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Microsoft will "aggressively challenge" any gov't attempt to spy through Kinect

some of you..

tinfoil.jpg

After Snowden I assume anyone who posts a picture like this is doing a self portrait.
 

medze

Member
Wow, what abyssal PR by Microsoft this year. Why even say anything at this point? They're just digging themselves deeper and deeper into a hole. I love all the people that think this is a conspiracy when it had already been proven to be a reality.
 

D4Danger

Unconfirmed Member
the definition of paranoia.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-22967622

Webcams should be covered when not in use because hackers could be using them to spy on people, a charity advises.

Childnet International says webcams should be disconnected when not in use, and teenagers should not leave webcams in bedrooms or other private areas.

A BBC Radio 5 live investigation found sites where hackers exchanged pictures and videos of people captured on their own webcams without their knowledge.
 

FINALBOSS

Banned
Pixlecic seems to be highly upset in this thread because we're not a fan of having a camera in our living rooms 24/7, serviced by a company in the PRISM system.
 

Vestal

Gold Member
We live in a very scary world to be honest in regards to privacy. I can't expect MS to say anything else.

with the existence of gps/camera/mics in every phone, soon Kinect and google glass the privacy debate will reach critical mass soon enough and something will happen regarding all of this.

anyone who thinks Microsoft or any other tech company will willingly give the NSA this data is delusional. The damage to a brand is ridiculous. More so when its stuff like Kinect or google glass.
 
Ever stop and think that maybe it has an extremely small cache of memory set aside for that? That it maybe...just maybe...only store voice commands in small phrases?


that's how i think the NSA will filter out the information it can get through Kinect.. they can't record 24/7 so they'll only look for certain words that the microphone picks up
 
Ever stop and think that maybe it has an extremely small cache of memory set aside for that? That it maybe...just maybe...only store voice commands in small phrases?

It may very well do so, as I never have done a long search phrase on the current Kinect on Bing to know. However, it can recognize nearly any word to be able to do such searches, and those searches are part of the data that third parties are interested in.

that's how i think the NSA will filter out the information it can get through Kinect.. they can't record 24/7 so they'll only look for certain words that the microphone picks up

The data would be collected 24/7 (real-time surveillance would/should be regulated for certain hot spots and avenues), and a software program would screen the data for word combinations and phrases that would signify a potential threat or problem. The software pings the analysts, who then go through the data physically to determine whether or not there is an actual situation. And so on and so forth.
 
Kinect is not always on either. Just because its connected doesnt mean it's on. If the government wants to spy they have much better avenues with a smartphone(gps, mics, cameras, text history, call history) and laptop(cameras, mics, chat and search history, emails) than they ever would with kinect.

Kinect will be front and center of your living room/bed room. A video camera that can see in the pitch dark. It has a mic which is apparently very sensitive and technologically advanced. I'd say it's pretty debatable what piece of technology is the "better avenue"..
 

cammy2

Banned
Is it just me. Or have people suddenly started caring about privacy more because they hate the Xbox one? I bet everyone has a Facebook account and a front facing camera on there mobile phone.
 

FINALBOSS

Banned
Anyone who is calling us paranoid...please tell us why Kinect needs to be plugged in.

I've asked MS fans so many times to give me a legitimate reason--yet they can't come up with one.
 

markot

Banned
Fine, explain the difference. Enlighten me.

One is designed to be on all the time.

The others are functional, cant be used unless you are using them...

They cant just use your camera remotely on your phone, unless you are using it with a service, like skype, that they have access to.

Your microphones arent on all the time, for most people.

Kinect will be always listening, unless you specifically make it not do so. Whenever it is on, it will be watching and listening. Even if the software you are using isnt using it, even if you are watching a movie on xbone... etc...

The fact is, all this could be averted if they made it optional. Not only that, they could sell the console for cheaper and beat sony.
 
Ever stop and think that maybe it has an extremely small cache of memory set aside for that? That it maybe...just maybe...only store voice commands in small phrases?
Ever stop to think that it doesn't?

Regardless, it has to listen to whatever you say, determine whether or not what you say is "Xbox on," and then keep on listening if what you say is not, in case you say the magic phrase later. This means that it's constantly listening, regardless whether it not it understands what you're saying.
 

eznark

Banned
Is it just me. Or have people suddenly started caring about privacy more because they hate the Xbox one? I bet everyone has a Facebook account and a front facing camera on there mobile phone.

