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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 AthanasiusKircher on Tuesday June 26 2018, @05:56PM (2 children)
Poor word choice. By "connect" here I meant understand. Would someone who is not tech savvy necessarily understand the connection and realize that flickering lights or a crazy thermostat is related to the router?
(Score: 2) by SomeGuy on Tuesday June 26 2018, @07:59PM (1 child)
Ah, well, you have a point but I'd still think that would be their second choice other than ripping the thermostat off the wall. If they ask around or already know that "the internet" comes in through that little blue box with the antennas sticking up, then it would make sense to turn it off for the time being.
If you had someone call you with a house full of infected/powned Internet of Shit electronics would you be able to walk them through resetting each one? Could you even be sure they know that they have found all of the devices? Telling them to shut of their WiFi router might be the quickest short term way do deal with it.
Although I personally find ripping smart thermostats off of the wall to be quite fun :P
(Score: 1) by anubi on Wednesday June 27 2018, @10:03AM
I understand most of these are 24 volt systems. Four wires. One is common.
Three wires left. One is "Cold Call". Connect this to the common and the system goes into air conditioner mode.
The next is "Heat Call". Connect this to the common and the system goes into heating mode.
The last being "Fan". Connect this to the common and the fan runs.
So, if the friggen IOT thingie decides to make your life a living hell, you can still outsmart it with a screwdriver and a few wire nuts, until you can find a simple old thermostat.
Well, that is if you have one of those old-school heat pump systems. The above is how mine works.
There are some newer ones out there with multiple heat and cool stages, significantly more complex. I won't touch 'em until I get some good detailed spec sheets on how the interface works. If I can't run it with an Arduino, forget it. I am not touching any proprietary shit that becomes unserviceable and useless the instant the manufacturer ceases supporting it. I am not talking about a cheapie throwaway can opener anymore... I am talking about something that is really important to me... the HVAC system to my house, that will cost thousands of dollars to replace should the serviceman look at me and say "sorry, that system is obsolete". A good refrigeration mechanic can keep the hardware going damn near forever, but few guys know how to rebuild a blown controller, whose operation is all governed by copyright protected proprietary protocols.
"Prove all things; hold fast that which is good." [KJV: I Thessalonians 5:21]