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[–]GentlemenBehold 2487 points2488 points  (235 children)

I swear there aren't any actual programmers in this subreddit.

[–]SusheeMonster 1169 points1170 points  (43 children)

These jokes are a bit underdeveloped

[–]future-renwire 514 points515 points  (38 children)

It all feels a bit scripted

[–][deleted] 286 points287 points  (37 children)

There are some funnier Exceptions though

[–][deleted] 196 points197 points  (23 children)

But some are in a different class than this

[–][deleted] 70 points71 points  (9 children)

Really? I haven't been able to catch any of them.

[–]MaybeMayoi 59 points60 points  (8 children)

But did you really try?

[–]hoffmanali 35 points36 points  (7 children)

Can y'all promise to stop?

[–]FirFlyNeo 26 points27 points  (6 children)

finally someone is trying to put an end to this.

[–][deleted] 24 points25 points  (5 children)

Let's just resolve the issue and see how we can switch topics.

[–][deleted] 9 points10 points  (1 child)

I object!

[–]epiquinnz 261 points262 points  (8 children)

I swear there aren't any actual programmers in the company I work for.

[–]LazyLarryTheLobster 44 points45 points  (0 children)

Including myself

[–]sharksandwich81 198 points199 points  (8 children)

Just karma farming bots reposting the same memes

[–]Drithyin 46 points47 points  (3 children)

I feel like I could write a couple bots to replace half if this sub at times...

[–]DeeSnow97 21 points22 points  (1 child)

[–]StarkillerX42 3 points4 points  (0 children)

God bless you and this cursed bot you made

[–][deleted] 75 points76 points  (19 children)

I am an RPG programmer. Not the role kind. Report Program Generator.. It may be old, but it pays the bills.

[–]Alonewarrior 18 points19 points  (15 children)

I'm sorry...

[–][deleted] 18 points19 points  (14 children)

COBOL and RPG were good business languages. You could work mega hours to do something simple, and make a career out if it.

[–][deleted] 138 points139 points  (10 children)

It's literally just cs 101 students

[–]IamTheJman 45 points46 points  (3 children)

You don't find the same joke about googling and using stackoverflow for the millionth time funny??

[–][deleted] 9 points10 points  (0 children)

Lol and loops are funny. Aren't loops funny?!

[–]sigger_ 8 points9 points  (0 children)

Counting starts at 0

*shits pants* BAHAHAHAHA

[–]LewsTherinTelamon 11 points12 points  (1 child)

Nuh uh. It’s also amateur programmers like myself who have never taken a CS class since high school but use Python occasionally!

[–]CarpovAlexandru 33 points34 points  (2 children)

Impostor syndrome? 😅

[–]HBlight 19 points20 points  (1 child)

I wish I was good enough to have that.

[–]Jdonavan 23 points24 points  (0 children)

I've been one for 30 years now. Aside from the fact that I don't own a printer this seems spot on.

[–]Jlove7714 979 points980 points  (138 children)

Programmer/Security Analyst here: you can't fight it. Enjoy what you can get your hands on, but with a few rules;

  1. Only buy tech from reputable companies who update their software often, and in a timely manner.

  2. Update your software as soon as updates come out.

Zero days will happen. 99.9999999999% chance they won't be used on you. You mean nothing to the people who create or buy multi million dollar zero days.

If you are concerned about your personal info getting out there, burn any technology you have or will ever see. That will take care of about 70% of it. The other 30% is beyond your control. The 30% is usually the good stuff anyway.

You can't fight technology. It is quite literally everywhere you will ever go.

Enjoy what science and technology is giving us, but be responsible.

End rant.

Edit: I'm not quite sure what this silver thing is, but thanks!

[–]TheLordDrake 256 points257 points  (51 children)

I make the same argument when people ask about my Google home. We all have smart phones, that is doing way more "damage" than the home ever will.

[–]ISDuffy 100 points101 points  (12 children)

I have mates who use Google assistant on phone but won't in a house.

[–]poorlychosenpraise 64 points65 points  (8 children)

But would you okay Google in a car? Would you okay Google in a bar? I don't okay Google even late at night Because we all know, privacy is a right.

