I went to a restaurant recently that asked me to pay my bill with the QR code on the tablet. Scanned it, and the first thing it did was ask for my phone number to verify my “account” by sending me a code.
The server didn’t understand that I wasn’t going to do that, and they needed to run my credit card like normal or I wasn’t paying.
Oh man. If I need to download an app to pay for a meal I’m never going back to that place again.
usually just the website, but yes, I agree.
I’m like: “I only have a work phone, I can’t do things like that on it.”
Whip out your decoy Nokia 7110 instead.
I talked my way out of a parking ticket once. the machines were offline, and the only sticker for the app was knee level on the side. I argued a smart phone should not be a requirement to park your car here, meter cop tore the ticket up right then.
That’s why in some ways I don’t mind that my country still pays for mobile data, because I just don’t even bother at restaurants anymore “oh, I’ve run out of data, I can’t scan that, here’s my money”
Because of how severely covid lock downs hit our state, every single restaurant I’ve been to in the last 5 years has used a QR code to order and pay.
I have allergies, so this means I mostly just order black coffee when it’s QR only.
I’m not giving you all of my personal details for an overpriced $5 black coffee. The result is that I sit there with my friends, fiddling my thumbs, not buying anything.
I’m often admin@websiteimsigning.into with a name of admin admin, a birth date of 01/01/1970 a phone number of 4041234567 and address of 123 main street anytown, USA
And then if they expect me to retrieve info from said email or phone number I simply move on
The professionals try to insert some xss attacks into the forms; or all kinds of quote and comma characters in case the data is exported as csv at some point :)
It is
Bro, just one more piece of info bro. Come on bro, just one more piece of your personal info and I’ll let you sign on to the “free” wifi. Bro come on bro, just one more piece of personal info, it’s no big deal for some wifi bro.
What would stop you from using random, invented data?
Don’t use random, invented data. That’s wrong. Use the real data of a ceo or other executive from a company that spammed you. Or if you have the time find out who owns the mall and use their information.
That’s so evil and so amazing
I recently did something similar. My daughter’s orthodontist practice (it’s a large office with multiple locations) from a few years ago sent a spam txt message. I tracked down the owner of the practice and called the office, “I have a new phone number. Please change it on my records.”
And gave the owner’s home number."
Sounds more like justice from down here.
But… that requires the internet to research
Asshole ExBosses are totally fair after a mandatory 3 year cooling off period.
Even better. Though it takes some work to gather that data.
Removed by mod
info@, postmaster@, web@, abuse@, or any other mandated valid email addresses for the service that wants your data.
Any system that includes an SMTP server supporting mail relaying or delivery MUST support the reserved mailbox “postmaster” as a case-insensitive local name.
That only gives extra work to IT who are powerless to do anything.
You wouldn’t just go on the internet and lie would you?
No but lie and then go on the internet, that’s a different story
Rule of thumb on the Internet, if you can’t see how it’s payed for (subscriptions, ads, donations…) then you probably pay with your personal data.
Especially true for apps and games. “Play totally free, no annoying adds or in-app purchases” means “Here is a trojan horse pretending to be a game while farming every possible information from your device to sell to the highest bidder”.
Small shout out to Apple here, perhaps, for their little privacy report card. Here is Angry Birds 2:
A transcription app by a cool solo dev:
Y’all trust these?
As I understand it Apple is fairly good privacy-wise (at least compared to others). I wouldn’t 100% trust those cards, but I’m guessing they’re pretty accurate.
That’s when I use the oldest human invention: LYING.
Fake email, fake address, tell them I make more than the highest option they give for the income, make up the entirely unique gender of squorp, etc.
They don’t care. They’re just turning around and repeating your lies to whatever advertiser is so stupid as to believe their demographic sales pitch.
Hurt them by not using it. That’s the biggest number that feeds their machine.
There’s something to be said for poisoning the data. Intentionally, and consistently, enter slightly wrong information into every form you can. If it leaks, it all corroborates, but with other wrong information.
It’s definitely easier and more reliable to just pass tho.
Yes. They deserve nothing. LIE.
This is what I do.
Today I signed into some “free” wifi as Joe mama (Joe@mama.tech)
Smooth sailing for Joe after that.
Autofill with my fake profile info.
Name: Go.
firstname: Fuck.
Email: yourself@with-gravel.comCheck email for verification link.
fuckoff@domainiown.win
But the trick with these is, in order to check email they need to connect you to the internet, even if just for a minute. If you just need the internet to sync the latest IMs and emails, that is good enough.
Here’s a secret those free wifi providers don’t want you to know: usually, they don’t check your email or ask you to verify it, so you can just enter suckurmomsball@gmail.com If they do show a second screen asking for an email, just create a tempmail adress on cellular and switch back to verify. It works 99.99% of the time.
Edit: you also don’t have to enter any real personal information, how would they know?
I always use famous people, just in case someone is checking the data and assumes that Tom Cruise or Sydney Sweeney decided to stop in Cambridge for a quick bite to eat in Nandos before staying in the Travelodge.
I just clone someone else’s already active mac address, it works every time
I’ve never given a real email to these. I just bash the keys on my phones with random letters and decide whether it’s going to be gmail, aol, or yahoo that day…
Oh, it’s not a swindle. What you do is, see, you give 'em all your credit card numbers, and if one of them is lucky, they’ll send you a prize!
Bro, look, there’s an open wifi network here now. Signal kinda sucks out here. Imma try it.
…it’s loading a login screen
they want my employee number
close it and never think about using it again
Connect again in 3 months when you forget
On some public networks, my Wireguard VPN just doesn’t work. Although I can connect to my server using SSH, so I assume the network was configured to block certain ports or how else can it block VPN connections?
Many networks block UDP ports, which is what wireguard uses. If you can configure the serverside part of the VPN, you could try running it on port 123, which is used for the network time protocol (ntp), which also uses UDP and is open nearly everywhere
having no idea what the fuck these letters mean I think this dude is correct
You can save different identities using one password and then every time you sit down at your computer you can just make up new details for those identities in one password so that when you go to the mall, You’re not always Chungus McGrungledunk, but sometimes they’re going to be offering a free trial to, Faurtstick Blastschish or whatever name I give the email address I spin up for the purpose.
It’s good to register a burner domain that you don’t care about and once you have the processed enough different identities through it simply stop renewing it and sign up for new one.
That takes some money and effort though. Not something these places deserve.
