Intentar ORO - Gratis
Alexa, What Are You Hearing That I Can't ?
PC Pro
|August 2017
Stewart Mitchell reveals how your devices’ microphones are listening out for more than your just your voice commands

From Amazon Echo and Google Home to Siri and Cortana, technology is increasingly listening to what we say. And as with any new technology, people are finding ways to exploit it for questionable purposes – for example, when Burger King tricked Google Home into playing an advert for its Whoppers.
That Google could be duped so easily is a surprise, but the threat was minimal. However, security researchers have discovered far more sinister means of using open microphones to snoop on consumers.
According to researchers from the Technische Universität Braunschweig in Germany, more than 230 apps on Google Play use listening technology that responds to near-ultrasonic signals broadcast from a variety of sources. Beacons can be placed in offline media content, such as TV or radio ads, to let apps know what a mobile user is watching, or in shops to pinpoint their location without having to seek permission to use GPS.
The technology originally drew criticism in 2015, when developer Silver Push publicised an SDK for audio beacons that were generally outside the range of human hearing. Yet, despite criticism from the authorities, the ultrasonic beacons appear to by spreading.
Silver Push has said it no longer uses the technology, but others have taken its place. Five of the apps identified by the German researchers have been downloaded between 2.25million and 11.1 million times apiece, and although the study only investigated Android devices, the team said similar tactics could theoretically also apply to iOS hardware too.
None of those apps disclosed their ability to listen for beacons and the technology is expected to be rolled out further as commercial applications develop. “Recently, several companies have started to explore new ways to track user habits and activities with ultrasonic beacons,” Erwin Quiring, lead researcher on the report
Esta historia es de la edición August 2017 de PC Pro.
Suscríbete a Magzter GOLD para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 9000 revistas y periódicos.
¿Ya eres suscriptor? Iniciar sesión
MÁS HISTORIAS DE PC Pro
PC Pro
How connected tech could fix roads
Oceans of data, AI-managed traffic signals and more autonomous cars on the road all have the potential to make our roads safer.
9 mins
October 2025

PC Pro
"I'm an evil system tester, thinking up software-breaking situations, and this occasion was no different"
What would life be like without Google if its services were unavailable due to a deliberate act of sabotage?
9 mins
October 2025

PC Pro
"Ransomware is an extortion racket, and the people behind it are as caring as the Kray twins"
Guilty: it's another column about ransomware, but this one is different as Davey asks whether the government is right to ban ransom payments
8 mins
October 2025
PC Pro
Synology DiskStation DS1525+
A well-priced and powerful desktop NAS with top performance and heaps of data protection features
3 mins
October 2025

PC Pro
LENOVO THINKSTATION P5 TOWER
Great design, but Intel's Xeon can't compete with AMD's processors
2 mins
October 2025

PC Pro
Will Intel ever be back in the workstation market?
Certainly not this year. But there are promising signs for next year, if Intel hits all its claims - and assuming AMD doesn't jump ahead once more
4 mins
October 2025

PC Pro
Commodore: The comeback
David Crookes looks at how a once powerful and influential tech brand hopes to shine once more, including an exclusive interview with Commodore's new owner
8 mins
October 2025

PC Pro
Real world computing
\"I think cynicism is a good thing. And blunt sarcasm has been my trademark for 30 years\". New age-verification laws for 18+ sites raise questions about the trust we can place in third-party services that promise not to keep our data
10 mins
October 2025

PC Pro
Six things to look for in a workstation
There are few bigger and more important investments to make than a new workstation, or a fleet of them. Here's what you need to consider before taking the plunge
8 mins
October 2025

PC Pro
IDrive RemotePC Enterprise
Secure cloud-hosted remote support that's easy to use, very versatile and incredible value for larger businesses
2 mins
October 2025
Translate
Change font size