Full Answer
What is the wake word on an echo dot?
How long does Amazon keep audio?
What is the willing suspension of disbelief?
Is Alexa safe?
When did Echo launch?
Does Alexa use IVCS?
Can a hacker tap into all of my microphones?
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Is Alexa safe to have in your house?
Here's why: Placing an Alexa device in certain areas of your house could risk your privacy or even damage your Echo. For example, did you know intruders can access your smart home device from outside if it's placed too close to a window?
Can you be hacked through Alexa?
Over the years, researchers have hacked Alexa to find vulnerabilities bad actors could exploit. In 2020 the cybersecurity company firm Check Point discovered one that would allow hackers to install Alexa with malware capable of stealing your personal information.
What is a harmful effect of Alexa?
Some argue that children can form an unhealthy attachment to their AI devices, or become too reliant on their services. Technology like Amazon Alexa can exacerbate anti-social or withdrawn behaviour in quieter children, while underdeveloped minds can form an addiction to technology.
Does Alexa listen to your conversations?
You need to know that Alexa is technically always listening, even without explicitly triggering an Alexa device. Alexa does not actively record and store all your conversations, but it's always listening for "Alexa," the wake word. Once you say it, anything you say that follows is recorded and stored in the cloud.
Can people spy through Alexa?
If you intend to use Alexa to spy on someone, you should know that Alexa is not a spying device. So, there are some drawbacks to using it as a spy device: The recipient's device will start flashing green lights and ring whenever you try to drop in. They must be close to their Echo device for you to see or hear them.
Is Alexa always listening and recording?
Amazon's list of frequently asked questions says that Alexa only begins recording your conversation upon hearing the device's wake word.
Can Alexa call 911 if I fall?
We hate to sound like a broken record, but no. While Amazon offers a senior aid subscription service called Alexa Together, it can only ever call the company's Urgent Response team and personal emergency contacts, not 911. That's true even if you have a compatible fall detection device.
Does Echo have radiation?
An echocardiogram is a test that uses sound waves to create pictures of the heart. The picture and information it produces is more detailed than a standard x-ray image. An echocardiogram does not expose you to radiation.
Is Alexa harmful to kids?
So is Alexa safe for kids? When the right steps are taken, the answer is yes. Amazon has provided parents with the ability to configure their Alexa devices to ensure children will be protected, yet still, enjoy using it.
What should you not say Alexa?
Things You Should Not Ask Alexa3 / 10. Juan Ci/Shutterstock. Don't Ask Alexa How Old She Is. Alexa's going to have her way with you if you ask her a personal question such as how old she is! ... 4 / 10. via amazon.com. Don't Ask Alexa What Various Animals Sound Like. ... 5 / 10. via amazon.com. Don't Ask Alexa if She Can Beatbox.
How do I stop Alexa from listening to me?
0:040:53Tap on device settings. Now tap on alexa on this phone. Now turn off the button next to enable alexaMoreTap on device settings. Now tap on alexa on this phone. Now turn off the button next to enable alexa hands-free.
How do I make sure Alexa is not listening?
0:101:03It's very simple i just go over here and press this mute button you can see the light ring on thereMoreIt's very simple i just go over here and press this mute button you can see the light ring on there goes red and that shows that she's not listening.
Can someone hack your phone through Alexa?
Alexa. It requires only a few seconds of proximity to a vulnerable device while it's turned on so an attacker can utter a voice command instructing it to pair with an attacker's Bluetooth-enabled device. As long as the device remains within radio range of the Echo, the attacker will be able to issue commands.
Can Alexa steal your information?
Does Alexa record everything? No, Alexa does not record all your conversations — just some of them. According to Amazon, Alexa records what you say only after the Echo or Alexa-enabled device detects your wake word.
Can Alexa detect burglars?
It uses the Echo's microphones to listen constantly after you say “Alexa, I'm leaving” and will then alert you if it hears any noises that you should know about such as glass breaking or burglar alarms sounding.
The real danger of Alexa listening to our convos | CNN Business
Kara Alaimo writes that the scary thing isn't just that Amazon is listening in on our homes, but that it is gathering so much data about us -- and we can't be certain that these insights won't be ...
How many smart home devices does Alexa have?
Alexa alone already works with more than 20,000 smart-home devices representing more than 3,500 brands. Her voice emanates from more than 100 third-party gadgets, including headphones, security systems, and automobiles.
Why does Alexa need to be better?
