We have a winner.
True this. Virtually all vulnerable. Fuck the IoT.
TVs have been hackable for a few years now. Have fun now. 
Every time I turn the tv on I double check that setting is off, so unless they can hack over the power strip I think I’m ok for now.
My folks have a similar tv and though they understand why the data’s being collected they don’t care. That’s their choice, at least it’s a semi-informed one.
There’s a button on the top that allegedly turns off the microphone. Of course, that pretty much defeats the purpose of having an Echo. And it could just be pretending not to listen.
Interestingly, you can go to a page on the Amazon website and listen to all the voice commands you’ve ever given. Listening to yourself croaking “Alexa, what’s the weather forecast?” is creepy. Fortunately Amazon kindly provides you with the ability to erase all those recordings! Or maybe they’re just pretending to erase them.
At least there’s not a camera in that thing. Hey, wait…
I wish I had never watched Black Mirror.
A friend of mine has one and loves it. It’s very nice to just say stuff out loud (in a specific way, mind) and have it happen. She checks the weather and next train arrival times and plays music on command without having to stop what she’s doing to look at her phone or computer and type. She works in tech and isn’t particularly concerned, I think her decision is fairly well informed.
Ooooh, Demon Seed riff. Don’t see many of those anymore. Bravo!
Plus, Fritz Weaver just died, so extra points for topicality!
Yeah, if you have a cellular phone in the house, it can pretty much be turned into a listening device without your knowledge. Even if it is turned off.
The Echo is cool. I mainly use it to play music. With Amazon Prime, I can name almost any song and she’ll start playing it. Can’t add songs to my playlists though, which is really annoying.
One spooky thing, I was letting my cousin’s dumb dog outside one day after work, nobody was in the house except me and the dog. I said only one phrase “Come on, buddy” and right then, Alexa started playing “Who Let The Dogs Out” Really weird.:eek:
Some years ago my brother installed a cat-door that was supposed to unlock only when approached by The cat, because The cat’s collar contained a radio tag. But the lock was one-directional, only preventing the door from swinging inward: the door swung freely to the outside. The door was recessed though, so an unauthorized outdoor animal couldn’t simply get a paw under the door and lift it.
One day my brother spotted a raccoon batting the door with its paw. The door was bouncing against its stop - and as the raccoon kept batting it, the door bounced further and further until it swung open far enough that the raccoon was able to get a paw under it, open it up, and stick his head in. Pure luck that my brother happened to be home and paying attention right then.
Yes, the raccoon hacked the goddam cat door.
I would have adopted the damn raccoon-that’s what I’m looking for in a pet. 
If someone is into muffled snoring, then mine is a goldmine. Actually my wife’s, as mine is deader than Lenin and sits in a drawer.
I’m with Mr. Luddite above: our cell is a flip phone and the TV is over ten years old. Doesn’t mean we’re invulnerable to the IoT, as there are three computers, the DVR, a Roku, two routers, and three Sonos cubes. But if somebody wants to listen to me talking to the cat, have at it.
I didn’t say people would WANT to listen to your various household noises, just that turning your phone off does not prevent that, so there is no point in doing that “to be safer”
When the Illuminati hack your TV, don’t you think the first change they make is to display the incorrect value for that setting?
Yes, everyone is crazy. The fun part is figuring out what special brand of crazy each individual is.
No, I wouldn’t have one of these devices in my home. My laptop doesn’t have a mic or a camera, my TV has no internet connection, and I would physically disable it if it did. I do have an android phone, but it’s a necessity for work. If I suspected it was a problem, I could load a more secure OS on it fairly easily.
I don’t see any compelling reason for these gadgets, so I would avoid owning them.
“Everyone is Crazy”
- Me, by the age of about 15, when I realized that no matter how ‘normal’ or stable anyone looked, if you scratched the surface, you’d find some weird shit going on underneath.
No it can’t.
How precisely can it be turned on remotely if it is off. Off means no power (not just the display darkened). How is the phone receiving this remote hacking signal if it isn’t powered and transmitting to the network?
And I say that as someone that thinks OnStar employees listen to random cars when they are bored. And that they have files of recordings of people having car sex. And that your internal home security camera, that you can check on your phone, is also being watched by who knows how many others.
Not the same thing. That hack phakes the phone being off. It never is “off”, so it can be accessed.
Until the batteries run down.