Or Prism. But yeah, it's probably console wars.

Wow. Read someone other than Kotaku now and then. There is a whole world outside of video games.
 

Vestal

Gold Member
What the fuck? So they are acknowledging it's basically possible to spy through Kinect? This is messed up.

You can spy with any device. The amount of spying will depend on what's available. You could do the same with the pseye if its present. You can spy on someone if they have a camera on their PC as well and its not that hard either.
 

plufim

Member
anyone who thinks Microsoft or any other tech company will willingly give the NSA this data is delusional. The damage to a brand is ridiculous. More so when its stuff like Kinect or google glass.

But they already did with Skype. And Outlook.

What's the difference here?
 

bishoptl

Banstick Emeritus
"Oh yeah, you guys can snoop through Bing, Office Live, Windows Phones, all that stuff. But don't touch Kinect, that freaks people out for some reason."
#dead

Sometimes, you're better off not saying anything at all. What exactly are they expecting to gain with this statement? Credibility? That ship sailed into the sunset once Prism was exposed.

Is it just me. Or have people suddenly started caring about privacy more because they hate the Xbox one? I bet everyone has a Facebook account and a front facing camera on there mobile phone.

lawd give me the strength
 

FINALBOSS

Banned
You can spy with any device. The amount of spying will depend on what's available. You could do the same with the pseye if its present. You can spy on someone if they have a camera on their PC as well and its not that hard either.

I can unplug the PSEye (funny how you mention that since it's on the other "side")

Why can't I unplug my Kinect?
 

harSon

Banned
Never trust Microsoft. They'll sell whatever info they have on you to anyone.

So will any multi billion dollar people corporation. I swear people are so dense when it comes to multi billion dollar entities. News flash, you can't trust any multi billion dollar corporation. They're all morally repugnant and care about little more then their bottom line.
 

pixlexic

Banned
nope - you are the definition of ignorance though:
Webcams taken over by hackers, charity warns

Hackers are able to gain access to victims' computers using a piece of malicious software (malware) called a remote-access Trojan (Rat).


so from that i got..

you have to have a computer virus and people are caming in theirs tubs.. lol

that reads like enquire article. it even says the experts say its not wide spread.

I stand by the tin foil hat pic.
 
This is such complete bullshit from Microsoft.

First of all, they will do exactly what the government tells them to do. And despite how they now make this grand show of wanting to tell everyone the truth, they didn't want to do or say a single thing about the program before anyone knew about it. But now they cant shut up about how much they are on the side of the consumer. "Oh if the mean ol government would just let us tell you all of the details!" "Right now that is. 6 months ago we were happy to keep our mouhts shut".


Second of all

"Absent a new law, we don't believe the government has the legal authority to compel us or any other company that makes products with cameras and microphones to start collecting voice and video data,"

is bullshit. They've already done so with Skype. Xbox 1 has Skype. Even if it didnt have Skype, which it does and Skype is part of the Prism program, the government could still order them to build a backdoor and give them access to the cameras.


Xbox 1 is taking hits left and right and it's apparent that the internal numbers for projected sales is just awful. They are scrambling in every direction to put out numerous fires. And they deserve it all. Nobody forced them to put an expensive as hell camera in every box. Nobody forced them to adopt the DRM plans. Nobody forced them to come out with a console that is relatively 33% weaker than the competition, yet costs $100 more.

But the true blame for this falls squarely on Steve Ballmer. As stupid as the mandatory Kinect idea is, the engineers didn't know about the Prism program. Ballmer did. As CEO he not only knew about Prism but he was also in the position of giving the ok on a console that had a mandatory camera attached to it. He was the only one with all of the information and all of the power to prevent this fiasco. Yet he will be the last one to be fired.
 

medze

Member
You can spy with any device. The amount of spying will depend on what's available. You could do the same with the pseye if its present. You can spy on someone if they have a camera on their PC as well and its not that hard either.

except those devices can be used without the camera plugged in...
 

Freki

Member
You can spy with any device. The amount of spying will depend on what's available. You could do the same with the pseye if its present. You can spy on someone if they have a camera on their PC as well and its not that hard either.

Ant that's the whole point in a nutshell - there's no sane reason to force a mandatory connection of Kinect (I get why it's bundled).
 
