• Apathy Tree@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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      1 year ago

      That is very true, and I have actually bought used before but it was a miserable experience because it wasn’t listed as carrier-locked (it was, however, a long time ago, well before carrier unlock was required/universal unlock was commonly available).

      Perhaps I’ll look into getting a used phone while I have a working one and play with it a bit, if I can find one for a reasonable price, as long as they don’t have the same replacement lockout apple has. I’ve been using GSM carriers exclusively so I can bring my device if I ever (need to or can) emigrate, so probably a decent market of devices available.

      Not a stupid question and thanks for reminding me that’s an option. I tend to distrust used/refurbished tech -replaced for a reason sort of thing, especially when warranty replacements of major models tend to be refurbished and have their own problems… but I probably shouldn’t assume others treat their tech the way I do - my forever precious. Like cars, I run them until they die, and someday I’ll make a fucking sculpture with all the broken old phones I have. I recently found my first semi-smart phone, which I had when I was… 22-24, I think? The Motorola rival A455 in purple. Fuck was technology pretty!

      https://www.bing.com/images/search?q=motorola+a455+purple&form=HDRSC3&pc=MOZW&first=1

        • Apathy Tree@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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          1 year ago

          Thank you for the detailed reply, and that’s actually something I hadn’t really considered. I know I baby the fuck out of my phone, so I’d probably be one of those people 😁 but also phones themselves have gotten a lot more durable and harder to break.

          And that’s a good point that in other countries, unlocked gsm phones are just the norm even with regular upgrade plans, where here (Midwest us) it’s kinda hard to find because a lot of the larger carriers are CDMA, so my standard experience is just different. I haven’t really looked too much other than refurbished, and those aren’t cheap-er enough to be worth it, but I’ll take a look.

        • argv_minus_one@beehaw.org
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          1 year ago

          That’s not the problem. Remotely exploitable firmware vulnerabilities, for which no patch will ever be available, are the problem.

            • argv_minus_one@beehaw.org
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              1 year ago

              Unless I’m mistaken, there have been firmware RCE vulnerabilities that give successful attackers unrestricted access to the entire system and can be attacked by anyone capable of sending network packets to it. That is not “very low”. That’s insecure to the point that “your” phone is basically the property of some overseas crime ring and they’re letting you borrow it.

                • argv_minus_one@beehaw.org
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                  1 year ago

                  I do indeed: the Android Security Bulletins. Bear in mind that most people don’t install a custom operating system after the stock OS stops receiving updates.

                  Even for those who do, however, those vulnerabilities listed under a heading like “Qualcomm closed-source components”—that is, firmware vulnerabilities—are still present on their devices. See, for example, this list of firmware vulnerabilities fixed in an update as of December 2019. If you have a device that stopped receiving updates before then, it still suffers from those vulnerabilities no matter what OS you run on it, and many of them are RCEs that give successful attackers complete control of the device.

                  As for “likelihood”, infosec does not work that way. Cybercriminals and hostile foreign intelligence agencies don’t sleep and don’t show mercy. If you have a vulnerability that your adversaries know about and can feasibly exploit, then they are already exploiting it. That’s why vulnerability disclosure embargoes are a thing.