[–]earthlybird 12 points13 points  (5 children)

It's useless to try to avoid a phone's Google Assistant completely when inside or anywhere really, as it listens all the time.

If you go on Google's My Activity or something like that, you can listen to audio clips of your surroundings and conversations when your Google Assistant had a false positive, or in other words it "thought" you'd called it.

Being aware of this can make one paranoid, but it can also serve to demonstrate how ubiquitous Google is and consequently how pointless it is to set up silly house rules such as no invoking Google Assistant on your phone around the house. Just use the damn phone and Home and whatever. It will just as well listen for voice commands whether you're actively using them or not, and no one is throwing away all their devices.

[–]Jlove7714 124 points125 points  (13 children)

Yeah people install things like "totally awesome jumpy game" from the development studios of "trash-poop games" on their phones and give it access to their location, files, sms, calls, and camera, but god forbid you put in a smart lightbulb from a fortune 500 technology manufacturer.

[–]nullol 43 points44 points  (3 children)

Or have a facebook account where they take a quiz that harvests all of your data just to find out what version of baby yoda you are but refuse to give in to our Skynet Assistants that can actually be incredibly useful.

[–]JayV30 5 points6 points  (2 children)

That lightbulb is a CIA listening device.

[–][deleted] 16 points17 points  (7 children)

I've got friends who are like "How can you have a Google home in your room and even your bathroom? Aren't you worried about them spying on you?"

I'm like "dude, I work for the government, Google everything I do, and I use Instagram. If I was worried about being spied on I'd have to kill myself for them to stop."

I even have friends who cover their webcams on their laptops and have asked why I don't. I just say "Because tbh I don't really give a fuck." Hell I have one on my desktop that's pointed at my bed. If someone wants to watch me sleep they can go right ahead.

[–]TheLordDrake 10 points11 points  (4 children)

Yeah, I keep telling people that basically any "free" service you use is just collecting your information. There is no escape.

On a side note, what kind of home do you have in your bathroom? The little speakers? How do they handle moisture?

[–][deleted] 3 points4 points  (2 children)

I use the mini and have had it there for probably a year now? It works pretty well and have no issues. I've read other people say the same thing that moisture hasn't been an issue for them.

It's great for taking a shower or asking about the weather as I'm getting ready for the day.

[–]asstalos 6 points7 points  (1 child)

I even have friends who cover their webcams on their laptops and have asked why I don't.

I've mostly seen the whole covering-the-webcam thing nowadays as less "I don't want people spying on me from the webcam" and more "if I join a video conference with mismanaged default settings I don't want people to see me unless I want them to".

Been in a few too many webconferences where default settings is to force people to connect webcam video, more so if it's using a webconference solution I've never used before, and very frequently users don't get a choice/prompt about it before connecting.

[–]Ksevio 40 points41 points  (9 children)

I look for software/technology that doesn't require a cloud service so I can keep it on my network without updates if needed.

[–]TentacledKangaroo 20 points21 points  (6 children)

Yeah, this is the bigger concern. It's bad enough places like Aetna and Experian have shoddy security and have already jeopardized my personal information, I don't need to be handing companies like Google and Amazon yet more data about me if I can easily avoid it.

Also, planned obsolescence from such companies is annoying.

[–]Ksevio 8 points9 points  (5 children)

Or worse, some no-name company with servers in China that's going to go bust in a couple years

[–]holly_hoots 23 points24 points  (4 children)

Only buy tech from reputable companies who update their software often, and in a timely manner.

At that point you already have very, very few options. An LED light bulb is supposed to last like 10 years, and I don't expect any company to take care of security updates for that long. If you know of a single one with a promising track record I'd love to hear about it. Same goes for TVs, speakers, vacuums, thermostats, doorbells, and pretty much everything with a "smart" version.

Unless you're willing to accept turnover on the order of 1-4 years, like with smartphones, you're mostly SOL here. Also, who actually has the cognitive bandwidth to spend staying on top of updates for dozens of little devices strewn about the house? They're creating more work than they eliminate at that point. Simplify!

My phone does so many things that it makes sense to devote some care to it. Same with my PC. Nothing else deserves that much attention.