I don't understand how it is debatable. Microsoft will have a device capable of listening and seeing everything in the room. Do you seriously believe they would not use those informations? With all the benefits involved?

I'm kind of enjoying it, this is one of those topics where a fanboy has to to go even more above and beyond than usual. When you come down on people for concerns about privacy with a camera on the middle of your living room, especially with what's been going on the past few months for the sake of a company. You are too far gone to come back.
 
One is designed to be on all the time.

The others are functional, cant be used unless you are using them...

They cant just use your camera remotely on your phone, unless you are using it with a service, like skype, that they have access to.

Your microphones arent on all the time, for most people.

Kinect will be always listening, unless you specifically make it not do so. Whenever it is on, it will be watching and listening. Even if the software you are using isnt using it, even if you are watching a movie on xbone... etc...

The fact is, all this could be averted if they made it optional. Not only that, they could sell the console for cheaper and beat sony.

But who is to say your cell phone isn't actually doing these things? Microsoft says something and everybody immediately calls bullshit. Apple or somebody else says something and everybody goes along.

My point is why the conspiracy against Microsoft but nobody else? They're all guilty of feeding data to the NSA.
 

DeviantBoi

Member
Sure, the government will have direct access to your leaving room, but at least Kinect doesn't shine an LED at your TV like the Dualshock 4.

That's what's really important, right?
 

Suite Pee

Willing to learn
Would they be giving any data about myself and my commode to advertising companies? I still wouldn't be a fan of that.
 

cammy2

Banned
Google's Glass as well. People seem to be eating that up. But that thing is the NSA's dream. Yet there hasn't nearly been as much noise about that. Even though it can invade other peoples privacy without you knowing
 

PROOP

FREAKING OUT MAN
the conspiracy is that they would be watching everyone at all times and that MS is siting is bunker somewhere with them scheming about spying on everybody.

Its just silly.

Basically, it is recording all communications, so when certain words and phrases are said, it redflags a person so that then someone in some bunker somewhere starts actively spying on you.

So, are you cool with that?
 

Freki

Member
so from that i got..

you have to have a computer virus and people are caming in theirs tubs.. lol

that reads like enquire article. it even says the experts say it not wide spread.

I stand by the tin foil hat pic.

So preparing for worst case scenarios is paranoia...
I stand by the statement that you are the definition of ignorance.
 

eznark

Banned
I'm kind of enjoying it, this is one of those topics where a fanboy has to to go even more above and beyond than usual. When you come down on people for concerns about privacy with a camera on the middle of your living room, especially with what's been going on the past few months for the sake of a company. You are to far gone to come back.

.
 

FINALBOSS

Banned
But who is to say your cell phone isn't actually doing these things? Microsoft says something and everybody immediately calls bullshit. Apple or somebody else says something and everybody goes along.

My point is why the conspiracy against Microsoft but nobody else? They're all guilty of feeding data to the NSA.

When Apple is named in the PRISM scandal they will get shit on too.

But this is a gaming forum, obviously Microsoft will be mentioned a lot more.

Edit: Apple was named. I own Apple shit and I don't trust them either, just like MS.
 

D4Danger

Unconfirmed Member
Google's Glass as well. People seem to be eating that up. But that thing is the NSA's dream. Yet there hasn't nearly been as much noise about that. Even though it can invade other peoples privacy without you knowing

there's been plenty of talk about Glasse's privacy concerns. What are you talking about?
 

markot

Banned
so from that i got..

you have to have a computer virus and people are caming in theirs tubs.. lol

that reads like enquire article. it even says the experts say its not wide spread.

I stand by the tin foil hat pic.

Um... ok.

Kinect is always on. laptop cameras are not, designed not to be, and often have lights on when they are on. They can be hacked in some cases, and in most of those physical access to the computer is needed.

As opposed to 'yes you can use the kinect to spy on ___' if the government asks and has the right forms.

And its not only governments scarily.
 
I'm kind of enjoying it, this is one of those topics where a fanboy has to to go even more above and beyond than usual. When you come down on people for concerns about privacy with a camera on the middle of your living room, especially with what's been going on the past few months for the sake of a company. You are too far gone to come back.

The unenjoyable aspect though is when the discussion is a total loss due to it coming down to "fanboys" v. "tinfoilers" by the community.
 
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