From: Eric Murray <ericm@lne.com>
Date: Sat, 3 Jan 1998 01:53:04 +0800
To: whgiii@invweb.net
Subject: Re: Mobile phones used as trackers
In-Reply-To: <199801012054.PAA25297@users.invweb.net>
Message-ID: <199801021756.JAA13004@slack.lne.com>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain



William H. Geiger III writes:
> In <v03102808b0d0b5632db7@[208.129.55.202]>, on 12/31/97
>    at 06:53 PM, Steve Schear <schear@lvdi.net> said:
> 
> >and keep your cell phone turned off.
> 
> It is my understanding that they can still track you with the cell phone
> turned off so long as there is power going to the box (most auto cell
> phones are hardwired into the cars electrical system).

How?


The little I know about cellular is that the handset only broadcasts
to the cells when its on.  Of course, 'on' and 'off' might mean
different things on a hand-held with limited battery life, and a
mobile that's connected to a large battery with a generator (car).
But it doesn't make sense to have the even the mobile system constantly
communicating with cells and getting hand-offs when the operator
has switched it 'off' and isn't using it-  it'd be taking up bandwidth
for no reason at all.  And we all know that cellular bandwidth is
in short supply.

-- 
Eric Murray  Chief Security Scientist  N*Able Technologies  www.nabletech.com
(email:  ericm  at  lne.com   or   nabletech.com)          PGP keyid:E03F65E5