Alexa, stop! 3 ways to make Amazon’s voice assistant kid-proof

Of the myriad descriptions being levied on Amazon’s Alexa “smart home” system, its creators probably weren’t expecting the phrase “parenting nightmare.” Yet that description has come up again and again as parents discover the new and unexpected consequences of introducing kids with developing brains and underdeveloped vocabularies to devices that can misinterpret, miscommunicate, and even make purchases on your behalf.

Perhaps the most famous case so far was that of Megan Neitzel of Dallas, Texas, who didn’t realize when she got an Echo Dot as a gift that her six-year-old daughter might ask the digital assistant about cookies and a dollhouse. Alexa did her job and indeed, Megan’s little girl did get what she wanted — which, in Alexa’s mind was four pounds of cookies and a $170 Kidcraft Dollhouse. To the family’s credit, they donated the fancy dollhouse to a local children’s hospital. They ate the cookies.

More: Is there anything Alexa can’t do? Not much, now that the AI boasts more than 1,000 skills

Then there was the aptly titled, NSFW YouTube video “Amazon Alexa Gone Wild,” in which a little boy asks the digital assistant to play “Digger, Digger.” Alexa’s misinterpretation leads to some inappropriate — albeit, hilarious — responses as the parents scramble to shout, “Alexa, stop!”

But while viral videos and mistaken orders make for funny news bulletins, there is actually a serious risk in relying on digital assistants like Alexa to placate children. Some parenting experts are warning that overusing the device could make some children feel that Alexa is a servant to be commanded, which is behavior that could potentially be carried over to the schoolyard. Other experts also warn that technology often acts like a drug, firing up pathways in the brain lit up by instant gratification.

More: What can’t she do? The best ways to use Amazon’s Alexa around the house

Amazon didn’t include a ton of parental controls in its devices, but hopefully more are in development. For now, there are a few of quick fixes to keep your kids from becoming viral sensations.

Disable shopping without a PIN

Applying a pin number for the authorization of purchases is a good first step. Open the Alexa app, tap the left navigation panel, and then select Settings then Voice Purchasing. You can either turn it off entirely or require a four-digit code. Just don’t use it in front of your little brainiacs.

Change your wake word so it’s not ‘Alexa’

Read:

Amazon Echo Review

Changing the wake word from “Alexa” to something else is another tactic. This also helps prevent the risk of secondary commands, which was an issue on Super Bowl Sunday when Google’s commercial for the Home started activating Home devices around the globe. To make the switch, open the Alexa app and select Settings from the navigation panel. Choose your device, scroll to select Wake Word, pick your preference from the drop-down menu, and click or tap Save. Amazon, Echo, and Computer are all options, though your kids might catch on pretty quickly to this switcheroo.

Make your kids an account

If you set up a Household Account, it allows you to make two grown-up accounts, as well as up to four child accounts. These kid accounts can’t make purchases, but you can share G-rated books and music with them. In the app, go to Settings, then Profiles & Family Library. Here, you can make a profile for your kid, though Amazon does want to know their name, gender, and birthday. To switch profiles, say, “Alexa, switch to Jr.’s profile.” This might not keep Alexa from swearing like a sailor at your minor, but it’s a start.

Maybe Amazon will fix this…

Maybe frustrated parents can lobby Amazon to take the advice of writer Hunter Walk, who suggested that Alexa needs a kid-only mode that only responds to “Alexa, please…”

How to find your router’s IP address and login info

Tired of being the only wireless network in your apartment building without a clever name like “Wu-tang LAN,” or “Bill Wi the Science Fi?” Looking to finally add a password to your network that prevents your neighbors from mooching off your internet connection? Most routers come with a default IP address and login credentials, which vary from one manufacturer to the next. If you haven’t bothered to go in and make changes to your network settings, you may find that you can still access the admin panel using that information.

More: Protect your PC from the cyber-flu with these awesome free antivirus options

After you’ve gained access to your router’s settings, you can change how your network is displayed, who can access it, and make sure your connection is secure. It would also be a great time to change that default username and password so that no one else can use this guide to change the access protocols back.