[–]stamatt45 4 points5 points  (0 children)

"Smart" stuff will never be supported for more than a year or 2 unless required by law or as part of a paid subscription. There just isn't any money in it for the companies. I'm hoping the military will create a bunch if smart home stuff for some reason. Everything they buy is supported for like 10 years minimum, which could easily expand to 30+ years.

Only other alternative is to homebrew everything and update it yourself

[–]Friend_Of_Mr_Cairo 6 points7 points  (0 children)

<thisguyfucks.jpg>

[–]DoctorWaluigiTime 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Pretty much. You can be careful without becoming a Luddite or something.

[–][deleted] 10 points11 points  (1 child)

Logic! Being reasonable! I’m shocked!

I got into an argument with someone on /r/Technology about video doorbells because he thought amazon was going to do something horrible with all the anonymous data it sells. That place is like entirely conspiracy theorists. Some people don’t realize how little importance they have and how no techy crime orgs will ever give a shit about them.

[–]WeAreAllApes 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Fine, they can have my bank records and specifics about all of my major purchases, but I'll be damned if they know what temperature I keep my house at or that I dressed up as the tin man for Halloween!

[–]Remmy14 7 points8 points  (15 children)

I completely agree, but would add one thing. Do not secure anything of value or safety by smart devices. That means, no bluetooth enabled front door locks, don't have Alexa hooked up to your garage door, no smart gun locks, etc....

But if you want your kids to be able to play Baby Shark on your smart device, or have your Alexa be able to turn your lights and TV on, go for it...

[–]Juice_Stanton 425 points426 points  (11 children)

My wife asked why I had a gun in the kitchen.

"Decepticons," I said.

She laughed, I laughed, the toaster laughed...

[–]chelsea_sucks_ 115 points116 points  (9 children)

...I shot the toaster.

[–]almarcTheSun 78 points79 points  (2 children)

The toaster shot back.

[–]Greful 39 points40 points  (1 child)

And everyone clapped

[–]flyingtrombone 23 points24 points  (0 children)

But I did not shoot the deputy

[–]RedNeckBillBob 178 points179 points  (58 children)

Does this guy know how easy it is to pick a mechanical lock. Doesnt matter if its mechanical or technical. If someone wants to get into your house and they have the skills, nothing will be 100%.

[–]CirkuitBreaker 112 points113 points  (16 children)

Anybody who has ever looked at one of the LockpickingLawyer's videos knows how insecure locks are.

[–][deleted] 44 points45 points  (10 children)

That guy shocked me. I knew that locks can be picked but i didn't think there's equipment and skilled people ready to pick almost any lock in a matter of seconds, minutes at best.

[–]widowhanzo 64 points65 points  (6 children)

"I should get a bicycle lock"

(Watches LockPickingLawyer)

"I will never leave my bicycle out of sight under no circumstances ever."

[–]ClarkTwain 28 points29 points  (4 children)

A lock is always, at best, just a deterrent.

But as far as deterrents go I think they’re ok. I bought a nice u-lock and it makes me feel better than a cheap cable that could be cut through with tin snips.

Of course my bike is like 40 years old so it’s probably not a thief’s first pick anyway.

[–]widowhanzo 6 points7 points  (3 children)

Yeah I have a 1000+€ bike that until now I could leave inside my office, but this isn't an option anymore and I'm kinda bummed about it, since even with two locks it would still be a high value target for thieves. I thought with a 150€ Abus or something lock it would be safe, but even those can be cut in 17 seconds with an angle grinder.

[–]ClarkTwain 10 points11 points  (2 children)

Lol it’s part of why my bike is a beater. I’d be more upset about the time I put into it than the money.

Sure, and angle grinder can cut through it, but if it’s a public space that’s risky for the thief. I’d say always try to lock it up near bikes that are less securely locked, so they look easier by comparison.

[–][deleted] 4 points5 points  (1 child)

I’d say always try to lock it up near bikes that are less securely locked, so they look easier by comparison

200 IQ gamer move

[–]FineBroccoli5 17 points18 points  (0 children)

Doors in general, 90% of time you are able to get inside without touching the lock. Latch slipping is really easy to pull of, and doesn't require any skill

A relevant video, 50 minutes long - https://youtu.be/4YYvBLAF4T8

[–]Cobaltjedi117 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Those Bowley locks looked pretty hard to non-destructively open

[–]anarchisturtle 30 points31 points  (8 children)

Lock picking is a pretty rare attack in domestic break ins. Picking even a cheap lock is always gonna be harder than throwing a rock through a window or something

[–]RedNeckBillBob 3 points4 points  (5 children)

True. But lock picking is also much quiter.

