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posted by janrinok on Sunday August 14 2016, @01:14AM   Printer-friendly
from the something-for-the-weekend-ma'am? dept.

The We-Vibe 4 Plus is a rubbery clamp that looks a little like the oversized thumb and forefinger of a Disneyland character pinching down. It comes in black, purple or pink and is billed as the "number one couple's vibrator." It has Bluetooth so that, once inserted into the desired part of your body, you can connect it to your smartphone and then use the We-Vibe app to control the intensity of its vibration.

So far, so saucy, but the following was revealed by two security researchers @gOldfisk and @rancidbacon at Defcon.

When the device is in use, the We-Vibe 4 Plus uses its internet connectivity to regularly send information back to its manufacturer, Standard Innovations Corporation. It sends the device's temperature every minute, and lets the manufacturer know each time a user changes the device's vibration level. The company could easily figure out some seriously intimate personal information like when you get off, how long it takes, and with what combinations of vibes.

Standard Innovation Corporation's president Frank Ferrari explains why they do this.

"At We-Vibe, we strive to create innovative products that have our customer's preferences in mind," he said. "We-Vibe collects data on the use of its products in terms of vibration intensity and mode for market research purposes so that we can better understand what settings and levels of intensity are most enjoyed."

Original article here


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  • (Score: 4, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday August 14 2016, @01:21AM

    by Anonymous Coward on Sunday August 14 2016, @01:21AM (#387671)

    We'll hear more about this company when Wikileaks releases a "trove of customer data" from leading female US politicians.

    I know it's not true, but let's make the sonofabitch deny it.

    • (Score: 3, Insightful) by Francis on Sunday August 14 2016, @02:02AM

      by Francis (5544) on Sunday August 14 2016, @02:02AM (#387680)

      The truly interesting ones would be the male GOP politicians that are constantly running on family values.

      • (Score: 3, Insightful) by The Mighty Buzzard on Sunday August 14 2016, @02:34AM

        What exactly is un-familial about vibrating your rectum? No, seriously. I mean maybe if you were doing it at the dinner table but fuck...

        --
        My rights don't end where your fear begins.
        • (Score: 1, Disagree) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday August 14 2016, @02:35AM

          by Anonymous Coward on Sunday August 14 2016, @02:35AM (#387693)

          Because it means you're gay.

          • (Score: 2) by The Mighty Buzzard on Sunday August 14 2016, @03:01AM

            So's Milo Yiannopoulos. Flamboyantly so exclusively for black cock. And he's a Trump supporter. So what?

            --
            My rights don't end where your fear begins.
            • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday August 14 2016, @03:08AM

              by Anonymous Coward on Sunday August 14 2016, @03:08AM (#387704)

              I personally have no problem with gays, although it's annoying to get hit on by someone you're not even compatible sexual preference with.

              Lots of Republicans and conservatives do have problems with it, though, at least officially. Although after the Mark Foley thing came out it was revealed that gays essentially run much of the Republican Party on Capitol Hill. Maybe it was something like the power of eunuchs in certain Chinese dynasties.

          • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday August 14 2016, @04:34AM

            by Anonymous Coward on Sunday August 14 2016, @04:34AM (#387736)

            how about fingers, am i gay if i like fingers in my arse?

            • (Score: 3, Informative) by MostCynical on Sunday August 14 2016, @04:54AM

              by MostCynical (2589) on Sunday August 14 2016, @04:54AM (#387741) Journal

              Depends whose fingers.

              --
              "I guess once you start doubting, there's no end to it." -Batou, Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex
              • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday August 17 2016, @03:41AM

                by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday August 17 2016, @03:41AM (#388989)

                my own fingers?

        • (Score: 4, Insightful) by Francis on Sunday August 14 2016, @03:05AM

          by Francis (5544) on Sunday August 14 2016, @03:05AM (#387701)

          I don't personally think there's anything wrong with it. But there's a high level of correlation between the family values politicians and the ones that are opposed to any sort of sex that can't result in pregnancy.

          You're not supposed to masturbate, have sex with the same sex, use protection when you do have sex with the opposite sex and if there is a pregnancy you should let the fetus grow into a child that can be suitably hated for your sinning at a convenient date in the future.

