Thanks to Onstar the govt can now listen to you in the car

[SaintofKillers]

I work at a car dealership, and one of our manufacturers has Onstar in their vehicles as an option. I was talking to a Onstar rep. and he told me that the rumors that I had heard are true. The Dept of Homeland security and now the FBI can listen in on your conversations in your vehicle thru Onstar.

How nice, does anyone else think that we are on a slippery slope on our way to a society with no rights and no privacy? We must do it for the children.

 

[El Tejon]

So, they can listen to me laughing to "Bob and Tom" or singing along to "The Pogues."

The guys at Fort Meade must be REALLY bored.

Good thing I always wear my tin foil skull cap during the commute. Keeps bears, pumas and NSA away.

 

[TallPine]

1976 GMC 3/4 ton with rifle rack in the rear window

heck, I can't even get the am radio to work

 

[Pendragon]

$45,000 SUV for that king of the road feeling

$1,800 vehicle entertainment system to hypnotize the children

$500 On-Star system for peace of mind.

Defeating a multi-billion dollar intelligence gathering organization with a $2 toggle switch on the microphone lead: priceless

 

[armoredman]

Hmm, wonder if you could wire it into a porno satellite station....

 

[Waitone]

I thought the courts shut it down. Seems Mom can't summon help on Onstar when the federales are listening. Sooo, the courts said they can't listen because it will endange the children.

 

[longeyes]

okay, it's early, feeling a bit malevolent this morning...

OnStar seems to be final convergence of feminism and victimhood, designed mainly for women who lock their children into cars and then go into panic mode. I'd recommend a change of meds instead.

If they want safety on the road late at night I recommend a good .357 magnum revolver.

 

[PATH]

OnStar-for the sheeple. Read a map.

 

[Langenator]

Yup, the toggle switch would be the way to go if you somehow couldn't avoid having Onstat stuck in your vehicle. And/or you could put in a small light, so you know when the system has been activated.

Then learn to play the bagpipes.

 

[TallPine]

Just heard one on the radio where a lady called OnStar because she couldn't find her car in a parking lot ....

What is this world coming to?

And to think our ancestors crossed the Atlantic in leaky rolling "ships" and crossed the prairie in covered wagons.

edit: and the cellphone coverage was terrible back then, too!

 

[David Scott]

OnStar and all those auto nav systems are, to the automakers, just another way to get into your wallet. $3,000 worth of electronics to replace a $2.95 street map? Feh.

I'm not surprised the feds are accessing OnStar. No doubt they justify it by saying that thre terrorists or drug dealers might perhaps maybe be caught if they violate the privacy of 100 million people. Another things that's always worried me is that sooner or later, OnStar will be hacked, and some dark night, a techno-crook will unlock the doors to your Escalade just as the carjackers arrive.

 

[Highland Ranger]

We had it free for the first year in a GM SUV. Never used it. Did not pay the ridiculous fees the second year so I guess it's off the system.

They can listen all they want, . . . . . if you're really paranoid you can just pull the fuse on the system or cut the wires on the mic in the ceiling.

 

[UnknownSailor]

What should anger all of you is that the general populace is apparently OK with being babysat like this.

I do my part by trying to educate everyone I get into a political discussion with.

As for myself, I will not start worrying about the Black Helicopter brigade until using OnStar is mandatory in every car, and/or disabling/modifying OnStar systems renders the car undrivable.

That is why I keep my my 1968 VW bug, where the only thing with a transistor in it is the radio.

 

[Elminster]

OnStar, for the record, rocks. It came in my Grand Prix two years ago when I bought it and I let the service expire. Shortly after that, I ripped the whole thing apart; an hour or so, a soldering iron, and some inexpensive wire later I have a GPS reciever to use in the car!

It was trivial to grab the signal from the OnStar's GPS reciever and run a serial cable to the front of the car. Now all I do is hook up my laptop for a "sort of free" GPS nav. system!

 

[Ben Shepherd]

Years ago, when they started it, people screamed about potential privacy invasion.

Now, years later, after society has been properly conditioned, they turn the privacy invasion concerns into percieved benifits in thier commercials.

Sad thing is, it's so blatant that all you need is a particle of freedom in your mind to see that privacy is thrown out the window by this system.

It has been said: Those that would trade a little temporary safety for liberty deserve niether.

I think that statement applies in this case.

 

[riverdog]

Garmin V GPS and a cellphone. Neither is tethered to any particular vehicle and turning them off is easy.

IIRC, the Feds have talked to the ObStar folks regarding use of their system such that it still fuctions for emergencies. Personelly, I don't want anyone tracking my movements with GPS precision.

 

[Hkmp5sd]

Don't have OnStar, cellphone or any other fancy gadgets...

Live communications in my vehicles are limited to talk radio and one-handed sign language.

On the other hand, I can't see where the .gov would be remotely interested in following me around and listening to my conversations. Following me back and forth to work would bore the trackers/listeners to death.

 

[tyme]

Pendragon, that won't help with onstar sending the feds your coordinates.

You want to find the transmit power lead for the onstar radio and add a switch to that. Someone really interested in the system could add a whole array of LEDs to the main console monitoring things like when the mic's been activated, when the system's trying to transmit, etc. A corresponding switch for each could turn components on so if you're really in trouble (there are situations where onstar is useful - breakdowns, etc.), you can enable it.

 

[aikidoka-mks]

Onstar

I recently wrote an editorial for my personal website about Onstar. Nice to see some similar sentiments here.

Mark

 

[sendec]

Has any of this been confirmed by a reliable non-involved 3rd party, or are people running short of tin foil? Our maybe the microchip implanted in me with my polio vaccination has shorted out, making me cynical and cranky.

 

[SAG0282]

Onstar=meh

Ford>GM

 

[jimpeel]

There have been a couple of threads on this subject:

Global positioning nabs kidnapping suspect

And if this said "Police call for remote button to stop guns"?

There was one where the cops used On-Star, or some such, to stop a car and disable it because the guy was fleeing. I couldn't find the thread, though.

 

[Elminster]

I understand that a handheld GPS is superior to my setup, but hey, this is still pretty helpful. While I was in there I "accidently" made a few other changes so that no one will be tracking/listening to me...

 

[swifter]

Jeeze, ya mean they can't shut the motor off and lock ya in? Yet...
Wait'll all cars are required to have 'em...

Tom

 

[jimpeel]

swifter

I wonder what the law of unintended consequences will be when that happens.

When the Congress forced auto manufacturers to make cars harder to steal, the perps simply started carjackings. The unintended consequence was the Congress turned a property crime into a personal crime. Now they have the keys with the chip so the perps have to come for you.