Consumer Reports

Some video doorbells sold by companies like Walmart and Amazon have security flaws that allow them to be easily hacked, a recent report from Consumer Reports said. The report, released Wednesday, found that video doorbells that seemed to be made by the same manufacture and sold under different brand names including Fishbot, Eken and Tuck, can be taken over by someone who can physically access them, create an account on a smartphone app owned by Eken, visit someone’s home, hold down a doorbell button and put it…

Several internet-connected doorbell cameras have a security flaw that allows hackers to take over the camera by just holding down a button, among other issues, according to research by Consumer Reports. On Thursday, the non-profit Consumer Reports published research that detailed four security and privacy flaws in cameras made by EKEN, a company based in Shenzhen, China, which makes cameras branded as EKEN, but also, apparently, Tuck and other brands. These relatively cheap doorbell cameras were available on online…

There may be bad news if you purchased one of Amazon’s “Overall Picks” for video doorbells in recent months. New tests from Consumer Reports find that popular doorbell cameras sold under names including Eken and Tuck are rife with security flaws that make it dead simple for anyone to watch your camera footage.Prepping the Sandworm Scenes in Dune: Part TwoConsumer Reports looked at ten seemingly identical video doorbells sold under various names including Eken and Tuck that are widely available on websites including…

Tesla’s fix for its Autopilot recall of more than 2 million vehicles is being called “insufficient” by Consumer Reports, following preliminary tests. Kelly Funkhouser, the nonprofit organization’s associate director of vehicle technology, tells TechCrunch she discovered it’s still possible to cover the cabin camera while using Autopilot, meaning drivers can neutralize one of the two main ways the car monitors if they are paying attention to the road.  What’s more, Funkhouser says she did not notice any differences…

Consumer Reports has published an extensive ranking of vehicle reliability, and the results pour cold water on the dependability of EVs and plug-in hybrids. The survey says electric vehicles suffer from 79 percent more maintenance issues than gas- or diesel-powered ones, while plug-in hybrids have 146 percent more problems. The troubles portray the industry’s growing pains with the relatively new technology as the planet sets record temperatures, and scientists warn of rapidly approaching deadlines to thwart global…

A.I. marketing is at a fever pitch, promising that this new wave of generative AI tools, powered by large language models, can help us do everything from navigating legal contracts to saving hundreds on our phone bills. When a leader like Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai calls AI “more profound than fire or electricity,” it’s hard not to be excited by the potential. But as the CEO of Consumer Reports, I know some of the shiniest objects in the market don’t always live up to their hype. The ravenous appetite of quarterly profits…