Amazon Sidewalk starts sharing your WiFi tomorrow, thanks - Malwarebytes Labs | Malwarebytes Labs

 

I don't do FB, I don't do Ring, Echo, or Alexa or any of that junk, and I live a million miles out in the countryside. I have buffer property on 3 sides of the house, and 200 feet off the road. I think I'm safe- for now. Just come and try and get my wifi signal, Bitch!

 

I don't use Alexa or anything similar to it. I still can't figure out why hooking everything in my house to the internet will make my life better, but each to their own. I do use google hub for my doorbell camera bought after some of my stuff disappeared off my front porch. In settings I opt out of anything that shares information with a manufacturer, that includes my PC and phone.

 

Why is it legal to do this in default? It should be where you have to sign up for this to happen, not for them to just attach to your wifi without your permission.

 

The sat internet users that get charged by the gig, will get a nice next month bill.

 

If you have a Ring device, check to make sure that it actually supports Amazon Sidewalk (what this new feature is called). Start the Ring App, tap the little hamburger menu at the upper left, then tap "Control Center," and then scroll down to the "Community Control" section. Amazon Sidewalk is shown there, and, at least in my case, it says that it's not enabled on my account and asks me to enable it. I tap on this, and it tells me that my Ring device does not support Sidewalk. End of story for me. It says that, if I'm interested in using Sidewalk, I need to get a Sidewalk-enabled device, which is shows as a Ring Spotlight or Floodlight Camera. I don't plan to do this.

The bottom line here is that, while I'm as uncomfortable as the next person with Amazon or anyone else trying to use my home network, etc. without my consent, Amazon Sidewalk is not doomsday. It's easy to go into the App, find out if your device is enabled for the service, and make sure it's switched off if you don't want to use it.

 

Correct. You first need to own a device which supports Amazon Sidewalk and you need to enable Amazon Sidewalk on that device & any device you wish to use Amazon Sidewalk.

 

The issue is why does Amazon have the right to do this by default and not by the individuals choice to sign up?

 

This morning edition of the Dallas Morning News business section has a good explaination of how this works. Still doesn't explain how this is legal without consent from the wifi user.

 

Because you probably agreed to this when you installed the Ring App. Did you read the "user agreement" before you installed the app? Neither did I. No one does.

Also, I don't know if the default is that Sidewalk IS enabled or IS NOT enabled. In my case, since I don't have a Sidewalk-enabled device, it's automatically not enabled on my account, and it can't be if I wanted it to. What I'd be interested in knowing is, if I DID have a Sidewalk-enabled device, would I have found that it was automatically enabled when I went into the app to check?

 

Pretty much for the same reasons any browser and manufacturer can install and employ cookies on your device (by default). It's up to the end-user to decide if they want to disable cookies.

 

Ring and Amazon are not the same company.

 

Yes, they are. Amazon bought Ring in 2018.

https://www.theverge.com/2018/2/27/1...rity-cloud-cam

 

I read this article last week - a little more granularity than many might need to know, but still a pretty good read on functionality.

Amazon Sidewalk will create entire smart neighborhoods. Here's what you should know

 

IoT networking is not inherently new technology - it's been around for some time - it is definitely new with regards to how Amazon chooses to employ IoT networking for 'neighborhoods'. Briefly, many large organizations employ the IoT network i.e. grocery stores, building supply stores, parts stores - basically exceedingly large businesses/enterprises with a tremendous inventory which changes rapidly (think WalMart as an example).

Ultimate IoT implementation guide for businesses

 

Amen, brother.

I don't even have WiFi--I use wired internet. It's more difficult than WiFi but there are no reception problems anywhere in my home and I don't have concern about inadvertently exporting data.

Just as manual transmission is touted as a Millenial anti-theft device, wired Internet is its electronic equivalent. For example, if I call help lines with network connection problems, they don't understand anything but WiFi.

Wired internet forces me to be network-literate.

 

The reason that Amazon can do this is the same reason that your employer can; you signed up for it and it is deliberately an open-ended "living" document where, if you are unhappy, about all you can do is quit. Like Gary, all my PCs are wired; I use wireless for the phone's connection only. I do facebook just because of connections to friends, but I usually am in the clink. I recommend gab.com for a non-censored experience.

I despise how everything is becoming electronic and overly complicated these days. I want my foot to go to a pedal attached to a rod or cable attached to the throttle butterflies; that's simple, it works, if it breaks I can fix it, and, most importantly, it can't be overridden by a computer that thinks it knows better.