Alexa needs to get better at grasping context before she can truly inspire trust. And trust matters. Not just because consumers will give up on her if she bungles one too many requests, but because she is more than a search engine. She’s an “action engine,” Prasad says.
What is the beauty of Alexa?
The beauty of Alexa, Reid continued, is that she makes such interactions “frictionless”— a term I’d hear again and again in my conversations with the designers and engineers behind these products. No need to walk over to the desktop and type a search term into a browser; no need to track down your iPhone and punch in your passcode. Like the ideal servant in a Victorian manor, Alexa hovers in the background, ready to do her master’s bidding swiftly yet meticulously.
How many smart speakers are there in the world?
By the end of last year, more than 40 million smart speakers had been installed worldwide, according to Canalys, a technology-research firm. Based on current sales, Canalys estimates that this figure will reach 100 million by the end of this year.
What do we hear when someone talks to us?
When someone talks to us, we hear the words, the syntax, and the prosody all at once. Then we hunt for clues as to what kind of person the speaker is and what she’s trying to say, recruiting a remarkably large amount of brainpower to try to make sense of what we’re hearing. “The brain is wired to view every aspect of every human utterance as meaningful,” wrote the late Clifford Nass, a pioneering thinker on computer-human relationships. The prosody usually passes beneath notice, like a mighty current directing us toward a particular emotional response.
Why do we turn to computers for solace?
Why would we turn to computers for solace? Machines give us a way to reveal shameful feelings without feeling shame. When talking to one, people “engage in less of what’s called impression management, so they reveal more intimate things about themselves,” says Jonathan Gratch, a computer scientist and psychologist at the University of Southern California’s Institute for Creative Technologies, who studies the spoken and unspoken psychodynamics of the human-computer interaction. “They’ll show more sadness, for example, if they’re depressed.”
How many personal assistant bots will be there in 2021?
By 2021, there will be almost as many personal-assistant bots on the planet as people.
What happens when an echo is turned on?
Once an Echo device is turned on, the device continues to pick up on words spoken in close proximity to it. This is cause for concern for some people who are worried that their devices could be accidentally listening in on confidential conversations.
Does Alexa have privacy protections?
After the complaint was filed, Amazon rolled out new privacy protections for its Alexa-enabled devices, including protections that made it easier to delete voice recordings across all products featuring Alexa
Can Alexa say "Alexa"?
For instance, anyone in proximity to an Echo device can say, "Alexa," to prompt the device to turn on, but it can misinterpret other words and phrases as the name Alexa said in conversation rather than directly to the device.
Is Echo Dot geared toward children?
Similar to the company’s other devices, the Echo Dot is activated with a command word, but this specific device is geared toward children, making it subject to different privacy regulations. The groups said children’s conversations are recorded and stored in the cloud until deleted by parents.
Is it safe to use an echo?
Amazon 's Echo device is safe for most people to use, although some professionals who work with confidential material recommend turning it off when working from home. Some Echo owners have expressed concern about the smart home device, also known by the name Alexa, being unsafe in regard to privacy.
Can you turn off Alexa when no one is home?
Amazon's website recommends turning off Alexa devices when no one is home and enabling a lock screen or thumb-print protection on the Alexa app if users want to ensure security. An alternative to turning off an Echo device, however, is enabling " Alexa Guard ," a feature that notifies users of "the sound of smoke alarms, ...
Who said "Imagine a lawyer dealing with a very important case involving dirty money, local politicians,?
As business technology website ZDNet contributor Christ Matyszczyk put it : "Imagine ... you're a lawyer dealing with a very important case involving dirty money, local politicians, a power utility and three former contestants on The Bachelor."
What does Amazon do with Alexa?
Amazon hopes to use what you say to Alexa, the pictures you take with your Look , and all the other interactions you have with your Echo device to build a better profile around you, serve more relevant ads, and make more money from you.
Why does Amazon design its devices?
Amazon designs its devices to make it easier for you to spend more money on Amazon .
What is an echo look?
The Echo Look, one of Amazon's newest devices, has a camera designed to take regular pictures of you and help you get fashion advice. While its intended use might be great, are you comfortable having a camera in your living room that could capture pictures of your children and store them on Amazon's servers? How would you feel if the bedroom camera went off and captured your spouse in their underwear?
What is drop in on Echo?
Basically, Drop-In allows you to video call a trusted friend without them confirming the call. Normally, when you initiate a call, the other party must accept. But if you enable Drop-In for a certain user, calling them will allow you to start seeing video from their Echo after a few seconds of a "frosted glass" view.