          • (Score: 2) by Dr Spin on Sunday August 14 2016, @07:48AM

            by Dr Spin (5239) on Sunday August 14 2016, @07:48AM (#387793)

            I don't personally think there's anything wrong with it either. Amazon need to know when you are on your period to deluge you
            with ads for sanitary towels. (See "right to free speech").

            However, I find politicians morally repugnant, and the "family values" ones doubly so.

            Don't even ask about the "family values" politicians who are caught with their pants down in a public place. I might die of apoplexy.

            --
            Warning: Opening your mouth may invalidate your brain!
          • (Score: 1, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday August 14 2016, @12:38PM

            by Anonymous Coward on Sunday August 14 2016, @12:38PM (#387831)

            Finally! Something Francis does know something about. It has been a long, dry summer.

          • (Score: 3, Insightful) by The Mighty Buzzard on Sunday August 14 2016, @01:16PM

            That was true back in the 80s, nowadays you have to go to the seriously gray Senators to find anyone who gives a damn what you do in your bedroom. The religious fundamentalists haven't had any serious hold on a party for twenty years or so. Today if you want people opposed to sex, you look to the left. They want you to give the chick a BAC test, get a signed and notarized consent form, and have it initialed and witnessed every three minutes during the act itself in case she changed her mind. That's when they're not outright saying all straight sex is rape. Unless you're one of their protected classes from the LGBT crew, then you're free to get shitfaced and fuck anyone who's interested like you should be.

            --
            My rights don't end where your fear begins.
    • (Score: 2) by Snotnose on Sunday August 14 2016, @02:06AM

      by Snotnose (1623) on Sunday August 14 2016, @02:06AM (#387685)

      We'll hear more about this company when Wikileaks releases a "trove of customer data" from leading male US politicians.

      FTFY.

      Seems strike doesn't work between either quote nor blockquotes.

      --
      When the dust settled America realized it was saved by a porn star.
  • (Score: 3, Interesting) by Subsentient on Sunday August 14 2016, @01:39AM

    by Subsentient (1111) on Sunday August 14 2016, @01:39AM (#387673) Homepage Journal

    So I wonder who decided this would be OK.

    Nothing surprises me anymore.

    --
    "It is no measure of health to be well adjusted to a profoundly sick society." -Jiddu Krishnamurti
    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday August 14 2016, @02:04AM

      by Anonymous Coward on Sunday August 14 2016, @02:04AM (#387682)

      Welcome to the wild world of IoT. Where monthly subscription is king and security is tertiary.

    • (Score: 5, Insightful) by Francis on Sunday August 14 2016, @02:05AM

      by Francis (5544) on Sunday August 14 2016, @02:05AM (#387684)

      Why not, they've just about collected all the data possible from the outside of the body.

      The reality here is that this isn't going to stop as long as we keep electing corporatists to important posts in the government. The whole idea that something becomes legal because somebody was able to slip it into a contract or license that the enduser can't be reasonably expected to understand is ridiculous.

    • (Score: 2) by Bot on Monday August 15 2016, @05:14PM

      by Bot (3902) on Monday August 15 2016, @05:14PM (#388275) Journal

      You had phones that vibrate, now you have vibrators that phone.

      --
      Account abandoned.
  • (Score: 4, Funny) by Gaaark on Sunday August 14 2016, @01:47AM

    by Gaaark (41) on Sunday August 14 2016, @01:47AM (#387675) Journal

    Open it up to the internet, and let anyone control it for you, just like the people who let the internet control their Christmas lights!

    --
    --- Please remind me if I haven't been civil to you: I'm channeling MDC. ---Gaaark 2.0 ---
  • (Score: 2, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday August 14 2016, @01:50AM

    by Anonymous Coward on Sunday August 14 2016, @01:50AM (#387677)

    "Bones" McCoy: "You gave your girlfriend a tracking device?"

    Yes, it's a quote from Star Trek Beyond. Sorry, I know "designated Funny" quotes are required to be from at least 15 years ago.

