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Dumbass Home 2.0. How modern IoT works, how to automate your rented box today

vas3k.com

21–30 of 58 posts

Re: Dumbass Home 2.0. How modern IoT works, how to automate your rented box today

#21
post #16

The only way to win is not to play. It is completely daft to me that all these devices require an Internet connection to function. I will never allow something like that into my house (along with home assistants like Alexa). I have achieved a decent level of automation using simple timer switches (they have ones that adjust on/off times based on your latitude), completely disconnected motion sensing lights, and by si…

Not all, no.

HomeKit and ZWave don't require an Internet connection. I use a bunch of ZWave devices connected via Ethernet through a Raspberry Pi with hassio and a ZWave USB adapter - controlled from my phone when it connects to my wifi network.

To protect your wifi network, make sure you have a decent gateway in place. OpenWRT does a great job, but there are many others as well.

Re: Dumbass Home 2.0. How modern IoT works, how to automate your rented box today

#23
post #5

The version in Russian is significantly more entertaining, though it requires native-speaker level at the language to appreciate it fully.

I found it quite entertaining, after figuring out that the author is Russian, when hearing it in my head with a Russian accent. I thought it well written regardless, with plenty of laughs to start my morning.

Re: Dumbass Home 2.0. How modern IoT works, how to automate your rented box today

#24
post #11
post #5

The version in Russian is significantly more entertaining, though it requires native-speaker level at the language to appreciate it fully.

Now I'm sad. If translation even slightly resembles original version then I'm sad that I'm unable to read it in Russian due to not knowing language. I like this style of writing, another blog I know where author has slightly similar style is dedoimedo.com

Duolingo, my friend. Takes 15 mins a day. Not a paid endorsement.

Re: Dumbass Home 2.0. How modern IoT works, how to automate your rented box today

#25
post #11
post #5

The version in Russian is significantly more entertaining, though it requires native-speaker level at the language to appreciate it fully.

Now I'm sad. If translation even slightly resembles original version then I'm sad that I'm unable to read it in Russian due to not knowing language. I like this style of writing, another blog I know where author has slightly similar style is dedoimedo.com

Nice recommendation, thanks. Also a great blog name. "Dedo i Medo" literally means "Grandpa and the Bear" in a bunch of slavic languages.

Re: Dumbass Home 2.0. How modern IoT works, how to automate your rented box today

#26
post #16

The only way to win is not to play. It is completely daft to me that all these devices require an Internet connection to function. I will never allow something like that into my house (along with home assistants like Alexa). I have achieved a decent level of automation using simple timer switches (they have ones that adjust on/off times based on your latitude), completely disconnected motion sensing lights, and by si…

Yeah, I write off any home automation device that uses Wi-Fi. Currently I use a lot of Insteon devices, which aren't mentioned in the article, but are fundamentally very similar to Z-Wave. They have no software update mechanism and can't talk in an IP protocol, so the amount of impact someone can have on them is pretty bloody limited.

Re: Dumbass Home 2.0. How modern IoT works, how to automate your rented box today

#28
Wired vs wireless... With anything securityrelated, it should really be wired. At least cameras. It's very, very easy to just run a simple $2 sniffer (eg an esp8266) that sends de-auth packets and thus kicking devices off the wifi.

In our neighborhood, we've had quite a few thefts of skiboxes (the ones that go on top of the car) recently, and several say the security cameras seemed to be unconnected at the time, hinting at some use of de-auther/jammer.

Re: Dumbass Home 2.0. How modern IoT works, how to automate your rented box today

#29
post #7
post #5

The version in Russian is significantly more entertaining, though it requires native-speaker level at the language to appreciate it fully.

True, and the English one is not a literal translation. I wish though the English version had a greater quality.

As a native English speaker, I found this really well-written and entertaining. I even signed up for his email newsletter just because I liked the writing style so much.

Re: Dumbass Home 2.0. How modern IoT works, how to automate your rented box today

#30
post #28

Wired vs wireless... With anything securityrelated, it should really be wired. At least cameras. It's very, very easy to just run a simple $2 sniffer (eg an esp8266) that sends de-auth packets and thus kicking devices off the wifi. In our neighborhood, we've had quite a few thefts of skiboxes (the ones that go on top of the car) recently, and several say the security cameras seemed to be unconnected at the time, hint…

That's just not practical for most people. Wiring a house is difficult and/or expensive. It's also not necessarily an applicable argument for z-wave/zigbee (there may be similar attacks, though, I'm not sure).

There's also "hybrid" options for usecases like the "unconnected camera": a wireless camera that has local storage, for example.

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