Linksys

Most Linksys routers have the same default settings. The admin panel can be accessed on most Linksys routers by entering “http://192.168.1.1” in the address bar of your browser. If you own a smart router, enter “http://myrouter.local” instead. Then, log in using “admin” for both the username and password, assuming you haven’t changed the default username and password already.

You’ll want to make sure to change your router passwords the first time you log in, lest you leave yourself susceptible to anyone on your Wi-Fi network accessing your router’s admin page.

D-Link

You’ll be able to log in to your D-Link router by using either one of two web addresses: http://mydlinkrouter.local or http://192.168.0.1. The default username is “admin,” and you’ll want to leave the password field blank. Since D-Link routers are not password-protected by default, you’re going to want to add a password as soon as possible to prevent hackers from accessing your network.

Belkin

For almost all Belkin routers, the default web setup is located at http://192.168.2.1, though, http://router may also work. Due to the method in which login credentials are set up, you likely won’t have to enter anything in the username and password fields when trying to access the admin panel. By default, Belkin routers have no password on the admin account. This means the username field should be left blank, though you may have to enter “admin” instead.

You’ll definitely want to change the username and password if you have a Belkin router. It’s simple for someone with access to your network to make changes in the admin panel that could open security holes, or allow them to install malware and hacking software.

Netgear

A number of Netgear routers feature the login credentials on the bottom or back of the device, but if yours does not, the company has still made it easy to access your admin panel. If you’re using a Netgear router, simply enter “http://www.routerlogin.net” in the address bar of your browser, which allows you to change settings and turn on wireless security. The username is almost always “admin,” and the password will either be “password” or “1234” if you’re using an older device.

Having a text URL makes things easy to remember, but it also makes your router’s settings more vulnerable. If someone has access to your network, they don’t need to determine its IP address. For this reason, it’s particularly important to change the default login to prevent any unwanted changes to your network settings.

Asus

Nearly all Asus routers use 192.168.1.1 as the default IP, which makes it easy to access the admin panel in your browser. Newer routers, however, will direct requests to http://router.asus.com to your local router’s setup page. The username and password should be “admin” on almost all models and firmware revisions. The default passwords can help if you’ve never changed your settings before, but it’s recommended that you change them the first time you access the admin panel to prevent unauthorized access by anyone who’s able to access your Wi-Fi network.

Other routers

Regardless of your router’s manufacturer or model, there is a surefire way to find its IP address, even if it isn’t operating on the default settings. If you’re running Windows 10, you can enter “cmd” in the search field and click the top result to access the Command Prompt. Then, in the resulting window, type “ipconfig” to bring up a page with information on your network’s connection.

The field marked “Default Gateway” shows the IP address of whatever router you’re connected to at the time. For almost all routers, you can enter this IP address in your browser’s URL bar to open the admin panel.

If you’re running MacOS, this information can be found in System Preferences. Under Network, select the tab that corresponds to your current connection (wired or wireless), and then click on Advanced. Click the TCP/IP tab, and the IP address of your router will appear either as “Router” or “Default Gateway,” depending on which version of MacOS you’re currently running.

There are many different companies that make routers, and if yours isn’t listed here, RouterPasswords has compiled a large database of default usernames and passwords sorted by make and model. If you find that you aren’t able to log in to the admin panel with one of these, then your login credentials may have been changed at some point.

If this is the case, you’ll need to perform a factory reset on your router. The exact process for doing so varies from router to router, but you should be able to find instructions on the manufacturer’s support, site or in the documentation provided with your router. If you’ve lost the physical copy of the instructions, just Google “manual” or “pdf” along with the make and model of your router.

Lost and found: Here’s how to locate your iPhone when it goes missing

It’s an all too common scenario. You and your friends go out for a few drinks on a Saturday night. One drink turns to two, then three, and somewhere — probably in between the four shots of horrendous well whiskey and your oh-so-fantastic karaoke rendition of Jewel’s You Were Meant for Me — you go from a casual night out to painting the town red. Your iPhone, the essential piece of tech that’s basically become an extension of you, disappears somewhere without a trace.

