Steve Gibson, the man who coined the term spyware and created the first anti-spyware program, creator of SpinRite and ShieldsUP, discusses the hot topics in security today with Leo Laporte. Records live every Tuesday at 4:30pm Eastern / 1:30pm Pacific / 21:30 UTC.

SN 1052: Global Cellphone Tracking - Checkout.com Fights Back

November 18, 2025 3:18:13 30.65 MB ( 144.4 MB less) Downloads: 0

Think your cell phone is safe from tracking? Steve reveals how global networks let anyone pinpoint your location—no hacking required and no malware involved.

  • Apple introduces a new Digital ID inside Wallet.
  • Checkout.com refuses to pay a ransom demand.
  • Google announces "Private AI Compute" in the cloud.
  • Google backpedals on their "devs must register" demand.
  • Win11 added a Passkeys API which 1Password & Bitwarden support.
  • Russia tracks SIM card appearances to thwart drone usage.
  • Google sues Chinese Phishing as a Service platform.
  • Lots of interesting listener feedback.
  • Global cellphone tracking is alive, well, malware free and a distressingly common commercial enterprise

Show Notes - https://www.grc.com/sn/SN-1052-Notes.pdf

Hosts: Steve Gibson and Leo Laporte

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For 16kbps versions, transcripts, and notes (including fixes), visit Steve's site: grc.com, also the home of the best disk maintenance and recovery utility ever written Spinrite 6.

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