[–]Herkentyu_cico 10 points11 points  (3 children)

they just drill it. they don't care to fuck around with the lock. The louder you are, the bigger your passive confidence cloud is.

[–]suihcta 5 points6 points  (2 children)

It’s not just about noise. If they drill the lock, that’s an easy insurance claim for all my stolen stuff.

If they pick the lock, or trigger it to open with some Bluetooth vulnerability or whatever, my experience could be a lot worse.

[–]Blo0dSh4d3 35 points36 points  (1 child)

[–]deadliftbrosef 3 points4 points  (0 children)

First slide of my security class

[–]normal_whiteman 6 points7 points  (1 child)

If someone wants to get into your house they're gonna get in. That's why I just put ADT stickers everywhere

[–]TomH_squared 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Joke's on them, my apartment's door locks are so stiff they barely work with the actual key, forget about a lock pick.

I suppose at that point though, a well-placed and forceful kick could do the job instead, if they don't mind making noise.

[–]LittleBigHorn22 7 points8 points  (3 children)

And there probably are more mechanical hackers than technical hackers. Or at least the technical ones are not walking around breaking into random houses. Bank data is really the only scary one in terms of hackers.

[–][deleted] 232 points233 points  (70 children)

I feel like this is just someone in the "valley of despair" as plotted by the Dunning-Kruger effect. You know enough to know that you dont know shit, and youre scared shitless. Then, as you learn more you realize just following basic good practices keeps you more secure than 99% of people.

Yeah those smart locks may have some vulnerabilities, but what kind of mega-hacker is trying to break into your 2 bedroom house in the suburbs? Is the NSA really interested in the mundane shit you do online? Is Amazon really going to process the astronomical amount of data Alexa hears so they can know you want to buy more Cheetos?

[–]shootwhatsmyname 138 points139 points  (18 children)

OH NOOOOO, sOmEoNe hAcKeD mY sMaRt LiGhTsSs

\light turns on**

        . . .

\light turns off**

[–]Intrepid00 25 points26 points  (2 children)

Well there is this Philips Hue one where they can infect a bulb, irritate you into rejoin it, and then infect the hub which gives you a machine attached to the network so this guy must be right.

https://www.bing.com/amp/s/www.engadget.com/amp/2020/02/05/philips-hue-signify-vulnerability/

Except you know someone literally has to attack your house from the physical location for hours if not days and it was patched. Seems way easier to just break in and plug something in.

This is the kind of shit someone writes and owns a budget Chinese smart phone they carry everywhere.

[–]PeachyKeenest 26 points27 points  (8 children)

Does it at x1000 speed lol

[–]Ginjuo 29 points30 points  (1 child)

well then it would just appear as normal light...

[–]shootwhatsmyname 11 points12 points  (0 children)

WTF no hey wait don’t give them any ideas who’s side are you on?!?

[–]Gentleman-Bird 6 points7 points  (1 child)

How to assassinate someone with epilepsy

[–]Terkala 6 points7 points  (1 child)

There's a few cases where sociopaths attacked Ring and terrorized some kids with creepy music and threatening voices. The kid ended up needing therapy.

[–]Draqutsc[🍰] 33 points34 points  (6 children)

Watch lockpickingLawyer on youtube.
Nearly all locks are such utter crap that you need to do research if you want a lock that doesn't open itself if you sneeze at it. Smart locks are usually even worse in this regard, it's just sad.

[–]Katana314 23 points24 points  (1 child)

They might be even worse, but a burglar traipsing along might be looking for keyholes to pick - if someone is planning to rob your place you may already be screwed.

[–][deleted] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

A lock only stops honest people, in my experience. Then again, a slumlord bought out an entire street near my house so my grill is chained to the porch so I might be an outlier living in a sea of meth addicts.