What is the failed Fire Phone?
The failed Fire Phone was built around a feature called Firefly that let you scan objects and buy them on Amazon.
Does Alexa recommend Crest toothpaste?
If you've ordered Crest toothpaste in the past, Alexa might recommend Crest-branded mouthwash. As you can imagine, several major retailers are ecstatic to work with Amazon to get their ads into the Echo . 7. You're Helping Amazon Sell More to You. Many of the Echo's privacy problems come down to one simple fact:
Is Alexa evil?
Of course, I'm not suggesting that Alexa is evil and you should throw yours in the trash right now. The Echo makes a great smart home hub, and even for casual use its music-playing abilities and variety of skills are great fun. If you recognize the potential privacy concerns and feel the benefits outweigh the drawbacks, then enjoy your device by all means.
Is Alexa Safe?
I recently gave a tour of my home network. I walked around my home and showed all of the different electronic components of my home. This included the firewalls, routers, switches, cameras, and all of the devices that get interacted with. One thing that blew up in the comments over and over was comments to how secure my home was but that it was “all ruined by having an Amazon Alexa in my house”. This of course turned into a lot of debate asking “Is Alexa safe?”. With a little patience and education I think we can pretty definitively answer that question!
How many microphones does the geek pub have?
The Camera I use for shooting The Geek Pub videos has 4 microphones and an internet connection.
How to prevent internet worms?
Make sure that every device and PC in your home is running the built-in firewall. This alone can be some of the simplest and most effecting anti-malware. Many internet worms travel by looking for open ports on your PC that can be injected with malicious code. With a firewall that patch is completely blocked (in most cases).
Does Alexa listen to keywords?
First of all it is important to understand that Amazon designed the Echo (which is the device’s actual name) to listen constantly for a keyword. It doesn’t start recording or sending any data to any device until that keyword is spoken. That word can be “Alexa, Amazon, Echo, or Computer”. Once the keyword is spoken Alexa begins to listen and record your next few words. These words are pushed to some cloud servers and analyzed. Nothing outside of that interaction is ever sent to Amazon.
Is it safe to say Amazon spent a lot of time worrying about security?
I think its safe to say Amazon spent a lot of time worrying about security . An Alexa compromise could be devastating to their business. But with that in mind, its time to start asking the better questions!
Can Alexa be hacked?
In August of 2017 British security research firm MWR detailed how the Alexa could be compromised by hackers. It wasn’t easy. It required physical access to the device, complete disassembly, soldering devices to the board, and adding a new boot firmware. Something that clearly isn’t feasible for most hacks and definitely not by someone 10,000 miles away in a foreign country living in their mom’s basement. Amazon fixed the problem quickly and any device made after October 2017 is immune from even that attack. With that in mind you might consider buying new rather than buying a used Alexa on Craigslist of eBay that could have been modified.
Do I need an anti-malware program?
For any device in your home running Windows it is imperative that you have an anti-malware software installed. There are plenty of good choices for this, including Microsoft’s own anti-malware services.
What does Amazon records tell us?
Conversations that Amazon records can of course tell the company a lot about us. For example, the questions we ask and directions we give Alexa — like "what's the weather?" or "play jazz music" — can indicate a great deal about what we like and care about. Then that information could be combined with data about what we buy on the site and the times of day we shop to get to know even more about us. It could recognize, for example, that a person buys certain products linked to being tired or lonely at a particular time of day.
Why does Amazon listen to people?
Amazon recently acknowledged that it employs people to listen to an "extremely small number of interactions from a random set of customers" who have the company's virtual assistant, Alexa, on devices such as smart speakers in their homes. The company says it does so in order to improve the accuracy of the software's future responses. The idea of other people listening in to what we say in the privacy of our homes is creepy enough. But the real danger lies in the potential for Amazon to aggregate all that information and use it to try to manipulate us — or for others to get their hands on it and use it against us.
Why does Amazon use search data?
Amazon could use this data to strategically engineer our search results on the site, or adjust when it sends us marketing emails and what they contain based on what the company has learned about our preferences. While it can sometimes be helpful to get personalized product recommendations for items Amazon's algorithm realizes might be useful to us, users might also be manipulated into buying products they otherwise wouldn't have if the company pinpoints and tries to take advantage of their weaknesses.
Can Amazon be hacked?
