Martin SeegerOct 28

This is a valuable lesson for any manufacturer: never awaken the nerd sleeping inside your customer, because his wrath shall be terrible.

In this case the warning was quite literal.

The company annoyed a buyer enough to push him into full blown nerd mode. He tore the product apart, reverse engineered every part, and then published a step by step guide showing exactly how to disable "kill switch" that prevented the use of the product without the vendor spying on the user.

What started as a minor grievance became a public, technical exposé that left the maker exposed and embarrassed.

Moral of the story: underestimate your users at your own peril.

The Day My Smart Vacuum Turned Against Me

Update: This post seems to have struck a nerve and went very wide. As I will not be able to answer every comment, I want to add a few points:

  • The linked article was not written by me. It came to me on a different channel (Discord). I only wrote the post on Mastodon.
  • The top image in the article looks AI generated. It is no a good image, but in my view less irritating than an advertisement (which is far more common).
  • Some people suggest the article itself is AI generated. I don't think this is the case. I wouldn't rule out he author wrote the text in a different language and used AI for translation assistance.
  • The claims in the article are not fully backed by the linked repo, but the general statement is correct and IMHO important.
The Day My Smart Vacuum Turned Against Me

Would you allow a stranger to drive a camera-equipped computer around your living room? You might have already done so without even realizing it. The Beginning: A Curious Experiment It all started innocently enough. I had recently bought an iLife A11 smart vacuum—a sleek, affordable, and technologically advanced robot

Small World
Show threadBrianKrebsOct 28
@masek My wife bought one of these smart vacuums and it didn't even make it out of the box. Nope. Nuh-uh. Had to put my foot down there. And my dog/CSO wasn't wild about it either.
Show threadMartin Seeger

@briankrebs My smart home is isolated from the Internet and when I test new devices the "Who do they talk to" is an important part of the evaluation.

But alas, the days have become dark and difficult. Everything wants to talk to the world.

Oct 28 at 4:32pmWeb
Show threadJoan AlbrightOct 28
@masek @briankrebs I had to revoke my thermostat's permission to access the internet after it wanted my name and address before it would let me connect it to an app. I will adjust it by hand twice a day instead, thanks.
Show threadFloOct 28

@Lironah
Smart home tech (or any) shouldn’t require manufacturer apps, internet connection or accounts to work. If a product mandates anything like that, that’s just a hidden fee, paid with data. There are enough products using industry standards that work offline, across apps and hubs (if needed).

@masek @briankrebs

Show threadJoan AlbrightOct 28
@Flo_Rian Yeah the company who put in the air conditioner wouldn't even give us the same brand of thermostat as the one we had downstairs for the furnace, so it's not like I had any say in the matter.
Show threadSylvainOct 29

@Flo_Rian

I'm starting to play with HomeAssistant and smart devices that don't call home aren't that easy to find.

@Lironah @masek @briankrebs

Show threadFloOct 29

@axnxcamr
Try devices that use either Zigbee or Matter over Thread. They will work offline, are interoperable between manufacturers and work with HomeAssistant.

Some might require an app and internet for firmware updates, but those are optional. No need to use them or even keep them installed in daily use.

Popular brands include IKEA Tradfri, Philips Hue, Eve Home, Sonoff, Aqara or Xiaomi, but there are a myriad of companies in this field.

@Lironah @masek @briankrebs

Show threadRobert HOct 28

@Lironah @masek @briankrebs

Same with my new hot water heater.

Show threadThadOct 28

@masek Yeah, my inclination is to say "no smart devices, period" but that's getting harder and harder.

You can't really get a decent TV that doesn't have "smart" features anymore. Mine isn't connected to my network, but from what I've heard the newer ones are increasingly difficult to use without an internet connection.

I'd rather not support these products at all, but if there are no alternatives, I'm glad there are people tearing them down and showing us how to hack them.

Show threadBytebro 🇬🇧 🇺🇦 🇬🇱Oct 28

@masek @briankrebs

"I'm sorry Martin, that brand of bread is not authorised in this toaster. Would you like to upgrade your bread subscription details?"

Show threadBytebro 🇬🇧 🇺🇦 🇬🇱Oct 29

@masek @briankrebs

And if you liked that, then you really should read Cory Doctorow's compilation called _Radicalized_. Four short-ish stories, and the very first one is called "Unauthorised Bread". And the third one is kind of predicting Luigi Mangioni, but on steroids.

Have a nice evening!

Show threadDieuOct 29
@masek @briankrebs I'm with the dude still. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sf-2msaWYqE
The brain is the biggest erogenous zone.

YouTube