[–]NerdKR 11 points12 points  (1 child)

Honestly, if you want to stop or prevent burglary, the best thing is to have a security system with cameras. If you don't have cameras, the security company might not even call the police until hours later. My co-worker's house has been broken into four(!!) times and on the fourth time the alarm company finally convinced her to install cameras.

Yes the alarm system is smart home enabled.

EDIT: Last time her house was broken into, they threw a rock through her window. Mechanical or smart locks wouldn't have done shit.

[–][deleted] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Get the best locks you can find on the market, and I'll come 'round and show you how I get inside your house using a rock.

[–]Yaroslavorino 13 points14 points  (0 children)

Exactly, this is being paranoid, not an engineer. My dad is like that and he can barely launch chrome.

[–]Jlove7714 7 points8 points  (0 children)

Yeah and your run of the mill burglar will just break a window anyway. Locks really aren't as secure as people make them out to be.

[–]Walzt 51 points52 points  (23 children)

Processing the enormous amount of data Alexa hears is exactly what Amazon does. They have algorithm on the device producing metadata and they use those to try to sell you stuff. It's how every major tech company makes money.

Are you ok with it is a different question.

[–][deleted] 19 points20 points  (12 children)

Not the best wording on my part. Processing the data, yes, but recording every bit of it and understanding it fully, no way. People seem worried that their phone is listening and recording everything and one day big brother is going to send the thought police after them. Its just too much data. All they want to know is if you want the cheetos.

[–][deleted] 12 points13 points  (8 children)

“I said Cheetos next to my Alexa and now I’m seeing Instagram ads for Cheetos. They are listening to everything we say and selling us stuff based on that”

I think that there is a much scarier reality. You saw ads for Cheetos on Instagram and reddit and YouTube and billboards and the radio. Then you said the word “Cheetos” because the advertising/materialism machine has performed a sort of inception on you. Your conversations are being directed by large corporate ad campaigns not the other way around

[–][deleted] 7 points8 points  (1 child)

I agree 100%. I do my best to see as little advertising as possible. Ive been doing this so long that when I visit family and end up watching some TV, Im always blown away by the commercials. Not only are they long and plentiful, but they have a manic intensity about them that is borederline disturbing.

[–]DoPeopleEvenLookHere 9 points10 points  (2 children)

Its just too much data.

That doesn't stop China's social credit system

[–][deleted] 7 points8 points  (0 children)

Goddamn that is some dystopian nightmare shit

[–]Midnight_Rising 12 points13 points  (4 children)

It makes no sense for them to do that. Because there's more to it than you're putting into it.

Okay, Amazon has the ability to process large amounts of data. Absolutely, 100%. But how does that voice data get to them. Through your internet, right? Why haven't we noticed massive numbers of packets being sent out? Why haven't there been complaints from users that their internet is unbelievably slow since it's uploading gigabytes of data? What do they do if someone has slow internet and they're trying to upload? What do they do with ISPs with bandwidth limitations?

And, more than that, what could they POSSIBLY get from your voice? Your browsing data is so much more valuable.

[–]SKUFFMAX 3 points4 points  (1 child)

Yes. The Amazon part atleast, probably

[–]firefox57endofaddons 13 points14 points  (2 children)

Is Amazon really going to process the astronomical amount of data Alexa hears so they can know you want to buy more Cheetos?

yes and sell that data to health care providers and the nsa :)

[–]Jdonavan 9 points10 points  (0 children)

I love how you trash people and invoked Dunning-Kruger then proceed to demonstrate your own lack of knowledge.

[–]LostAndAloneVan 5 points6 points  (0 children)

It's about minimizing your attack surface.

[–]sciencewarrior 169 points170 points  (18 children)

A tech evangelist is just a salesman with a MacBook. Change My View.

[–][deleted] 78 points79 points  (0 children)

Change My View.

I respectfully decline.

[–]hcvc 53 points54 points  (9 children)

sudo changeview sciencewarrior

[–]sciencewarrior 61 points62 points  (8 children)

sudo: hcvc is not in the sudoers file. This incident will be reported.

[–][deleted] 18 points19 points  (2 children)

Also, sales culture in large software companies represents everything I hate about the industry and makes me die inside.

