R K Posted May 23, 2013 Share Posted May 23, 2013 Allow/Deny ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pyracantha Posted May 23, 2013 Share Posted May 23, 2013 Allow/Deny ? Deny everything... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LC1 Posted May 23, 2013 Share Posted May 23, 2013 Obviously it's our duty to give them access to our webcams and microphones whenever they want it... after all, if you've done nothing wrong then you've nothing to hide. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SHERWICK Posted May 23, 2013 Share Posted May 23, 2013 Deny everything... No Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SHERWICK Posted May 23, 2013 Share Posted May 23, 2013 Deny everything... No Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
R K Posted May 23, 2013 Author Share Posted May 23, 2013 Obviously it's our duty to give them access to our webcams and microphones whenever they want it... after all, if you've done nothing wrong then you've nothing to hide. Do any of the resident techies have a view on this? So, if I want to do a voice search I click on 'allow'. From that point on, or indeed from any point Google feels like, are they then able to use the microphone (or as you point out the camera) to listen in/look at whatever they like? Perhaps not Google themselves but does it mean that the security forces can listen/look in via mic/camera? Out of interest........obviously I have nothing to hide except routine untidiness.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
interestrateripoff Posted May 23, 2013 Share Posted May 23, 2013 Are you going to get jiggy in front of the microphone? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
corevalue Posted May 23, 2013 Share Posted May 23, 2013 Googling "Google wants to use your microphone" returns exactly one hit. The OP. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thecrashingisles Posted May 23, 2013 Share Posted May 23, 2013 Googling "Google wants to use your microphone" returns exactly one hit. The OP. Proof that Google wants house prices to crash. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
R K Posted May 23, 2013 Author Share Posted May 23, 2013 Googling "Google wants to use your microphone" returns exactly one hit. The OP. Do you not have the little 'mic' icon at the end of your google search box? Have you not clicked it to see what happens? Maybe it's just me they want to listen to then.........sigh......... To improve processing of your voice input, Google may record a few seconds of ambient background noise in temporary memory at any time. This recording remains on the device only fleetingly and is not sent to Google.Spoken Answers If you ask your question to Google on Chrome, the answer can be spoken to you. The answer can be a fact, weather condition, stock price, flight status, sports score, currency conversion, mathematical calculation, and more. Spoken answers are only supported in English at this time. This feature is turned on by default for voice search. https://support.google.com/chrome/answer/1331723?p=ui_voice_search&rd=1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
erat_forte Posted May 23, 2013 Share Posted May 23, 2013 Am I the only one using Google with all scripts absolutely off? and not logged in? Also I stuck tape over the camera on my new laptop - it's a bit creepy having that eye watching you from the top of the screen all the time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
R K Posted May 23, 2013 Author Share Posted May 23, 2013 Am I the only one using Google with all scripts absolutely off? and not logged in? Also I stuck tape over the camera on my new laptop - it's a bit creepy having that eye watching you from the top of the screen all the time. I 've only just noticed the mic thing. I've now disabled it and I get an icon at the end of the search bar saying "this page has been blocked from accessing your microphone and camera" which wasn't there before, so clearly the default is that google can access your mic and camera. I imagine most people would never even notice this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Riedquat Posted May 23, 2013 Share Posted May 23, 2013 At face value that doesn't sound too bad, as long as you're deliberately letting it record what you say for searching anyway. Being able to measure the background at random times, without pestering the user to do it, is (from a purely technical point of view) a reasonable thing to want to do to get more accurate processing and therefore understanding of what you're actually saying. I can also understand it being turned on by default (reduces the number of people who can't find settings and who would whinge about it not working very well). It does, however, provide a mechanism that could be abused and whilst technically entirely reasonable it's the sort of thing I think shouldn't have been included in the first place. I've never seen such an icon but I don't use Chrome (or see any point in moving away from Firefox). Having built-in means to access cameras and microphones seems to be straying rather a long way from what a web browser is supposed to do. