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Three million malware-infected smart toothbrushes used in Swiss DDoS attacks

tomshardware.com

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Re: Three million malware-infected smart toothbrushes used in Swiss DDoS attacks

#21

Post by NoboruWataya »

snow_mac wrote: post #9

Dude. This is too much. My fridge is capable of being connected to the internet, so is my oven, garage door opener and my dishwasher. WHY? These things have worked so well without this crap. I wish manufacturers would stop this insanity.

Genuine question, are these things really the norm where you live? I don't have a garage but none of those other appliances are capable of being connected to the internet for me. I am well aware that there are "smart" models out there and their prevalence is probably on the rise but it surprises me that someone so opposed to everything being internet-connected has so many such appliances.

I'm in the UK, are these smart appliances way more common in the US or something?

Re: Three million malware-infected smart toothbrushes used in Swiss DDoS attacks

#22

Post by klabb3 »

snow_mac wrote: post #9

Dude. This is too much. My fridge is capable of being connected to the internet, so is my oven, garage door opener and my dishwasher. WHY? These things have worked so well without this crap. I wish manufacturers would stop this insanity.

If you’ve ever tried to use these extra “connected features”, you’ll notice that they are completely useless.

Aside from the small detail that these things don’t really solve any problem, these companies are not… let’s say software savvy.

Re: Three million malware-infected smart toothbrushes used in Swiss DDoS attacks

#23

Post by axus »

ano-ther wrote: post #2

My theory is that every technology goes through a period of experimentation before it’s clear how it should be employed. That’s why we had project plowshare for the bomb and now internet connectivity for every imaginable device, even ones that only need an on-off switch. I am a bit mystified why we need connected toothbrushes, but I very much applaud the spirit of experimentation, even if it sometimes gives us toothb…

No need to teach your children honesty, when you can just spy on their toothbrushes.

Re: Three million malware-infected smart toothbrushes used in Swiss DDoS attacks

#25

Post by nonrandomstring »

soco wrote: post #10
true_blue wrote: post #4

Why do toothbrushes need to be able to make web connections in the first place? I get that it's for tracking brushing habits, but can't that be done with local connectivity only, like LAN or something?

Not every toothbrush user has a server at home and the skills to attach to it. I would even say that most of those users had no idea what they enabled when they activated their toothbrushes. And let's not forget about vacuum cleaners, refrigerators, washing machines, coffee makers and the other zillions of "smart" personal data channeling smart appliances. I'd dare a survey, how many HN people actually work on exactl…

> I'd dare a survey, how many HN people actually work on exactly these technologies, how many read these words, and how many actually care?

This is an excellent question. We'd likely find that there is an enormous disconnect between high IQ, well educated engineers and high emotional and social intelligence.

The perennial excuses; "it's just a job" , "everybody's doing it", "if I didn't build then someone else would" ... these have grown tiresome and weak. Everybody now knows these are stupid and dangerous things we are doing.

Is there a kind of fatalistic malice at work? How do people who work on this kind of thing manage the dissonance?

Re: Three million malware-infected smart toothbrushes used in Swiss DDoS attacks

#27

Post by notaustinpowers »

soco wrote: post #11
snow_mac wrote: post #9

Dude. This is too much. My fridge is capable of being connected to the internet, so is my oven, garage door opener and my dishwasher. WHY? These things have worked so well without this crap. I wish manufacturers would stop this insanity.

Theory: you just don't connect them, right. Reality: connect or it won't start. Next step: integrated sim card.

This literally happened to me on Friday. I was setting up a smart TV for my uncle and he just uses it for his Chromecast so I thought "whatever, I'm not going to connect this TV to his wifi."

Come to find out, the TV locks you out of EVERYTHING if you do not connect it to the internet. You see the homescreen but you aren't allowed to switch the input unless you connect to the wifi. Even after connecting to wifi, you only get access to FAST channels, and still have to register with a Samsung account before you get permission to change the input.

I don't think I had ever been more upset at a piece of tech in my life.

Re: Three million malware-infected smart toothbrushes used in Swiss DDoS attacks

#28

Post by samatman »

soco wrote: post #10
true_blue wrote: post #4

Why do toothbrushes need to be able to make web connections in the first place? I get that it's for tracking brushing habits, but can't that be done with local connectivity only, like LAN or something?

Not every toothbrush user has a server at home and the skills to attach to it. I would even say that most of those users had no idea what they enabled when they activated their toothbrushes. And let's not forget about vacuum cleaners, refrigerators, washing machines, coffee makers and the other zillions of "smart" personal data channeling smart appliances. I'd dare a survey, how many HN people actually work on exactl…

I have several gizmos which use Bluetooth. They're a little bit slower to connect to than the WiFi ones, but they work fine, and "a bit slower to connect" seems fine for a toothbrush.

I also have several gizmos, including lightbulbs, which use WiFi. To my chagrin, I've had internet outages which meant that I can't turn on a given light until the Internet comes back. I put up with it, because telling my computer to change the lights is too much fun, but when the internet goes out, I'm embarrassed both personally and professionally.

Somehow we've failed as a profession to provide people with a home network which continues to function as long as the router has power, and that sucks.

Re: Three million malware-infected smart toothbrushes used in Swiss DDoS attacks

#30

Post by anonymouskimmer »

hef19898 wrote: post #5
anonymouskimmer wrote: post #3

> Normally, the toothbrushes would have used their connectivity for tracking and improving user oral hygiene habits Along with that thread on the Folk computer the other day ( https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=39241472 ), and a discussion on signal interference in long-range wifi and the like ( https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=39246399 ) this makes me wonder if broad household surveillance centralized to a sin…

How about no household surveillance at all? Crazy idea, I know.

That's what I do. But I presume others like it, so here's an alternative for them. I have an uncle who was really into household automation back in the 80s/90s.
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