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from the my-thermostat-is-holding-me-hostage dept.
In more than 30 interviews with The New York Times, domestic abuse victims, their lawyers, shelter workers and emergency responders described how the technology was becoming an alarming new tool. Abusers - using apps on their smartphones, which are connected to the internet-enabled devices - would remotely control everyday objects in the home, sometimes to watch and listen, other times to scare or show power. Even after a partner had left the home, the devices often stayed and continued to be used to intimidate and confuse.
Connected home devices have increasingly cropped up in domestic abuse cases over the past year, according to those working with victims of domestic violence. Those at help lines said more people were calling in the last 12 months about losing control of Wi-Fi-enabled doors, speakers, thermostats, lights and cameras. Lawyers also said they were wrangling with how to add language to restraining orders to cover smart home technology.
(Score: 2) by frojack on Tuesday June 26 2018, @05:14PM (6 children)
Where does the the US find such stupid women? Are they trafficked in from backward countries or what?
Seriously, how can a high-school educated person not be able to read a 1 page manual on how to install a cheap programmable thermostat, or unscrew a lighbulb and replace it with something from Home Depot?
If they have wifi in the house, they have the internet. If they have the internet they can look up the manuals.
By every statistical measure, women are at least as well educated as men in the US. [statista.com]
How can women be demanding equality in opportunity and pay while at the same time claim they are incapable of installing a basic thermostat, re-programming their router, or changing the password on the door bell?
I don't know a single woman who could not handle this problem, even if they had to resort to asking a friend for pointers.
You do women a disservice by perpetuating this myth of helplessness. You are part of the problem!
No, you are mistaken. I've always had this sig.
(Score: 2) by AthanasiusKircher on Tuesday June 26 2018, @06:06PM
There are clueless men in the world too. I in no way meant to imply that women are less able to understand this stuff.
What is the reality from reading TFA is that in a lot of households, guys (who, stereotypically, tend to be more "into gadgets," though obviously this is not always the case) frequently install these things, set them up, and frequently don't bother even discussing the details of these devices or their capabilities with their wives/girlfriends. That's not that women are incapable of understanding the stuff -- but TFA makes clear that many women are surprised when such tampering starts happening because they weren't even made aware of the capabilities of these devices.
I know a number of men who are incapable of these tasks. It's not a problem unique to a gender. I have a number of friends -- male and female, often whole families -- whose router was basically set up by their cable company and they would have no clue how to change any of its settings. When I changed out a thermostat in my own house a few years back, I happened to mention it to a few people I knew, and was surprised at the number of folks (both men and women) who thought this was somehow "advanced" home maintenance.
(Score: 2) by AthanasiusKircher on Tuesday June 26 2018, @06:16PM (3 children)
According to https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/survey-reveals-users-have-no-clue-about-router-security/ [soylentnews.org]this survey, 51% of respondents had never done any router maintenance or changed any settings. 31% admitted outright they had no clue how to do anything with their router, while 48% more claimed they didn't even know security maintenance was necessary.
That survey isn't unique. A quick internet search brings up a lot more with similar stats.
I think you grossly overestimate the tech savvy of most people.
(Score: 2) by AthanasiusKircher on Tuesday June 26 2018, @06:20PM
[Sorry I screwed up the link, but obviously you can see the URL... my bad.]
(Score: 2) by frojack on Tuesday June 26 2018, @06:53PM (1 child)
And there are 10,000 web pages that teach you how to get around this temporary ignorance.
Most people don't know how to shut off the water in their own apartment when a pipe breaks.
Do we need to perpetuate this level of stupidity and write laws about it?
To paraphrase the old saw:
Step in deal with fishing attacks for someone and protect them for a day.
Teach someone how to detect and deal with fishing attacks and protect them for life.
No, you are mistaken. I've always had this sig.
(Score: 3, Insightful) by AthanasiusKircher on Tuesday June 26 2018, @08:01PM
Bad analogy. Most people know that there is water in their house. Most know that it comes through pipes. Most know that it's at least theoretically possible for a pipe to break.
Many of the victims here didn't even know that their previous (abusive) partner could control devices in their houses remotely, or at least didn't know the extent to which they could do so.
At what point did I ever argue that this level of ignorance was to be encouraged? I didn't argue that, and I'm all for education, empowerment, etc.
But that's all beside the point. The question here really comes down to: Do you believe restraining orders are EVER an appropriate action in a domestic abuse case?
Yes, one can change locks. One can change phone numbers. But restraining orders say that even if such measures prove ineffective, abusers can no longer stalk or terrorize their victims -- or else face severe legal penalties for doing so.
IF you believe that restraining orders are a reasonable remedy in such cases of domestic abuse (often followed by stalking, continued harassment, etc.), then I think it's pretty darn logical that such anti-harassment provisions should apply to taking control remotely of devices in a victim's home. One of the main points of restraining orders is so victims of abuse can feel safe again without having to call the cops every single time the abuser shows up to harass again and again. If they can't even feel safe in their own home without said abuser remotely harassing them, what's the point of a restraining order?
None of this excludes the idea that it's also important to help victims reclaim the devices in their homes, to help them, to educate them, etc. But given the clear assertions in TFA that many victims did not even know the various methods by which they could continue to be harassed in their own homes, it may not be enough just to educate on unknown threats. Again, the point of restraining orders is to prevent all sorts of types of potential harassing behavior through some general principles.
Now, if you don't believe in restraining orders in general, I don't think we have anything to discuss here, because you clearly have a completely different perspective on this. If you DO believe they're an appropriate remedy in some cases, why shouldn't they logically be extended to these forms of harassment??
(Score: -1, Troll) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday June 26 2018, @10:17PM
Frojack is definitely an incel. Only an incel would demostrate such misogyny. You just hate women because you can't get laid, you loser pussy incel beta cuck, you virgin loser faggot, you fucking homo.