Greenwood2
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Post by Greenwood2 on Apr 21, 2023 12:56:59 GMT
I don't know enough about how the voice controlled remotes work to decide if they are safe to use, as in could someone be listening to everything you say in the house.
The one I have you have to press a button to send a command, does the remote interpret that and send an appropriate signal to the tv, or does the tv 'hear' the command words and interpret on the tv, if the later is the tv listening for commands all the time or can it only hear when the microphone button on the remote is pressed?
Or something completely different. Just setting up a new remote that has this facility and I'm sure I've read that you should be cautious. Paranoid me?
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agent69
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Post by agent69 on Apr 21, 2023 13:07:22 GMT
I don't know enough about how the voice controlled remotes work to decide if they are safe to use, as in could someone be listening to everything you say in the house. The one I have you have to press a button to send a command, does the remote interpret that and send an appropriate signal to the tv, or does the tv 'hear' the command words and interpret on the tv, if the later is the tv listening for commands all the time or can it only hear when the microphone button on the remote is pressed? Or something completely different. Just setting up a new remote that has this facility and I'm sure I've read that you should be cautious. Paranoid me? If it's anything like Alexa, it's listening out (and monitoring) all the time. I think there was adverse publicity several years ago when it was revealed that Amazon employees could use Alexa to routinely monitor people having sex.
Brings a whole new meaning to the phrase 'anything you say will be taken down, and may be used in evidence against you'
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adrianc
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Post by adrianc on Apr 21, 2023 13:18:24 GMT
What are you referring to?
If you're referring to smart speakers, then the physical device is just a case with a mic, a speaker, wifi connectivity, and very limited processing capability. The smart speaker listens all the time, parsing the audio for what it thinks is the trigger word. When it hears it, it simply relays the audio that follows back to the host servers at base - Amazon, Google, Apple - where the audio is parsed and whatever action is triggered.
The appliances (TV, light bulbs, fridge, heating) are connected to the same account, and are controlled by the host software at base.
Once active, the smart speaker is listening all the time until it's placed back into inactivity again. Yes, that means that all audio in your house while - say - music is being played is being relayed back to Amazon/Google/Apple's servers and parsed.
Oh, yes... that audio is not discarded, either. It's kept, filed, archived, linked to your device. Stored recordings from them have been called as evidence in several murder cases in the US.
Mostly, that audio is only parsed by the software, but sometimes it's reviewed by humans to ensure that the parsing is correct (although that can now be manually turned off, deep in the settings. Nobody does.).
Read the small print - you agreed to all of that when you used the device.
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Greenwood2
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Post by Greenwood2 on Apr 21, 2023 13:20:34 GMT
This one is a remote control for a Virgin box where you have to press a button to speak, on the face of it that seems much more secure, but I'm not sure.
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adrianc
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Post by adrianc on Apr 21, 2023 13:25:29 GMT
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Greenwood2
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Post by Greenwood2 on Apr 21, 2023 14:02:52 GMT
I'm a bit too vague about the concept to be thinking anything concrete, but yes if the words get to the virgin box they are then on a possible route to the outside world, and can speech made when the mic button is not held down on the remote be heard by the Virgin box? Is the command to the box a specific digital command or an analogue audio? Not sure what question to ask, but how secure is it? My techy days are gone I fear.
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adrianc
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Post by adrianc on Apr 21, 2023 14:11:17 GMT
if the words get to the virgin box they are then on a possible route to the outside world A definite route. The audio is sent to Nuance for parsing, who then return the digital command to the telly. Unlikely. If it's triggered by press-and-hold a mic button, then it's only going to be what's heard during that press (plus possibly a second or three afterwards, in case of over-eager button release) that's sent. The audio is processed digitally, then that digital representation of the audio sent. That digital audio is then parsed, with Metal Mickey deciding what you were saying. A command is then sent back to tell the TV what channel to change to, or what iPlayer prog to stream, or to increase the volume, or... Oooof, now THERE's a big question. How likely is it to be intercepted on the way to Nuance's servers, or once there and being processed? Not very. How likely is it to be stored on their servers? Fairly. Could that stored data later be hacked? Absolutely. Could that hacked data be tied back to YOUR specific telly? Quite probably. Could that specific telly be tied back to YOUR house? Theoretically. Is it the single most likely route for your personal information to be obtained by miscreants? No.
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benaj
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Post by benaj on Apr 21, 2023 14:33:14 GMT
Is it safe? Of course it is "safe" to use with your hands otherwise you could 'sue' Virgin Media for giving you an unsafe device. Is it safe and secure? Then you have to ask VM how to protect your privacy and data. Will they provide update for the remote and your setup box? uk.pcmag.com/dvd/126704/how-to-stop-smart-tvs-from-snooping-on-you |
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Greenwood2
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Post by Greenwood2 on Apr 21, 2023 16:13:23 GMT
Is it safe? Of course it is "safe" to use with your hands otherwise you could 'sue' Virgin Media for giving you an unsafe device.Is it safe and secure? Then you have to ask VM how to protect your privacy and data. Will they provide update for the remote and your setup box? uk.pcmag.com/dvd/126704/how-to-stop-smart-tvs-from-snooping-on-youI did say safe, as in someone listening in to everything said in the house, I wasn't implying I might get electrocuted.  VM do update and would obviously say it's perfectly fine to use the voice control, but I was hoping for a bit of tech info for me to judge for myself. I feel much more knowledgeable for the input so far.
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Post by bernythedolt on Apr 23, 2023 11:29:58 GMT
My smart TV came with a voice-activated remote control. I declined to activate it, and also unplugged Alexa a long time ago, for the reasons above.
The thought of some poor devil in his headset potentially having to endure the missus and I getting saucy was just too cruel.
There's already enough PTSD in this world.
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VM do update and would obviously say it's perfectly fine to use the voice control, but I was hoping for a bit of tech info for me to judge for myself. I feel much more knowledgeable for the input so far.