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pyracantha Posted May 23, 2013 Share Posted May 23, 2013 Also I stuck tape over the camera on my new laptop - it's a bit creepy having that eye watching you from the top of the screen all the time. Depends if you are SNIFOYCTWOH Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nuggets Mahoney Posted May 23, 2013 Share Posted May 23, 2013 Am I the only one using Google with all scripts absolutely off? and not logged in? No and... Also I stuck tape over the camera on my new laptop - it's a bit creepy having that eye watching you from the top of the screen all the time. No Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nuggets Mahoney Posted May 23, 2013 Share Posted May 23, 2013 At face value that doesn't sound too bad, as long as you're deliberately letting it record what you say for searching anyway. Being able to measure the background at random times, without pestering the user to do it, is (from a purely technical point of view) a reasonable thing to want to do to get more accurate processing and therefore understanding of what you're actually saying. I can also understand it being turned on by default (reduces the number of people who can't find settings and who would whinge about it not working very well). It does, however, provide a mechanism that could be abused and whilst technically entirely reasonable it's the sort of thing I think shouldn't have been included in the first place. I've never seen such an icon but I don't use Chrome (or see any point in moving away from Firefox). Having built-in means to access cameras and microphones seems to be straying rather a long way from what a web browser is supposed to do. Google has dabbled with technology to listen to what's going on around you so that it can serve up targeted ads. At least that's why it says it was doing it Teles too Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Riedquat Posted May 23, 2013 Share Posted May 23, 2013 Google has dabbled with technology to listen to what's going on around you so that it can serve up targeted ads. At least that's why it says it was doing it Teles too As I said, it's a reasonable thing to do for entirely innocent applications but also abuse-able. When it comes to ads I've never understood sites that whinge at you for using adblock (or even bothering to go to the effort of trying to work out it's there in order to bother you). Does anyone at all actually benefit from trying to make me look at adverts I've gone to the effort of trying to avoid? Such coercion is just going to piss me off about the product if I do give in to its nagging whilst at the same time wasting server bandwidth that they're presumably paying for. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Habeas Domus Posted May 23, 2013 Share Posted May 23, 2013 As I said, it's a reasonable thing to do for entirely innocent applications but also abuse-able. When it comes to ads I've never understood sites that whinge at you for using adblock (or even bothering to go to the effort of trying to work out it's there in order to bother you). Does anyone at all actually benefit from trying to make me look at adverts I've gone to the effort of trying to avoid? Such coercion is just going to piss me off about the product if I do give in to its nagging whilst at the same time wasting server bandwidth that they're presumably paying for. How dare these internet websites try to make an easy buck, everything should be 100% free forever Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Masked Tulip Posted May 23, 2013 Share Posted May 23, 2013 Are they now trying to corner voice recognition for advertising in the same way they are trying to record all images of you online and then match them up? Google are getting a tad scary. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
corevalue Posted May 23, 2013 Share Posted May 23, 2013 Do you not have the little 'mic' icon at the end of your google search box? Have you not clicked it to see what happens? Maybe it's just me they want to listen to then.........sigh......... https://support.goog...ice_search&rd=1 er, no I don't see anything on Google other than the search box. I've never registered with any Google application, and use Firefox under Linux mint. What are you using? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
R K Posted May 23, 2013 Author Share Posted May 23, 2013 er, no I don't see anything on Google other than the search box. I've never registered with any Google application, and use Firefox under Linux mint. What are you using? I have chrome and firefox (for different things) I've just checked and it doesn't appear when I use google search from Firefox, only when I use Chrome itself. It doesn't require you to be signed into google (mail) for instance though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Executive Sadman Posted May 23, 2013 Share Posted May 23, 2013 Obviously it's our duty to give them access to our webcams and microphones whenever they want it... after all, if you've done nothing wrong then you've nothing to hide. Pity the government likes to change the definition of what 'wrong' is every week or so... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
corevalue Posted May 23, 2013 Share Posted May 23, 2013 Pity the government likes to change the definition of what 'wrong' is every week or so... They changed it about 1,400 times last year, in spite of promising to do less than their predecessors. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LC1 Posted May 23, 2013 Share Posted May 23, 2013 Am I the only one using Google with all scripts absolutely off? and not logged in? Also I stuck tape over the camera on my new laptop - it's a bit creepy having that eye watching you from the top of the screen all the time. I know it sounds a bit paranoid, but I wouldn't be surprised if this is the new direction for surveillance of the population. Obviously your web browsing and emails aren't strictly private, so this wouldn't be such a big step... Or is it that I read 1984 recently?! The telescreen in the corner watching and listening to you continually?! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Riedquat Posted May 24, 2013 Share Posted May 24, 2013 How dare these internet websites try to make an easy buck, everything should be 100% free forever The very fact that someone is going to some trouble to try to avoid the bloody things rather suggests that they're not interested and won't respond well to the advert anyway, so delivering it to them is a waste of money. Actively trying to coerce them into viewing it just results in even more resentment and a negative response which benefits no-one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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