Even if we trust Amazon not to do any of this, the data could be hacked by malicious actors like a foreign government. That's especially frightening because Amazon is clearly recording some very sensitive information. For example, it's not uncommon for an Alexa-using smart speaker to record utterances made within range of the device even when a user is not trying to interact with the personal assistant. We don't know how often that is happening. And the staffers listening in on conversations with Alexa believe they heard at least one sexual assault. Given that hackers have allegedly managed to breach the phone of Amazon's chief executive and even the CIA, no one should feel confident that this won't happen.
Can Alexa predict us?
The types of things we do with Alexa can also be extrapolated to make predictions about us that are often eerily accurate.
Can you opt out of Alexa?
Currently, users can opt out of having our voice recordings used by Amazon. But most people probably don't understand the potential for their seemingly innocuous conversations to be used against them in very disturbing ways. A better option would be for Amazon not to collect this data at all. The company could store our data on our individual devices so it isn't transmitted to Amazon. Of course, it would be harder for Amazon to improve its technology if it didn't understand what people were asking Alexa and how the speaker was responding. But there are plenty of other ways that the company could learn this information — such as by sending users voluntary surveys and conducting exercises in their offices in which they observe people interacting with Alexa.
Does Amazon sell information to third parties?
There's also nothing to stop Amazon from selling our information to third parties — like political candidates — who could try to target and appeal to us. Even if companies like Amazon pledge to protect our privacy, they could always change their minds, which is what Facebook retroactively did in 2010.
What tech companies are involved in the birth of Alexa?
Alexa, however, has grown up in an era of increasing scepticism about the power and morality of the “big five” tech companies: Amazon, Apple, Facebook, Google/Alphabet and Microsoft.
What is automatic listening exploitation?
In July, a Democratic congressman, Seth Moulton, introduced the Automatic Listening Exploitation Act, which would penalise companies whose voice assistants and smart doorbells (such as Amazon’s Ring) record conversations without permission, but Gillula considers it “pretty weak legislation”. In Europe, which has bitter first-hand experience of mass surveillance under totalitarian regimes, the regulators have sharper teeth. Recently, Johannes Caspar, Hamburg’s formidable commissioner for data protection, forced Google to suspend the transcription of voice recordings throughout the EU, while Apple and Facebook simultaneously halted transcription everywhere in the world. (Amazon merely allowed users to opt out of human monitoring.) The UK Information Commissioner’s Office is investigating whether human oversight breaches the General Data Protection Regulation. “We have significant regulation in this area already, but the key is enforcement,” says Veale. “Like all European data-protection authorities, the Information Commissioner’s Office is underfunded and overstretched, and needs significant investment and support to protect citizens’ fundamental rights.”
How many Alexa devices are there?
There are more than 100m Alexa-enabled devices in our homes. But are they fun time-savers or the beginning of an Orwellian nightmare
What events have tarnished Silicon Valley's utopian promises?
Events such as the Edward Snowden leaks and the Cambridge Analytica scandal have tarnished Silicon Valley’s utopian promises. CEOs are less likely to trivialise privacy concerns. Tech journalists are more likely to be critics than cheerleaders. Politicians are more willing to hold companies to account.
When did Alexa go rogue?
1005. O ne day in 2017, Alexa went rogue. When Martin Josephson, who lives in London, came home from work, he heard his Amazon Echo Dot voice assistant spitting out fragmentary commands, seemingly based on his previous interactions with the device.
Does Amazon take privacy seriously?
In response, a spokeswoman for Amazon says: “Customer trust is at the centre of everything we do and we take customer privacy very seriously. We continuously review our practices and procedures to ensure we’re providing customers with the best experiences and privacy choices. We provide customers with several privacy controls, including the ability to review and delete their voice recordings. To help improve Alexa, we manually review an extremely small sample of Alexa requests to confirm Alexa understood and responded correctly. Customers can opt out of having their voice recordings included in that review process.”
When did voice recognition become commonplace?
In the real world, voice recognition didn’t become commonplace until Apple launched its phone-based voice assistant, Siri, in 2011. Alexa goes much further by colonising the user’s home. Three decades ago, the prescient computer scientist Mark Weiser called this kind of frictionless ecosystem “ ubiquitous computing ”. In 2015, Google’s Eric Schmidt foresaw a day when the internet will be “part of your presence all the time”, making your real-life behaviour as mappable as what you do on your laptop or phone. You will never be offline.
Why is Alexa spying on us?
These systems rely on machine learning and artificial intelligence to improve themselves over time. The new technology underpinning them is also currently prone to error, and even if they were perfect, the data-hungry companies that built them are constantly thinking of new ways to exploit users for profit. And where imperfect technology and powerful companies collide, the government tends to struggle so much with understanding what’s going on, that regulation seems like an impossible solution.