More: Find your phone with these helpful tracking tips

Fortunately, Apple is hip to this sort of thing. The Cupertino-based company has conveniently been offering the Find my iPhone feature and accompanying mobile app since 2010, allowing users to remotely locate, lock, or wipe their iPhone using iCloud or another iOS device. Using Find my iPhone is simple, requiring little more than the initial setup and activation, and can really save you should you discover your precious device is nowhere to be found. The software even works on other devices including your iPad, iPod Touch, and even your Mac. It won’t prevent you from losing your phone, but it may help you find it so long as you activate the feature prior to losing your device. Now, just make sure to check the crevices of your couch one last time…

Step 1: Check the requirements

Although optimized for the iPhone 7 and 7 Plus, Find my iPhone is available on all devices equipped with iOS 5 or later. The utility is completely free and compatible beginning with the iPhone 3GS, third-generation iPod Touch, iPad, iPad Mini, and all the latest versions thereof. A valid iCloud account is also required and devices without cellular data must be connected to a registered Wi-Fi network to be located.

Step 2: Download and install the app

Tap the blue App Store icon located on your iOS home screen, search “Find my iPhone” within the Search panel, and select application from the list of results. Afterward, tap the blue Get button in the upper-right corner followed by the resulting green Install button to download and install the app. Alternatively, download the app from iTunes and sync it with your iOS device.

Step 3: Activate Find my iPhone

Once installed, tap the main Settings icon, followed the iCloud option near the center of the Settings menu. Enter your Apple ID in the resulting pop-up window if prompted, or tap Get a free Apple ID and follow the onscreen instructions to set up your free iCloud account. Swipe to the bottom of the menu once signed in, select the Find My iPhone option, and toggle the on-off switch to the right of Find My iPhone before tapping the Allow option in the resulting pop-up window. Repeat the process using the same iCloud account information for any iOS device you wish to activate.

Fortunately, Find My iPhone does more than just allow you to track your iPhone in a pinch. The feature also enables Activation Lock as of iOS 7, which securely stores your Apple ID in Apple’s activation servers and automatically links to your device. Said feature then requires your password be entered before anyone can turn off Find My iPhone, erase your device, or reactivate it. It requires no action on your part and serves as yet another security measure designed to prevent theft and unauthorized use of your phone.

Step 4: Lose your iOS device

Obviously, this doesn’t come recommended, but finding your iOS device once lost is likely the reason you chose to use the app in the first place.

Step 5: Locate your iOS device

Once lost, you can either use another iOS device or access your iCloud account on the web to locate your lost or stolen device. Keep in mind that it’s not possible to locate the device if you didn’t activate the Find my iPhone function before losing your device.

Using another iOS device

Tap the Find my iPhone icon from the home screen (the icon resembles a old-school radar display), enter your iCloud login credentials in the appropriate fields, and tap the blue Go option located in the pop-up window. Once logged in, select the lost or stolen device from the list of devices setup with Find my iPhone to view the device’s location.

Additional options for remotely wiping the phone and forcing it to play a sound — accessible via the Actions option located at the bottom of the display — are also available, along with a intuitive Lost Mode that provides options for locking the device with a four-digit passcode and displaying a contact phone number of your own choosing directly on the lock screen.

Using your iCloud account on the Web

Open your favorite browser and navigate to the iCloud homepage before signing in with your Apple ID and password. Afterword, click the large Find My iPhone icon, select All Devices at the top of the window, and select the lost or stolen device from the resulting list of activated devices.

Additional options for remotely wiping the phone and forcing it to play a sound should appear in the upper-right corner, along with a intuitive Lost Mode button that provides options for locking the device with a four-digit passcode and displaying a contact phone number of your own choosing directly on the lock screen.

Step 6: Take action

Once you locate your iPhone or iOS device, use one of Find my iPhone’s built-in functions to help recover the device. Tap the gray Play Sound button featuring the speaker to force the your phone to play a high-pitched ping continuously for two minutes, or tap the gray Erase iPhone button followed by the Erase iPhone confirmation to completely wipe your device of all content and settings.

If running iOS 6 or later, tap the middle Lost Mode button followed by the Turn On Lost Mode confirmation before entering a phone number where you can be reached. Then, tap the green Next button in the upper-right corner, enter your desired message in the resulting text field, and tap the green Done button to activate the message.

