The article incorrectly states the risk. If the relay is not solid state, or depending on what is connected to the outlet (I have a 1.7kw espresso machine on my wemo), rapidly switching on and off could easily cause a fire.
Security researcher gets threats over Amazon review
61–70 of 86 posts
Re: Security researcher gets threats over Amazon review
#62Earlier quoted context omitted.
Nope, there's a cottage industry of review-for-discount sites that give people discounts/free items in exchange for reviews, but wink wink don't feel obligated to give it 5 stars.
No winking is necessary. Back when I was among the Top Amazon Reviewers, I'd regularly be asked to review products and (especially) books (primarily those that were self published). I rarely said yes, but when I did I treated them exactly the same as I would for a product I'd bought myself. That included 1- and 2-star reviews... though usually I tried to weed out the crap before saying Yes to such an offer. The cost…
I can second this.
I design, import, and sell products on Amazon, and when launching a new product I offer them for free or at a deeply discounted price to people who agree to provide an honest review. From my experience, across hundreds of transactions, I can say that reviews that are solicited with free or discounted products are much tougher than those received organically. Most people participating in these review groups are so concerned about being viewed as biased that they move far, far in the other direction. If your product can earn decent ratings with incentivized reviews, you'll do very well with organic reviews.
Re: Security researcher gets threats over Amazon review
#63To me this seems like an odd tactic to use as the manufacturer. Did the boss just pick some random employee and decide that one guy had to get the review taken down other wise he was fired? Also, I'm inclined to believe that this isn't the case because I also don't believe that those "other reviewers" actually complained about his review. Why would anyone else care that he left a truthful review about the product? If…
> Did the boss just pick some random employee and decide that one guy had to get the review taken down other wise he was fired?
It's what Sun Tzu did with the maidens. :D Not that I believe it here...
Re: Security researcher gets threats over Amazon review
#64Earlier quoted context omitted.
I sort of wonder if Amazon is the entity providing the discount. (I spent a minute trying to figure it out and didn't find anything)
No, because these seem to be clearly marked with a Amazon Vine logo and disclaimer.
Up until just now I assumed Amazon Vine had something to do with Vine.co. I didn't realize Vines were only 8 seconds which would be an impractical format for reviews...
Re: Security researcher gets threats over Amazon review
#65Sounds like the classic excuses you get from chinese sellers, they say their boss will punish them if you've left a bad review, aliexpress will punish their store, company will close etc. It's no problem though, they can just keep sending out free review units to get their 4 and 5 star reviews. 2 verified purchases from 11 reviews, and one of those got it for free or heavily discounted "The AuYou Power Socket arrived…
What is interesting is that Amazon had the "Amazon Vine" Program which clearly listed that people received the product for free (or at a discount). But for whatever reason that has fallen out of fashion, and now manufacturers recruit outside to get unmarked reviews which sometimes don't list the potential conflict of interests. I wonder if this behaviour violates FTC's rules[0], I know it was a big thing on YouTube (…
I have purchased many things from China on eBay and am now getting spam offering me free products if I review them.
I'm sure that Amazon or any site could detect and cull these reviewers, but would it be in their best interests to do so?
Re: Security researcher gets threats over Amazon review
#66Sounds like the classic excuses you get from chinese sellers, they say their boss will punish them if you've left a bad review, aliexpress will punish their store, company will close etc. It's no problem though, they can just keep sending out free review units to get their 4 and 5 star reviews. 2 verified purchases from 11 reviews, and one of those got it for free or heavily discounted "The AuYou Power Socket arrived…
Why do so many have that exact wording "honest and unbiased review"? So bizarre
Re: Security researcher gets threats over Amazon review
#67Sounds like the classic excuses you get from chinese sellers, they say their boss will punish them if you've left a bad review, aliexpress will punish their store, company will close etc. It's no problem though, they can just keep sending out free review units to get their 4 and 5 star reviews. 2 verified purchases from 11 reviews, and one of those got it for free or heavily discounted "The AuYou Power Socket arrived…
What is interesting is that Amazon had the "Amazon Vine" Program which clearly listed that people received the product for free (or at a discount). But for whatever reason that has fallen out of fashion, and now manufacturers recruit outside to get unmarked reviews which sometimes don't list the potential conflict of interests. I wonder if this behaviour violates FTC's rules[0], I know it was a big thing on YouTube (…
Is Vine discontinued? My buddy still does it, at least until recently
Re: Security researcher gets threats over Amazon review
#68Sounds like the classic excuses you get from chinese sellers, they say their boss will punish them if you've left a bad review, aliexpress will punish their store, company will close etc. It's no problem though, they can just keep sending out free review units to get their 4 and 5 star reviews. 2 verified purchases from 11 reviews, and one of those got it for free or heavily discounted "The AuYou Power Socket arrived…
Why do so many have that exact wording "honest and unbiased review"? So bizarre
I'm guessing it's lawyer-specified boilerplate that spreads in the same manner as the ALL CAPS type of language you see in software licenses.
Re: Security researcher gets threats over Amazon review
#69Sounds like the classic excuses you get from chinese sellers, they say their boss will punish them if you've left a bad review, aliexpress will punish their store, company will close etc. It's no problem though, they can just keep sending out free review units to get their 4 and 5 star reviews. 2 verified purchases from 11 reviews, and one of those got it for free or heavily discounted "The AuYou Power Socket arrived…
Why do so many have that exact wording "honest and unbiased review"? So bizarre
Because they are revealing that they are actually fake and one-sided.
It's like the last time I bought a car at a dealership I got the line "I'll be honest, I haven't sold a car all week and I'll really work with you if you buy one today." Immediate tip-off that he's lying through his teeth.
Re: Security researcher gets threats over Amazon review
#70Earlier quoted context omitted.
Why do so many have that exact wording "honest and unbiased review"? So bizarre
Because they are revealing that they are actually fake and one-sided. It's like the last time I bought a car at a dealership I got the line "I'll be honest, I haven't sold a car all week and I'll really work with you if you buy one today." Immediate tip-off that he's lying through his teeth.
Completely agree. "I'll be honest" is right up there with "I'm not a racist, but..." in the list of phrases that always self-negate.