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More awful IoT stuff

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41–50 of 245 posts

Re: More awful IoT stuff

#41
post #18

So there is a great amount of lists, blogposts and information about awful/bad IoT things, but if someone like me want to have a list about IoT things that are actually secure and well-working, where would I find that?

> If someone like me want to have a list about IoT things that are actually secure and well-working, where would I find that?

Here ya go!

...

Re: More awful IoT stuff

#43
post #6

IoT devices can be fine, but there are lots of companies involved in it that don't know what they're doing and would be better off staying out of the market. I always advice friends / family to look for upgrading capabilities, ability to do useful work when not connected to the Internet proper, user control (do you own this device or effectively borrow it per licensing etc.?), and other similar things before purchasi…

"Cheap mass market product of mostly unknown provenience" and "in my WiFi network" are simply two things that do not fit well together.

Re: More awful IoT stuff

#44

There's so much potential in the market for proper, well made IoT devices that would bring around the hardcore skeptics like myself. I mean really well made products, properly encrypted with well made API endpoints that come with good apps for the uninitiated -AND- the ability to be scripted and automated by the techies. (You can do both, there's no reason why you can't and I don't understand why everyone refuses to)…

The commercial side of building automation is robust, but the components are pricey, the platforms proprietary* and end-user aavailibility seems to be limited. The beauty of the other side is every switch, sensor & controller's first objective is not to monetize the user but rather to simply do it's intended job. Look into building automation controls and you will find what you yearn for; Siemens, Johnson Controls, Honeywell/Novar, BAS... However, retail/public access, setup & end-user friendliness will still be significant hurdles outside of hiring a pricey, authorized contractor.

*The components are simple & generic, the interface & controls are mostly based on a universal framework w/ their proprietary gui/front-end locked on.

Re: More awful IoT stuff

#45
post #38

There's so much potential in the market for proper, well made IoT devices that would bring around the hardcore skeptics like myself. I mean really well made products, properly encrypted with well made API endpoints that come with good apps for the uninitiated -AND- the ability to be scripted and automated by the techies. (You can do both, there's no reason why you can't and I don't understand why everyone refuses to)…

Which problems do you want to solve with these IoT devices? What should they do? In my opinion existing IoT devices generally replace simple, proven systems with complex and abstruse ones.

A good example would be the smart outlet ones, so I could for example setup one to automatically power cycle my cable modem and router, or even one that could handle the load of a space heater I keep in my office during the winter months and switch it on 15 minutes before I get home. I don't even need the ability to manage it over the WAN, I'd be fine with just something my linux boxes at home could handle with cron jobs.

Re: More awful IoT stuff

#46
post #44

There's so much potential in the market for proper, well made IoT devices that would bring around the hardcore skeptics like myself. I mean really well made products, properly encrypted with well made API endpoints that come with good apps for the uninitiated -AND- the ability to be scripted and automated by the techies. (You can do both, there's no reason why you can't and I don't understand why everyone refuses to)…

The commercial side of building automation is robust, but the components are pricey, the platforms proprietary* and end-user aavailibility seems to be limited. The beauty of the other side is every switch, sensor & controller's first objective is not to monetize the user but rather to simply do it's intended job. Look into building automation controls and you will find what you yearn for; Siemens, Johnson Controls, H…

That's what I'm getting at though, there is clearly a market for consumer ready devices that don't cost what solutions like that do and don't need a contractor to install them. I mean you can't tell me that in today's world we couldn't manufacture an outlet with electronic control of the flow of current out of it's outlets, and do it in such a way that uses proper SSL and endpoints, without having to price it so high? I don't believe it.

Re: More awful IoT stuff

#47

Earlier quoted context omitted.

So, the GPL never had much power?

If that's really how it works then does that mean that open source projects with no clear copyright owner can't enforce their license?

Well, if it's a project with lots of contributors, any one of them can sue¹. If no contributor can be identified, it's probably unenforceable, yes, though IANAL.

¹I believe there are some exceptions, like having contributed only an insignificant fraction of the whole work.

Re: More awful IoT stuff

#48

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's not that easy. I stick with brands/products that are reviewed by people I trust or have seemed to pick up some momentum. My general rule of thumb is I NEVER buy anything IoT that is WiFi based. Zigbee or Z-Wave based devices will save you a lot of security nightmares (though definitely not all).

Why is Z* preferable to Wifi-based?

One of the reasons would be that it isn't used that often and won't allow access to your network with commodity hardware.

Re: More awful IoT stuff

#49
post #18

So there is a great amount of lists, blogposts and information about awful/bad IoT things, but if someone like me want to have a list about IoT things that are actually secure and well-working, where would I find that?

The comments in the article link to this: https://github.com/HQarroum/awesome-iot

Re: More awful IoT stuff

#50
post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'd love a list like that as well, but sadly I don't think one exists and I don't think there's any money in doing it. Nobody wants to hear about good IoT devices, they want to make fun of bad ones and feel superior, that's what sells clicks. Maybe i'm just being cynical...

I don't think there's enough profit margin in most IoT devices to allocate to something like this. F.ex. when's the last time you saw a commercial for a door knob?

I've seen multiple commercials for thermostats, smart refrigerators, a smart doorbell, and a bunch of IoT lights and light switches.
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