There’s no guarantee the ringing, erasing, or messaging will help you get your device back — regardless if you know it’s precise whereabouts. Rather than confront the potential thief yourself, it may be wise to contact your service provider and the police, informing them of the situation and your intentions to recover the device. You never know when things might escalate like they did in San Francisco in 2012.

Lost and found: Here’s how to locate your iPhone when it goes missing

It’s an all too common scenario. You and your friends go out for a few drinks on a Saturday night. One drink turns to two, then three, and somewhere — probably in between the four shots of horrendous well whiskey and your oh-so-fantastic karaoke rendition of Jewel’s You Were Meant for Me — you go from a casual night out to painting the town red. Your iPhone, the essential piece of tech that’s basically become an extension of you, disappears somewhere without a trace.

More: Find your phone with these helpful tracking tips

Fortunately, Apple is hip to this sort of thing. The Cupertino-based company has conveniently been offering the Find my iPhone feature and accompanying mobile app since 2010, allowing users to remotely locate, lock, or wipe their iPhone using iCloud or another iOS device. Using Find my iPhone is simple, requiring little more than the initial setup and activation, and can really save you should you discover your precious device is nowhere to be found. The software even works on other devices including your iPad, iPod Touch, and even your Mac. It won’t prevent you from losing your phone, but it may help you find it so long as you activate the feature prior to losing your device. Now, just make sure to check the crevices of your couch one last time…

Step 1: Check the requirements

Although optimized for the iPhone 7 and 7 Plus, Find my iPhone is available on all devices equipped with iOS 5 or later. The utility is completely free and compatible beginning with the iPhone 3GS, third-generation iPod Touch, iPad, iPad Mini, and all the latest versions thereof. A valid iCloud account is also required and devices without cellular data must be connected to a registered Wi-Fi network to be located.

Step 2: Download and install the app

Tap the blue App Store icon located on your iOS home screen, search “Find my iPhone” within the Search panel, and select application from the list of results. Afterward, tap the blue Get button in the upper-right corner followed by the resulting green Install button to download and install the app. Alternatively, download the app from iTunes and sync it with your iOS device.

Step 3: Activate Find my iPhone

Once installed, tap the main Settings icon, followed the iCloud option near the center of the Settings menu. Enter your Apple ID in the resulting pop-up window if prompted, or tap Get a free Apple ID and follow the onscreen instructions to set up your free iCloud account. Swipe to the bottom of the menu once signed in, select the Find My iPhone option, and toggle the on-off switch to the right of Find My iPhone before tapping the Allow option in the resulting pop-up window. Repeat the process using the same iCloud account information for any iOS device you wish to activate.

Fortunately, Find My iPhone does more than just allow you to track your iPhone in a pinch. The feature also enables Activation Lock as of iOS 7, which securely stores your Apple ID in Apple’s activation servers and automatically links to your device. Said feature then requires your password be entered before anyone can turn off Find My iPhone, erase your device, or reactivate it. It requires no action on your part and serves as yet another security measure designed to prevent theft and unauthorized use of your phone.

Step 4: Lose your iOS device

Obviously, this doesn’t come recommended, but finding your iOS device once lost is likely the reason you chose to use the app in the first place.

Step 5: Locate your iOS device

Once lost, you can either use another iOS device or access your iCloud account on the web to locate your lost or stolen device. Keep in mind that it’s not possible to locate the device if you didn’t activate the Find my iPhone function before losing your device.

Using another iOS device

Tap the Find my iPhone icon from the home screen (the icon resembles a old-school radar display), enter your iCloud login credentials in the appropriate fields, and tap the blue Go option located in the pop-up window. Once logged in, select the lost or stolen device from the list of devices setup with Find my iPhone to view the device’s location.

Additional options for remotely wiping the phone and forcing it to play a sound — accessible via the Actions option located at the bottom of the display — are also available, along with a intuitive Lost Mode that provides options for locking the device with a four-digit passcode and displaying a contact phone number of your own choosing directly on the lock screen.