    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday August 14 2016, @07:25AM

      by Anonymous Coward on Sunday August 14 2016, @07:25AM (#387784)

      Yes, it's a quote from Star Trek Beyond.

      At least choose a real ST to quote from. Not fake as in "SyFy" Trek.

      Sorry, I know "designated Funny" quotes are required to be from at least 15 years ago.

      Generally, yes, longer than the stupid M class people have been around and the stupid shit that passes for science fiction they so chow down upon.

      • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday August 14 2016, @11:01AM

        by Anonymous Coward on Sunday August 14 2016, @11:01AM (#387820)

        At least choose a real ST to quote from. Not fake as in "SyFy" Trek.

        The way I watched it, I skipped all the 'splody scenes in Beyond, and here's a spoiler for you. Toward the end I was seriously expecting the big bad to be revealed as none other than Fleet Captain Garth of Izar. He's not, of course, but his tragic backstory is similar. In my opinion, the Trek reboot has at last produced a sympathetic antagonist.

  • (Score: 4, Funny) by RedBear on Sunday August 14 2016, @02:44AM

    by RedBear (1734) on Sunday August 14 2016, @02:44AM (#387694)

    Is this the one you're talking about?

    http://www.movieforums.com/community/showthread.php?t=22227 [movieforums.com]

    --
    ¯\_ʕ◔.◔ʔ_/¯ LOL. I dunno. I'm just a bear.
    ... Peace out. Got bear stuff to do. 彡ʕ⌐■.■ʔ
  • (Score: 2) by Kilo110 on Sunday August 14 2016, @04:01AM

    by Kilo110 (2853) Subscriber Badge on Sunday August 14 2016, @04:01AM (#387724)

    Why the hell would someone want a bluetooth enabled vibrator?

    • (Score: 1, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday August 14 2016, @04:13AM

      by Anonymous Coward on Sunday August 14 2016, @04:13AM (#387727)

      It's for guys that are too lazy or too inept to finger bang their girlfriends.

    • (Score: 1, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday August 14 2016, @04:14AM

      by Anonymous Coward on Sunday August 14 2016, @04:14AM (#387729)

      Because the ones with Wi-Fi cost more.

    • (Score: 4, Informative) by deimios on Sunday August 14 2016, @04:52AM

      by deimios (201) Subscriber Badge on Sunday August 14 2016, @04:52AM (#387740) Journal

      Because the remotes on wifi vibes have limited range and most of them are a pain to use. With a smartphone you can enable the vibrator exactly how and when you want it even outside the line of sight which to be fair detracts from the whole experience.

      It's called a couple's vibe because you control it while your SO is wearing it. There is a whole series of JAVs for this specific fetish, just duckduckgo the words "japanese remote controlled vibrator"

      I don't know if this specific model lets you do remote config from other phones since I'm too broke to buy one. The cheap wifi ones I have were fun to use for example in a park, at the subway and even in meetings (fun fact: most people will think the vibration is coming from your phone and won't even bat an eye).

      • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday August 14 2016, @12:52PM

        by Anonymous Coward on Sunday August 14 2016, @12:52PM (#387834)

        It's called a couple's vibe because you control it while your SO is wearing it.

        Sort of [we-vibe.com] (NSFW). The manufacturer's site doesn't seem to describe it as primarily a vibrator for use by one person which can be remotely controlled. It's actually called a "couple's vibe" because the woman is supposed to "clamshell" half of it over her clit while the other half is inserted into her vagina - after which the guy is supposed to have penis-in-vagina sex with the woman. I'm not exactly an expert, but that seems like a large amount of mass to stuff into a comparitively small space. But, hey, whatever works.

  • (Score: 1, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday August 14 2016, @05:19AM

    by Anonymous Coward on Sunday August 14 2016, @05:19AM (#387751)

    For every sale lost over fears of surveillance, several more can be had by enabling tweets and status updates.

  • (Score: 2, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday August 14 2016, @10:17AM

    by Anonymous Coward on Sunday August 14 2016, @10:17AM (#387815)

    There, now I've said it.

    • (Score: 1, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday August 14 2016, @11:19AM

      by Anonymous Coward on Sunday August 14 2016, @11:19AM (#387822)

      ArmInAss