Hermann
Site Donor 2023
And 96% of folks leave them that way, sadly. Mine has a lot of stuff disabled and tighter security enabled.
Upcoming Amazon Security Issue
- Thread starter edhackett
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Because you never know, someday you may use them instead of they use you (say to diagnose your internet has crashed or you need an E911 call but someone cut your internet).
Seriously sharing internet isn't the big deal, leaving an entrance for others to hack into my wifi is the bigger problem. What if they find a way to pretend to be an Alexa and then get into my Alexa and then into my guest wifi?
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4WD
$50 site donor 2025
Yep … when I get a new company iPhone … have to go through a procedure where it becomes managed by IT and only approved apps allowed …
Amazon must have been doing this for sometime now behind the curtains. It was probably caught onto and that's when amazon had to make the announcement and come up with the slide to toggle this feature off do to the legal stuff.
Agree . The Fios tech came today to install/replace my optical terminal network OTN and I asked him how many residential fios customers use an entire household vpn connection for personal use. He said very few.
I then explained my network pfsense/openvpn (udp client) + vpn provider. Near free!
Turned it off a long time ago. Take the time to do this with Microsoft products too.
The good news is, there is no problem in my house, no Amazon connected devices. (almost)
My wife does have a Amazon DOT. For one reason, it came free with the purchase of something a while back, the microphone is always off, its only used to play music and the only time the microphone is on. I hate the thing but, again, was a free thing/toy and truly a toy but she uses it now and then.
Ok, with the said, this is how freaking obnoxious Amazon is and why I absolute hate the company. Honestly now that people know they are sharing their internet with their neighbors I could care less in the unlikely event, happens to them as a consequence of sharing.
You want to deal with a garbage company like this, its all ok, are choice.
Sooooo... thank you to the OP for alerting us, Im really kind of up to date on things and I didnt know about it. SO I had my wife disable sharing. My wife too, VERY good with computers ect. IT WAS INCREDIBLE how many steps you have to go through to get to the point you can disable sharing. Its not just a click away, try like Five clicks.
Anyway, same old thing, people will care less, Amazon knows it, Google knows it, Facebook knows it, whore out your information for free stuff (and trust the biggest companies in the world with that information) in return and the vast majority of Americans will be ok with it.
Ok I posted enough in here ... *LOL* ... thanks to the OP for alerting us.
I am curious about the "security issue" or is the that the click bait headline? I am ecstatic that Xfinity has their Xfinity Wifi in over 1 million hotspots in businesses and homes rental routers. It just works really well.
Hermann
Site Donor 2023
Got it turned off. Wasn't hard to find after watching a YouTube video. About 4 clicks
Security is not an issue. YOU can let your neighbors access your wi-fi network all you want so they can run their Amazon devices reliably.
So says Amazon.
If your comfortable allowing them access then by all means allow it. Great theory, socialized internet, you know like peace and "free love" only now you are allowing a high and mighty corporation to control it and you.
Me? There is no freaking way I am going to help a mega rich corporation make more money by letting my neighbors use my wifi connection for their Amazon devices. No way, no how, screw that. My connection is mine and no one else allowed
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I parted ways with the smart devices several months ago no more Google speakers no more nest thermostat and honestly my mental state improved hugely. Definitely 100% mental but my home really does feel differently without the smart devices microphones muted or not. Now once I'm moved and settled going for a tracfone flip leaving it in the car powered off will only turn on when I'm out and about will turn off when i leave my last destination before i return home.
In theory, if the is no security problem in Alexa, it is not a problem. In practice we typically have lots of bugs in software that we don't step on and if one intentionally look for, and since Alexa can bounce to another neighbor's wifi in low bandwidth mode (likely for diagnostic of network issue), then there is a possibility that someone can spoof an Alexa, and have it sent out a request to its router and the packet get intercepted, then by some "bugs" or "calculations" they can figure out the wifi password.
Or loopholes in Alexa (like buffer overflow) to let the spoofing side know what the wifi password or other stuff.
Seems like too much worry. Just put your IOT devices on a segregated VLAN or isolated wifi network and let them get to the internet but not back to the internal network. Pretty much end of story.
If an amazon device wants to use a few bits for someone else let them do that. If you have a ROKU device, you probably don't know that ROKU is an advertising company, and that thing is constantly phoning home. It is much more chatty than anything I have from Amazon.
If an amazon device wants to use a few bits for someone else let them do that. If you have a ROKU device, you probably don't know that ROKU is an advertising company, and that thing is constantly phoning home. It is much more chatty than anything I have from Amazon.
This is a good practice, all IoT devices should be on a separate wifi network with different password.
So how do i disable this? I only have a ring doorbell. I have an AT&T U-verse router. I don't see sidewalk on any of my ring door bell settings.
You are stretching this. Your neighbors aren't talking to your WiFi network directly, i.e. if you check your router's list of connected devices, it will only be your own. This is presuming your router has security set up, of course, so your WiFi network is just as secure and locked down as it was with or without Amazon devices.
Yes, your neighbor's Amazon device might be able to talk to your Amazon device and technically their data can traverse your network (and vis-versa). This also depends on if the devices are close enough for this to work anyway.
The executive I work under at my Tech employer had incessant wifi connectivity issues with her ISP provided Mesh system in her home. The issue ended up being an IoT outside her home that was flooding her system with Wifi connection requests and causing her poor wifi. Her ISP blocked this IoT somehow.
I can sort of see how Amazon system can introduce problems to working setups. At least they allow opt out the more I read. Thankfully I have old Echo Dots (kids) so we cannot even participate in this network.
Yeah I agree but moving forward buying one of their devices you are agreeing to it unless you turn it off.
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