Using your iCloud account on the Web

Open your favorite browser and navigate to the iCloud homepage before signing in with your Apple ID and password. Afterword, click the large Find My iPhone icon, select All Devices at the top of the window, and select the lost or stolen device from the resulting list of activated devices.

Additional options for remotely wiping the phone and forcing it to play a sound should appear in the upper-right corner, along with a intuitive Lost Mode button that provides options for locking the device with a four-digit passcode and displaying a contact phone number of your own choosing directly on the lock screen.

Step 6: Take action

Once you locate your iPhone or iOS device, use one of Find my iPhone’s built-in functions to help recover the device. Tap the gray Play Sound button featuring the speaker to force the your phone to play a high-pitched ping continuously for two minutes, or tap the gray Erase iPhone button followed by the Erase iPhone confirmation to completely wipe your device of all content and settings.

If running iOS 6 or later, tap the middle Lost Mode button followed by the Turn On Lost Mode confirmation before entering a phone number where you can be reached. Then, tap the green Next button in the upper-right corner, enter your desired message in the resulting text field, and tap the green Done button to activate the message.

There’s no guarantee the ringing, erasing, or messaging will help you get your device back — regardless if you know it’s precise whereabouts. Rather than confront the potential thief yourself, it may be wise to contact your service provider and the police, informing them of the situation and your intentions to recover the device. You never know when things might escalate like they did in San Francisco in 2012.

Could Jupiter’s moon Europa be the next place for humanity to call home?

Why it matters to you

Initial reports about Europa suggest that Jupiter’s moon may just be able to sustain life, and there are plans in place for a flyby and perhaps a landing in the future.

Landing on our own moon is so 1969. Scientists are now looking for new moons to explore. And in the running is Jupiter’s icy moon Europa, which may just be the next big point of curiosity for our space agency. Earlier this week, NASA announced initial findings from a “report on the potential science value of a lander on the surface [Europa],” and further noted that “the agency is now engaging the broader science community to open a discussion about its findings.”

Last year, NASA asked 21 scientists to conceptualize a lander whose destination would be Europa, and also determine whether such a mission would be feasible and what scientific gains might be achieved. It was a tall order, but just eight months later, the group handed over its report to the space agency.

More: NASA is close to making computers that can survive on Venus

“The primary goal is to search for evidence of life on Europa,” NASA notes of the new report. “The other goals are to assess the habitability of Europa by directly analyzing material from the surface, and to characterize the surface and subsurface to support future robotic exploration of Europa and its ocean.” As per their research, the scientists have reason to believe that Europa may have a global saltwater ocean, and that at the bottom of the ocean is a rocky, silicate floor, which could indeed contain the ingredients needed to sustain life.

There are plans for a solar-powered Europa multiple flyby mission, currently slated for launch in the early 2020’s. NASA says that this spacecraft (which is different from the new lander designed by the team of 21 scientists), “will arrive at Jupiter after a multi-year journey, orbiting the gas giant every two weeks for a series of 45 close flybys of Europa.” This mission will seek to determine Europa’s habitability, and also set the foundation for an actual landing.

From the Editor’s Desk: Google partnerships prove valuable

A combined strategy of in-house hardware and strong partnerships can work — under the right circumstances.

Google has been riding a wave of consumer confidence the past couple of months following its late-fall hardware launch of the Pixels, Google Home and Chromecast Ultra. But this week, we saw the other side of its strategy: launching products with its long-standing hardware partners running on Google’s platforms. Wednesday saw the release of Android Wear 2.0 using LG’s hardware, and just two days later Samsung released a really great Chromebook.

The new LG Watch Sport and Watch Style aren’t perfect (even in the shaky smartwatch world), and no matter how good the Samsung Chromebook Pro is received it in itself won’t change the landscape of the Chrome OS market — but each launch proves a point of strength and potential for Google. No matter how strong Google’s renewed sense of importance on in-house developed hardware is (and how great the Pixels are), it knows how Android got to massive market position it currently occupies: by partnering with companies to build against its platform. And as Android on phones (and to a far lesser extent, tablets) continues to be a worldwide market leader, Google is working a slightly different angle with other adjacent ecosystems — Android Wear and Chrome OS.

