HOPEFULLY IT'S NOT JUST YOUR "OPTIC" NERVE
Operation "Optic Nerve", was brought to you from those fine chaps across the pond at the UK's GCHQ that targeted nearly 2 million people and collected a butt load of still pictures taken from the public's Yahoo video chats. *Source
Now comes the Xbox, brought to you by those fine chaps at Microsoft. Watch this commercial...
Besides the fact you're watching "Jessie Pinkman" from the cable show "Breaking Bad", does anything about this have that bulging nerve on your forehead twitching? It should.
What we have here is a device connected to the Internet that is "OFF", yet, while off, it's listening for a key word or words. Fervent questions running through your brain right now should be "Wow! What will the NSA do with this?" to even worse, "Wow! What could a hacker do with this??", and finally ending with "Do we really need this kind of feature?"
Select your answer to that last question from the choices below:
- NO
- Noooooooooooo
Hackers and who knows how many agencies already have the ability to hack your computer and turn your web camera and microphone "ON" without your knowledge. I'll bet they are salivating over this right now.
Usually, while on a service call I'll ask the customer if they use SKYPE. Many times the reply is, "What's SKYPE?".
This is where I point out the webcam on their monitor [which they didn't know was there because it's black and blends seamlessly with the black bezel] and suggest they put a sticky note or piece of black tap over the camera, explaining why.
Watching the Xbox commercial, followed by a second one, I can see how this feature could come in handy during play, but I draw the line at having the box sit there, listening, waiting for the "ON" command. Let the players get off their collective butts, walk over to the Xbox and push/flip a manual "ON" switch, then allow them to use verbal commands.
'Nuff Said,
Brian
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