Amazon Alexa Learns Skills to Ward Off Potential Burgulars

cageymaru

cageymaru

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Amazon has been pushing their Echo smart devices into the homes of their customers for quite a few years now. Echo devices have been calling loved ones, playing music, and ordering more Amazon packages on a regular basis to make life a little easier. Now Amazon's voice assistant Alexa might just be your next watchdog if you enable the "Away Mode" skill from Hippo Insurance. Away Mode will play nonsensical conversations about the most boring subjects possible in an attempt to scare off burglars from choosing your home as their next victim. The thought process behind the app is that a burglar is much less likely to choose a home that is inhabited, so playing make believe conversations will make them think someone is home.

Away Mode is the first ever home protection skill that harnesses the power of human awkwardness to ward off unwanted visitors. It's like that scene from Home Alone, except instead of cardboard cutouts, it's insufferable conversations written by the writers of SNL, It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, and UCB.
 
So, how is a thief supposed to hear the conversation? I'm outside your door or window trying to decide if I want to get in. If these are closed, I'm not going to hear Alexa chatting away.
Even when I finally enter your home, I probably won't hear this. It doesn't play on all Alexa devices in your house (unless I missed something.)
I have visible security cameras outside my house. I want potential bad guys to see these and realize my neighbors don't have them. That said, we recently got eggs thrown out our house a few weeks ago. The kids were caught on camera - their mom saw the video we posted to Facebook (wife uses it, I don't - however - it worked!).
 
Cheaper and more secure than Alexa, I simply have a few lights on timers and will leave the TV on when I'm away for more than an hour or two. Slightly more expensive than Alexa, yet way more secure and fuzzy, are the dog's I've had that enjoy having the TV and lights on when my family is out;)

My newest rescue adoption is seven months old, has been in my home just over a month and already takes a hardline stance against unknown people entering the house unannounced, unless we're having a party.:D I have now learned my lesson not to try and scare the kids by sneaking in wearing a scary mask and hoodie! I couldn't get the mask off before April was on me and trying to take my left hand off. I now have the bite marks to remind me LOL:ROFLMAO:

If you were at my daughter's grad party or the 4th of July pool party, you'd be able to rob us blind and she'd help you with her tail wagging the whole way. If you're a politician or door-to-door solicitor? I hope you can run faster than the two rabbits and one squirrel she found in her backyard last week:rage::eek::wideyed::dead:
 
_l_ said:
when I read the title of this thread I was expecting to read something like, "Alexa now retro-fit with Smith & Wesson."
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Did you forget Google is a very liberal company? Alexa is would make the robber coffer and call in help to remove anything the white privileged owner of the house has. Then send the owner the bill.
 
vegeta535 said:
Did you forget Google is a very liberal company? Alexa is would make the robber coffer and call in help to remove anything the white privileged owner of the house has. Then send the owner the bill.
Click to expand...

Alexa is Amazon.
 
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