It can be done right: local only connections (no cloud), segmented vlan for iot devices with strict firewall rules, Internet access blocked for anything that doesn’t need it, etc.
Unfortunately that takes a lot of knowledge and effort. The cloud based devices that phone home every few minutes are preconfigured and just work, so most people will just use that and not think about it.
If you’re worried about the devices themselves that’s why there are radio protocol standards that decidedly don’t use the internet, like zigbee, z-wave, and now matter.
The communication method isn’t relevant to its security. If you are a house in the suburbs, a WiFi device in your house you isn’t going to be hacked directly by someone wardriving. The wifi device is going to be hacked by someone coming in over your router which is cat 5/6 Ethernet.
Similarly any other wireless device like zigbee will be hacked over the Internet. The packets will come through your zigbee gateway just like they go through your wifi gateway.
You always want a light on when someone enters a room? Always, no exceptions?
Sometimes I go in the kitchen and I don’t want all the lights in my face. Other times I need the extra light. Until home automation can read my mind, a physical switch is easiest.
I had a pair of physical switches that were motion sensing in my last house basement. Very handy for coming down with a laundry basket and having the lights turn on when going over to the washing machine. No connection to the Internet at all.
Home automation is so far beyond just “motion -> light”.
I have profiles of profiles for different reactions based on time of day and different conditions. The only light that comes on no questions asked is the kitchen light and even that is dependent on the time of day – IE at night it only turns on to 50%. You’d be amazed at how much you can simply with a few different conditionals and not much else. Highly implore you to head over to the Home Assistant page/wiki/forum/community/subreddit – its a VAST community.
I miss my android notification LED so I just went ahead and built my own little LED box based on WLED and HA. The app on my phone sends the notification conditional to the HA server in my basement which then sends the signal to the WLED fixture over WIFI to change colors and patterns. When notifications go back to zero the pattern returns to normal. Did i mention the change over takes 30 seconds? No jarring vibrations, sounds, or signals. It’s all just smooth and silent. I love it.
I’ve got some home automation. I wrote my own stuff with a lcars style javaScript front end. Home Assistant couldn’t do what I wanted when I last looked at it 5 years ago.
Sometimes you want light and sometimes not despite the time of day. Then there’s my wife who usually wakes up much earlier and has vastly different preferences on light. So 2am means me with lights at full blast because I’m up late working on a project or no to dim lights if it’s wife waking up for some water or she wants brighter lights to unload the dishwasher. I turn lights on full while making breakfast for the kids. Kids don’t like light when they first wake up so I turn them down after breakfast is on the table and I go wake them up.
“Never touching a switch” isn’t possible without mind reading and knowing the context.
You’re just thinking so small. Program up a macro button if you want to flip a switch and have it do so much more. Put that button right where you want it.
Home assistant, tasmota, zigbee, valetudo and some bluetooth stuff work very well for a secure IoT setup. Only smart stuff connected to the internet is the TV. Haven’t found anything to replace it’s functionality, maybe some HTPC would work, but that’s a project for another time.
Car enthusiasts: Check out this list of mods that’s so long it’d need legal paper to print out. I even have stickers with the chassis code on it and a Japanese license plate on the front so you know it’s JDM.
If I could make my Model S a “dumb” car, I would in an instant. As it is, retrofit-electrifications are still really clunky, infinite pits of expensive despair.
I have a 2012 Civic and a 1997 Prelude and my favorite thing about both of them is the lack of distractions. The Civic gives you a radio and tells you the MPG. The Prelude doesn’t even shift your gears for you lol (it’s also missing a radio but that’s low on the list of repair/maintenance priorities)
I really am dreading the day both of those cars die and there are no cars from before ~2014 left to buy anymore. I really hope dumb cars make a comeback the way dumb phones kind of have. I’d love to see Toyota build the 1993 Camry again.
Oh and when I poke fun at enthusiasts, I’m including myself. I really thought about buying a Japanese style license plate with the BB6 chassis code on it. Until I realized that I’d cringe if I saw that in the wild and so used my better judgment.
As the owner of a German car from 91 with the wide license plate mount molded into the bumper; The urge to get a sauerkraut plate with something car-nerdy on it is strong, but I’m still resisting, for now.
Obligatory:
The smarter the house the dumber the owner.
(not to bully these people who build it consciously themselves, automation and sensors can add many fun and useful features)
It can be done right: local only connections (no cloud), segmented vlan for iot devices with strict firewall rules, Internet access blocked for anything that doesn’t need it, etc.
Unfortunately that takes a lot of knowledge and effort. The cloud based devices that phone home every few minutes are preconfigured and just work, so most people will just use that and not think about it.