When Google is directly invested in a launch, the product seems to be stronger.

Google has far more control over the look, implementation and deployment of both Android Wear watches and Chrome OS computers. To that end, that’s why you see stronger Google involvement in the creation, launch and marketing of such products. Look no further than the “designed with our friends at Google” printed prominently across the LG Watch Sport’s box — this is very much a Google product, too. Chromebooks, by design, have strong Google influence just based on how the operating system works, but when you see the deep integration of Google’s software with Samsung’s hardware to make something like the Chromebook Pro’s super-accurate stylus work flawlessly you can see the collaboration runs deep. Prominent positioning of the watches and Chromebook on the Google Store completes the circle.

When Google is thoroughly involved in the development, testing and release of these products, they tend to be better overall than if the companies had just gone on their own with no guidance. That’s a win for those of us on the consumer side of things putting down money for hardware and software, both in terms of initial quality and long-term support.

And with that, a handful of other thoughts rattling around in my head:

• My initial response to Nexbit being snapped up by Razer was sadness, seeing an independent phone maker move on.
• But unfortunately, being purchased was the most likely scenario — either that, or folding entirely. It’s a tough market out there for a scrappy upstart.
• Just two weeks from now we’ll be deep in the MWC 2017 press conferences and product launches. It’s shaping up to be a big show.
• With Samsung expected to hold off on launching the Galaxy S8 until April, the door’s wide open for LG to make a big splash with the G6 at the end of February.
• The early leaks look promising, too — but LG has always provided plenty of intrigue, only to then come up short on implementation in recent years.
• Speaking of intrigue, BlackBerry Mobile has plenty of it right now. The “Mercury” launch will be exciting.

Have a great week, everyone.

-Andrew

Pros and cons: Our quick verdict on NVIDIA’s new Shield TV

NVIDIA’s new Shield TV is a lot like its old Shield TV — at least, on the inside. Still, the revamped Android TV set-top box is a lot smaller; it has a vastly improved game controller; and it’s a much better deal at $200, since it includes the remote that used to cost an additional $50. The Shield TV also packs in a newer version of NVIDIA’s GeForce Now game streaming service, and it can pipe over titles from your NVIDIA GPU-equipped gaming PC with full support for HDR. Eventually, it’ll also include Google’s Assistant.

The good news if you bought the last Shield TV? You’ll have access to all of the software changes with a quick update, and you can snag the new controller separately for $60. The Shield TV still isn’t a set-top box for everyone, but it could be a useful tool for some gamers.

Ben Heck’s portable N64, part 1

Of all the build requests the Ben Heck Show team receives on the element14 Community, there’s one that has repeatedly came up: build a portable Nintendo 64, please! The team has finally decided to give it a go, starting with the Nintendo 64 that they tore down in the “Console Wars” episode. As unforgiving as the N64 hardware is, Ben is going to manipulate the components to make the portable fully featured, while Felix works to get the battery management up and running. What other consoles would you like to see converted into portable devices? Let us know over on the element14 Community.

Jolla’s latest mobile OS upgrade focuses on the basics

Jolla is going some distance to putting its Sailfish OS on more phones you can buy, but it’s clear the startup still has a ways to go before you’re ditching your existing device. It just released an early access version of Sailfish OS 2.1 (nicknamed Iijoki) that adds features you probably take for granted on Android or iOS. For one, you can finally copy-and-paste text in the web browser — yes, that wasn’t present before. There’s also a streamlined camera app with tap-to-focus, “initial” virtual private network support, basic 64-bit architecture and the ability to change system font sizes.

To be fair, Jolla doesn’t have the resources of mobile industry heavyweights like Apple and Google. There’s only so much development effort it can throw around at any given time. However, this illustrates the uphill battle the Finnish startup faces in becoming a mobile software licensing business. It has to entice hardware makers who’d otherwise choose Android or Windows 10 Mobile, and that means racing to include features that those rival platforms have had for years in addition to offering something unique. Sailfish certainly stands out, but it’ll also have to nail the basics if it’s to get significant adoption.

Via: Phoronix, Liliputing

Source: Jolla