lifesaving calls per year. They're like guardian angels of the highway. So what could they possibly be doing that's so terrible?

How about the fact that it's legally spying on everything you do? And it's a damned tattletale.

What You Agreed To:

First of all, just for OnStar to do what it advertises, it has to include a machine inside your car that tracks your every move. It knows where you're going, how fast you got there and can, at an instant, connect you to someone who can relay all of this back to you. In the hands of a less trustworthy company, it could amount to installing a slightly more helpful version of Big Brother right in your car's rearview mirror.

And guess what? As it turns out, OnStar is that less trustworthy company! They recently updated their terms of use contract to include two new points. First off, a new agreement forces you to allow OnStar to sell your driving data to whomever they want. We're talking stuff like vehicle speed and location, current odometer reading, driver seat-belt use and air-bag deployment. If that doesn't sound too bad, wait until they sell it to your insurance company, Speedy.

There's also a fine chance that, much like the GPS company TomTom, they could receive a subpoena ordering them to release your data to the police. And since we're talking about technology that can basically record everything you do and say inside your vehicle, OnStar offers so much more information than your typical GPS. In other words, if you're fleeing from justice, don't do it in a newer vehicle.

And all of that terrible stuff is just covered in the first update to their terms of service. Things get even more police-state-like with the second update. See, even if you decide that having a set of eyes monitoring you from inside your vehicle and waiting to tell the feds every time you send a text message at a red light is more than you're willing to put up with, it might be too late to do anything about it. Because that second update basically states that, even if you cancel your OnStar service, they'll still probably go ahead and keep watching you.

A forensic scientist recently canceled the service and found it extremely difficult to sever the data link between his vehicle and the OnStar headquarters. And that guy is a scientist! Regular people would probably have better luck just driving their car straight off a cliff than trying to figure that shit out.

So before you click "I Agree," make sure you've got nothing to hide. Because you are being watched.

[Tomc01]

it's from a comedy website aswell btw folks cracked.com some pretty funny things on there other than rampant paranoia

[motorhead]

There are so many ways for you to be track these days that it doesn't matter what type of technology you have or use. You would have to live completely off the grid, never go to a public place, not have a job, don't own a car, don't own a house, never have children, don't have a job and so on. Even then they could still find you if they wanted to bad enough.

Moral of the story is, don't do anything that would give them cause to go after you and they won't.

[Swacer]

I had to discredit this whole thing the moment I read the following lines:

"A forensic scientist recently canceled the service and found it extremely difficult to sever the data link between his vehicle and the OnStar headquarters. And that guy is a scientist!"

Being that he's a scientist....he should know electrical or data servers? Perhaps this author does not understand what forensics is? Either way, the author is a moron.

He has a point that they are following you with OnStar, but beyond there, I discredit him for lack of education.

[Rogue Leader]

Originally Posted by slick rick

Yep and there it is. Fear mongering crap

If they actually read the TOS they would know firstly that they changed it (if you're not a subscriber they don't track you also once you cancel) and secondly the data the sell/trade is anonymized. So basically they aren't sending to State Farm that Tom Smith, John Jones, and Al Borland, crashed their Camaros going 100 mph. They are sending out that high speed crashes in Camaros are increasing (which yes may change insurance companies rating data for a car, but not for specific people using OnStar).

Tin foil hats off.

Originally Posted by Swacer

I had to discredit this whole thing the moment I read the following lines:

"A forensic scientist recently canceled the service and found it extremely difficult to sever the data link between his vehicle and the OnStar headquarters. And that guy is a scientist!"

Being that he's a scientist....he should know electrical or data servers? Perhaps this author does not understand what forensics is? Either way, the author is a moron.

He has a point that they are following you with OnStar, but beyond there, I discredit him for lack of education.

I know two people who are Scientists, both of them would have a hard time with a Lego set. Just because you're smart at 1 thing does not make you smart at everything.

[Swacer]

Originally Posted by Rogue Leader

I know two people who are Scientists, both of them would have a hard time with a Lego set. Just because you're smart at 1 thing does not make you smart at everything.

Exactly. I'm a Mech E...I design fluid systems....you don't see me designing bridges...just because I'm an engineer lol

[SSFury]

Originally Posted by Rogue Leader

I know two people who are Scientists, both of them would have a hard time with a Lego set. .

That's just too funny right there.. I dont care who you are, that's funny.

[austinjames]

if you dont like Onstar, take off your glove box, then the panel behind/above it, and unplug the 3 wire clusteres on the onstar box. There you go. takes 10 min. No more big brother

[90503]

I would have On-Star if I felt I needed the services it provides. Instead of keeping it active "Just in case" I chose to cancel it for the following reasons.
As much as it's tracking features are benign and harmless to most, driving when and where I want and how I want, is my business and no-one elses. If I commit a traffic violation and am issued a citation, I'll take my lumps.
But I will not contribute to the percieved necessity of involuntarily contributing to some marketing strategy, statistical observations, etc., which will only contribute to inevitable junk mail and unwanted tele-marketing crap.
With out On-Star at least I can somewhat stem the tide of "Big Brother" watching me. The ways in which this techology can be used for good purposes, I think is far out-weighed by its potential for loss of personal privacy as well as future corporate/government engineering of our personal life-style and freedoms.

[austinjames]

Originally Posted by 90503

I would have On-Star if I felt I needed the services it provides. Instead of keeping it active "Just in case" I chose to cancel it for the following reasons.
As much as it's tracking features are benign and harmless to most, driving when and where I want and how I want, is my business and no-one elses. If I commit a traffic violation and am issued a citation, I'll take my lumps.
But I will not contribute to the percieved necessity of involuntarily contributing to some marketing strategy, statistical observations, etc., which will only contribute to inevitable junk mail and unwanted tele-marketing crap.
With out On-Star at least I can somewhat stem the tide of "Big Brother" watching me. The ways in which this techology can be used for good purposes, I think is far out-weighed by its potential for loss of personal privacy as well as future corporate/government engineering of our personal life-style and freedoms.

I agree 100%, thats why i unplugged my Onstar box.

[Nessal]

Originally Posted by boltmark

Really who cares. Don't use it then, you have that option. But please people why do you continue to post on here the negative things about onstar? If you don't like it then don't use it. How much more simple can that be?

Because even when you choose to not use it, you can NOT opt out of them spying on you. That's the point.

[camaroGOODMAN]

Originally Posted by motorhead

There are so many ways for you to be track these days that it doesn't matter what type of technology you have or use. You would have to live completely off the grid, never go to a public place, not have a job, don't own a car, don't own a house, never have children, don't have a job and so on. Even then they could still find you if they wanted to bad enough.

[austinjames]

if you dont want it unplug it. simple as that.

[Hendu]

I've been working on aquiring a stalker for years, i'll take what I can get.