If you’re worried about the devices themselves that’s why there are radio protocol standards that decidedly don’t use the internet, like zigbee, z-wave, and now matter.
Being pedantic for a second. Matter isn’t a radio protocol. Thread is the protocol designed to have Matter run on it.
well technically you can push matter through ethernet or wifi as well, but you’re right
The communication method isn’t relevant to its security. If you are a house in the suburbs, a WiFi device in your house you isn’t going to be hacked directly by someone wardriving. The wifi device is going to be hacked by someone coming in over your router which is cat 5/6 Ethernet.
Similarly any other wireless device like zigbee will be hacked over the Internet. The packets will come through your zigbee gateway just like they go through your wifi gateway.
Even better if the IoT devices doesn’t even connect to your WiFi or LAN… Zigbee devices for example.
Alexa, play I’m a looser by Limp Bizkit.
Please drink a verification can.
I have no mouth and I need to drink.
Adding “moose biscuits” to the shopping list
It always seems like a lot of effort to avoid pressing a light switch
But once you set it up you never have to switch anything ever again
Until it inevitably goes wrong!
You always want a light on when someone enters a room? Always, no exceptions?
Sometimes I go in the kitchen and I don’t want all the lights in my face. Other times I need the extra light. Until home automation can read my mind, a physical switch is easiest.
I had a pair of physical switches that were motion sensing in my last house basement. Very handy for coming down with a laundry basket and having the lights turn on when going over to the washing machine. No connection to the Internet at all.
Home automation is so far beyond just “motion -> light”.
I have profiles of profiles for different reactions based on time of day and different conditions. The only light that comes on no questions asked is the kitchen light and even that is dependent on the time of day – IE at night it only turns on to 50%. You’d be amazed at how much you can simply with a few different conditionals and not much else. Highly implore you to head over to the Home Assistant page/wiki/forum/community/subreddit – its a VAST community.
I miss my android notification LED so I just went ahead and built my own little LED box based on WLED and HA. The app on my phone sends the notification conditional to the HA server in my basement which then sends the signal to the WLED fixture over WIFI to change colors and patterns. When notifications go back to zero the pattern returns to normal. Did i mention the change over takes 30 seconds? No jarring vibrations, sounds, or signals. It’s all just smooth and silent. I love it.
I’ve got some home automation. I wrote my own stuff with a lcars style javaScript front end. Home Assistant couldn’t do what I wanted when I last looked at it 5 years ago.
Sometimes you want light and sometimes not despite the time of day. Then there’s my wife who usually wakes up much earlier and has vastly different preferences on light. So 2am means me with lights at full blast because I’m up late working on a project or no to dim lights if it’s wife waking up for some water or she wants brighter lights to unload the dishwasher. I turn lights on full while making breakfast for the kids. Kids don’t like light when they first wake up so I turn them down after breakfast is on the table and I go wake them up.
“Never touching a switch” isn’t possible without mind reading and knowing the context.
You’re just thinking so small. Program up a macro button if you want to flip a switch and have it do so much more. Put that button right where you want it.
Home assistant, tasmota, zigbee, valetudo and some bluetooth stuff work very well for a secure IoT setup. Only smart stuff connected to the internet is the TV. Haven’t found anything to replace it’s functionality, maybe some HTPC would work, but that’s a project for another time.
Unless they use home assistant and non-IP devices 😉
Car enthusiasts: Check out this list of mods that’s so long it’d need legal paper to print out. I even have stickers with the chassis code on it and a Japanese license plate on the front so you know it’s JDM.
Mechanics: I drive a stock 2000 Crown Victoria.
If I could make my Model S a “dumb” car, I would in an instant. As it is, retrofit-electrifications are still really clunky, infinite pits of expensive despair.
My absolute dream car is a dual-motor FD RX-7.
I have a 2012 Civic and a 1997 Prelude and my favorite thing about both of them is the lack of distractions. The Civic gives you a radio and tells you the MPG. The Prelude doesn’t even shift your gears for you lol (it’s also missing a radio but that’s low on the list of repair/maintenance priorities)
I really am dreading the day both of those cars die and there are no cars from before ~2014 left to buy anymore. I really hope dumb cars make a comeback the way dumb phones kind of have. I’d love to see Toyota build the 1993 Camry again.
Oh and when I poke fun at enthusiasts, I’m including myself. I really thought about buying a Japanese style license plate with the BB6 chassis code on it. Until I realized that I’d cringe if I saw that in the wild and so used my better judgment.
As the owner of a German car from 91 with the wide license plate mount molded into the bumper; The urge to get a sauerkraut plate with something car-nerdy on it is strong, but I’m still resisting, for now.
I put a german plate on my 85 buick park ave in 2005 or so (random plate, no coded messages) and it was fresh as fuck
Evergreen