Amazon Wants to Put a Camera and Microphone in Your Bedroom

Didn't where to put this: Other Services or Privacy or Neither

"Amazon Wants to Put a Camera and Microphone in Your Bedroom

Echo Look will use machine learning to decide if you look fat in that shirt

Amazon is giving Alexa eyes. And it's going to let her judge your outfits.

The newly announced Echo Look is a virtual assistant with a microphone and a camera that's designed to go somewhere in your bedroom, bathroom, or wherever the hell you get dressed..."

https://motherboard.vice.com/en_us/article/amazon-echo-look-bedroom-camera

 

What a great idea Why on earth would anyone want to use a service as such.

 

Hell no!

 

They would hear some interesting noises!!

 

http://www.news.com.au/technology/g...r/news-story/9af11ca3a82d89151d08f0403dd4d1a6

 

Very Dumb Idea.

 

So how is it that society is embracing a commercial (at least) version of 1984?

Do people really trust Google, Amazon, etc with complete surveillance capability?

Because they trust them?

It boggles my mind. And brings to mind rule 17 in Allen Dulles' "73 Rules of Spycraft":

https://blog.cyberwar.nl/2016/02/so...work-73-rules-of-spycraft-allen-dulles-1960s/

Allen Dulles played a key intelligence role for the US during WWII, and then in the Cold War, as the first civilian Director of Central Intelligence.

 

Researchers Turn Amazon Echo Into an Eavesdropping Device
April 25, 2018
https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/ne...urn-amazon-echo-into-an-eavesdropping-device/

 

"Amazon has fixed a bug that allowed hackers to listen in on Alexa devices..."

https://www.digitaltrends.com/home/hackers-listening-with-alexa/

 

Many low-informed people love alexa, and and anything called "smart".
Now who is smart?

 

The device sellers?

Eventually, devices themselves, and that is truly frightening

 

Any of you guys considered cutting the microphone and speakers out of your laptop? Sounds nuts doesn't it? Easy to "tape" the camera, but even running Linux and trying to be careful as can be I wonder about the speakers and microphone(s). My hobby desktop doesn't have either. I can physically plug them in when I want to watch youtube or whatever, but 99% of the time everything mentioned in this post is unplugged. Desktop = no sound, no camera, no wireless, no microphones. Starting to wonder if my laptop should be the same, but candidly its a bit of a pain to plug stuff in if a family member just wants to enjoy a youtube or a movie. Might be easiest if I simply cease using the laptop for hobby stuff and render it for family only with a simple one hop VPN configuration. Hmmmmm?

 

Some notebooks now come with physical switches for camera and microphone.

But that'd be a difficult mod.

 

@mirimir My Compal HEL80, a laptop from 2006, has a sliding webcam cover, as you can see here. The image is part of this review.

You can also buy sliding webcam covers, that stick on and you can slide them to cover or uncover the webcam.
https://www.zapals.com/webcam-cover-for-smartphones-laptop-tablet-macbook-3pcs.html

Or, you could just disable the webcam in Device Manager (or install an incompatible driver).



This doesn't take care of the microphone, of course.

 

Not to me, I started doing that 15 years ago.
Open up the laptop, follow the wires from the webcam, mic and speakers and unplug them from the motherboard. You can still use headphones or plug in external speakers if you need to.

 

Listen up: Alexa isn't spying on you, and this 'spying' skill only proves it
April 29, 2018
https://www.techradar.com/news/list...g-on-you-and-this-spying-skill-only-proves-it

 

Except that we know that they're spying. Last year, Amazon released Echo data to investigators in Arkansas, regarding a murder case.

https://www.pbs.org/newshour/nation...murder-case-dropping-first-amendment-argument

 

And even if you conquer disconnecting all of the above on your laptop, now you have to pause and be aware that leaving your smartphone lying on the desk next to the computer may be just as bad for your security. Maybe even your "dumb phone" is not so dumb. I wouldn't bank on the little flip phone being your solid friend where all this is concerned. I am starting to leave my smartphone upstairs with my spouse and then I can get alerted if I get a call or text that needs attention.

 

Yeah, smartphones. I'm very careful about what I say. Unless I've verified that there are no smartphones around.

Edit: Gotta quote from Allen Dulles' "73 Rules of Spycraft"

https://blog.cyberwar.nl/2016/02/so...work-73-rules-of-spycraft-allen-dulles-1960s/

 

Do you think airplane mode is safe?

 

Iffy, I'd say.

There's no easy way to know what the baseband radio is doing. And it has complete and unregulated access to all hardware.

 

Amazon can put it up their %^&.
Mom and pops forever!

 

Well I was thinking they would be taking a big risk by breaking airplane mode just for the fact it's purpose is to prevent radio signals interfering with sensitive equipment such as on airplanes.