Can you see what you've been saying to Siri?
Whenever you talk to Siri, those commands are encrypted before they’re sent to the company with a random Siri identifier attached. Your Siri identifier is not associated with your Apple ID, so there’s no way you can open up your privacy settings on an iPhone and see what you’ve been saying to Siri.
Does Alexa start recording after you say the wake word?
Anyone who has spent any time using Alexa knows that it doesn’t always work like this. Sometimes the software hears random noise, thinks it’s the wake word, and starts recording.
Does Alexa tell you if you're sad?
According to the patent, this hypothetical version of an Alexa-like technology could tell if you’re happy or sad and deliver “highly targeted audio content, such as audio advertisements or promotions.” One could argue that the only thing holding Amazon back from releasing an ad-supported Alexa is the potential of blowback from the Echo-owning public. The government’s probably not going to stop it.
Can voice assistants pick up audio?
At face value, voice assistants picking up stray audio is an inevitable defect in the technology. The very sophisticated computer program that can understand anything you say is hiding behind a very simple one that’s been trained to hear a wake word and then send whatever commands come after that to the smarter computer. The problem is that the simple computer often doesn’t work right, and people don’t always know that there’s a recording device in the room. That’s how we get Echo-based nightmares like the Oregon couple who inadvertently sent a recording of an entire conversation to an acquaintance. Amazon itself has been working on improvements to lower the error rate with wake words, but it’s hard to imagine that the system will ever be flawless.
Can you opt out of Alexa?
In the Alexa privacy settings, you can opt out of letting Amazon use your recordings to develop new features and improve transcriptions. You cannot opt out of allowing Amazon to retain your recordings for other purposes.
Will voice powered computers ever be dystopian?
Inevitably, the future of voice-powered computers doesn’t have to be so dystopian. Talking to our gadgets would change the way we interact with technology in the most profound ways, if everyone were on board with how it was being done. Right now, that doesn’t seem to be the case. And, ironically, the fewer people we have helping to develop tech like Alexa, the worse Alexa will be.
What is the wake word on an echo dot?
You activate most commercial IVCSs with a "wake word." For an Amazon Echo or Echo Dot, you can choose one of three possible wake words, "Alexa" (the default), "Amaz on" or "Echo." Unless you turn off the microphones (the Echo has seven) and use a mechanical button or remote control to activate its capabilities, Alexa Voice Service, the system that powers the Echo and Alexa, and other IVCSs are always listening for their wake word.
How long does Amazon keep audio?
In Amazon’s case, it keeps approximately 60 seconds of audio in memory for pre-processing so the responses can be situationally aware and “instant.”. Amazon says the listening is done locally, on the device, not in the cloud. So technically, the audio does not leave the premises.
What is the willing suspension of disbelief?
The “willing suspension of disbelief” is the idea that we (the audience, readers, viewers, content consumers) are willing to suspend judgment about the implausibility of the narrative for the quality of our own enjoyment. We do it all the time.
Is Alexa safe?
Alexa is NOT dangerous. The data it collects is NOT dangerous. Nothing about an Amazon Echo is dangerous. It's awesome. I have one in the kitchen, in the living room, in my home office, and on my night table. It's an amazing controller, great alarm clock, spectacular Spotify and Amazon Prime interface, an exceptional news and weather reporter, and it does lots of other stuff you can look up online. I love it.
When did Echo launch?
launch event for the Amazon.com Inc. Echo voice-controlled home assistant speaker in London, U.K., on Wednesday, Sept. 14, 2016. The Seattle-based company today announced that its Echo product line will be available in the U.K. and Germany starting in the fall, ...
Does Alexa use IVCS?
Yes , an IVCS is always listening AND recording. Which raises the question, “What does it do with the recordings it does not use?” In Amazon’s case, the official answer is that they are erased as they are replaced with the most current 60 seconds. So while the system locally stores approximately 60 seconds of audio preceding your wake word, it transmits only a “ fraction of a second “ of audio preceding your wake word, plus your actual query and the system’s response. For Alexa, you can find a record of your query on the Home screen of your Alexa app.
Can a hacker tap into all of my microphones?
Seven microphones! Could a hacker tap into one or all of them and eavesdrop on me? The official answer is no, and specific technical reasons are cited. However, at The Palmer Group we have several theses for 2017 including, "Anything that can be hacked will be hacked." Anyone who believes otherwise is simply naïve.
