

CyanogenMod will never have Carrier IQ - mgdiaz
http://www.cyanogenmod.com/blog/cyanogenmod-will-never-have-carrier-iq

======
zachinglis
This post seems a bit too proud of itself. Love the first comment in the
article though:

"Here is a list of stuff that tracks you installed on the page talking about
how cyanogen will never track you. Note you need not interact with any of
these to be tracked. Just browse the page you're reading.

Comscore Beacon Disqus Facebook Social Graph Google +1 button Google analytics
Quantcast Twitter Button

Not saying cyanogen is evil, or that these are unusual or unreasonable, or
even missing the point about how carrier bloatware will inevitably lead to
truly evil things like Carrier IQ. It's hard to get away from this kind of
crap these days. The irony just struck me, that's all."

------
Kylekramer
Of course they don't. But they do have CMStats
([http://www.cyanogenmod.com/blog/cmstats-what-it-is-and-
why-y...](http://www.cyanogenmod.com/blog/cmstats-what-it-is-and-why-you-
should-opt-in)). While it is much better than Carrier IQ (less intrusive and
prompts you to opt out on install), it still proves this info has value and
even the most "fight the man", dogmatic open source project wants it.

~~~
cbs
_it still proves this info has value_

"This info" is quite the weasel word. The set of data collected by cmstat, and
what carrier's need spyware to obtain are mutually exclusive. Everything that
CM stats collects would be available to carriers by looking at a combination
of their sales, tower checkins, and firmware upgrades. After reading what data
was included, I decided to opt-in my phone after previously opting-out by
force of habit.

------
bad_user
CyanogenMod is the reason why I was comfortable buying an Android, as I don't
trust these Android phone makers to release updates in a timely manner or to
care about me as a customer.

~~~
ck2
But how did you feel about all those strange programs you had to use to get
root to install it?

Because when I went through the process I was extremely nervous - even though
most of the code is open source, how would you spot a backdoor if it was
buried within a line?

The ability to have root from the factory on a device you own should be a
consumer's right in the states, just like getting your carrier unlock code.

~~~
gbog
Can't agree more with "The ability to have root from the factory on a device
you own should be a consumer's right in the states, just like getting your
carrier unlock code." but please remove "in the states".

When buying a computer, desktop or laptop, I would be extremely disappointed
if I discover that I don't have the full ownership represented by "root
access".

When buying a car, don't we get the keys of the doors and a way to open the
front cover where the engine lies?

I don't understand why our expectations with mobile phones should be any
different. People are letting go this ownership too easily. It worries me. I
suspect there is some PR or FUD work behind the curtain.

We are told that full ownership is dangerous and unnecessary. Like any power
given to the owners, it may be dangerous, yes: I can fill my car's gas tank
with sugar and break the engine if I wish to do so. But I think this
Carriergate shows well enough that full ownership of devices that are so
deeply rooted in our private lives is of the utmost necessity.

~~~
dchest
> When buying a car, don't we get the keys of the doors and a way to open the
> front cover where the engine lies?

You don't get the "keys" for ECU, unfortunately.

~~~
kylewpppd
Cars to computers always seems to be a poor analogy. But you can replace the
ECU with one of your choice. In fact, there is an industry designed
specifically for getting better performance from your car by customizing the
ECU.

Isn't this the same thing as the Cyanogen mod?

~~~
fr0sty
> But you can replace the ECU with one of your choice.

As a counterexample: There are certain maintenance procedures for late model
Audis that can only be done at the dealership. The diagnostic tool is
connected to the car and then phones home to a central system to get vehicle-
specific codes required to perform some actions. One such action, oddly enough
is getting the car to recognize a new ECU[a].

[a] you can circumvent this by reflashing another ECU with special firmware to
become a 'clone' of the original but this would be very analogous to having to
'root' your phone to install different software.

------
ars
The official android release (i.e. nexus phones) doesn't have Carrier IQ
either.

------
gst
CyanogenMod is only part of the solution: It still requires a proprietary
radio stack for each phone and there is plenty of backdoor stuff someone could
put into the radio code.

~~~
jrockway
Also! CPU microcode and "Reflections on Trusting Trust"!

------
kevin_jacobs
Nice, but end users shouldn't have to root their phones and install a new OS
just to not have all their data logged and reported on.

~~~
beloch
Users of any of the Nexus models don't, and for that I'm thankful. However, I
hope Google takes this bad press seriously and does something more than merely
distance themselves from third party cell manufacturers like HTC that have
installed Carrier IQ on their phones.

Google could provide an update that would remove or disable Carrier IQ.
Something to tide users over until the next OS update is available to their
phones. I find it unlikely that Carrier IQ will be around on any device after
ICS is installed (too much bad press for HTC, etc.), but that may take some
time or simply not even happen for some phones.

One thing that is starting to become very clear is that there are more
advantages to the Nexus line than just getting swift updates! Third party cell
manufacturers may have unwittingly created a two-tier Android market, with
their modified versions of the OS in the bottom tier.

~~~
gujk
Google doesn't need CarrierIQ because they have their own spyware, such as in-
the-background location tracking if you ever turn on the GPS or ask for
location even once while running Maps or Plus, and of course because they
mediate all your access to the world through their built-in apps, and don't
offer an opt out from data collection and mining.

------
JonnieCache
I certainly bloody hope not, just like I would presume that debian or centos
don't contain rootkits either.

Imagine if cyanogen _had_ been putting cIQ in there? He'd be burned at the
stake.

------
wmf
Kicking them when they're down and fishing for compliments at the same time;
impressive. Perhaps next we'll hear that CyanogenMod doesn't cause cancer.

~~~
jtchang
You don't get it do you?

As an engineer I couldn't care less about their small post. I already knew
about cyanogen.

As a run of the mill consumer though this post couldn't be more poignant.
Raising awareness of an alternative firmware? That is huge. This is how Linux
got started.

Blame marketing all you want but the more people who know about Cyanogen the
better.

~~~
mikecarlucci
This.

Cyanogen is still harder than jailbreaking an iOS device, but the gap is
narrowing.

As that edge reaches more casual users, who aren't just tech-heavy people,
there's no reason Cyanogen couldn't be the Ubuntu of Android phones. It could
have a large base of converts who want an alternative but don't want to have
to spend all their time learning how to use their software in (for us techies)
awesome ways.