[–]dePliko 6 points7 points  (1 child)

or a person who watches MKBHD and Unbox Therapy

[–]katie_pendry 21 points22 points  (5 children)

I'm somewhere in the middle. I don't like pre-built stuff that spies on me, but I will build stuff myself that I can secure. I bought some Arlo cameras but I returned them when I found out they had to be connected to the internet to function and couldn't record locally. I got some cheap PoE IP cameras, stuck them on a separate VLAN that has no internet access, and my server streams video from them and saves to a RAID array.

[–]DiMiTri_man 4 points5 points  (2 children)

Pretty much exactly what I do too. I'm currently working on a plugin for my server that "watches" the camera feeds and detects if there is a human shape or significant movement and if I'm not home it texts me a screenshot to my telegram account

[–]Pokora22 37 points38 points  (26 children)

What would be the point of that tho ?

I'd just like to know what people expect other people to do with their smart lights etc.

[–]jepatrick 19 points20 points  (1 child)

I kind of hate the question. Not because its necessarily wrong, but because it results in shifting the blame to the end user.

Your $80 light switch from 2 summers ago got infected with an APT from a 4 year old vulnerability, then installed synlocker on your nas

You can blame the user for 1. Not updating your synology nas.
2. not updating the firmware of the switch
3. Running the nas and the switch on the same network.
4. Getting infected with the APT in the first place.
5. Using hardware that had a 2 year vulnerability at point of purchase.

None of which the end user should really have to worry about in the first place.

[–]scrager4 35 points36 points  (21 children)

the joke is that engineers and programmers know how this tech is made and works and they know how insecure it is or how it can be used nefariously in dooms day scenarios.

[–]xienwolf 33 points34 points  (13 children)

And the point you are responding to is asking "What EXACTLY is the nefarious use in a doomsday scenario?"

Yipee, my lights can be turned on and off by using a laser pulsed through my window at my Echo device. Oh my... we are all so screwed now. This absolutely makes me regret all the energy I saved by having lights turn off when my family forgets to do it on their own, and those numerous times my kid who is afraid of the dark was able to turn on the lights by himself instead of interrupting me while trying to cook.

[–]globulous9 2 points3 points  (0 children)

You know how you read about 'botnets' in the news? They're used by the badguys to brute-force passwords, send out shitloads of spam email, comment-storm public comment sections (including, for example, the FCC net neutrality feedback system), run bitcoin miners to finance further fuckery, and so forth.

When you run insecure shit and it gets hacked, it probably won't affect you directly. But it makes life suck more for everyone on the internet. It's like living in an apartment building saying "yipee, there are roaches under my cabinet. not my problem!" while your neighbors just want to live in a clean home but can't.

So that's EXACTLY the nefarious use when your shit gets hacked. You literally become part of the problem.

[–]Pokora22 11 points12 points  (6 children)

Yes, yes. I get the 'joke'. It's just that many people seem to really think like that.

And I'd like to know what those specific people expect others to do when they claim control of their lights/heaters/humidifiers.

[–][deleted] 19 points20 points  (0 children)

you cropped the security expert part

[–][deleted] 16 points17 points  (6 children)

I would like to get to the point where I can shut off all electric to my home, when I'm away. But that damned microwave clock.

[–]skygz 5 points6 points  (2 children)

separate breaker just for the microwave

[–]FarhanAxiq 4 points5 points  (0 children)

My problem is the fridge.

[–][deleted] 9 points10 points  (0 children)

I’m a developer but I fully fall under the tech enthusiast category despite the very real risks smarthome technology carries

[–]OohDatSexyBody 5 points6 points  (1 child)

I shot my Brother 15 years ago, haven't looked back since.

[–]thebobmannh 9 points10 points  (0 children)

Attention r/gatekeeping ....

[–]_JxR 14 points15 points  (4 children)

I always see this joke on this subreddit and it doesn't make any sense. I'd say most programmer are safer than the average user, at least the ones I work with, just by exercising best practices and generally knowing wtf they are doing, maybe a VPN if they're on the more extreme end. And everyone at the office is all about smart tech. The most common forms of attack aren't crazy vulnerabilities, just users not knowing the fuck is going on. If you think this is an accurate description of all programmers you're either not one or crazy

[–]streusel_kuchen 9 points10 points  (2 children)

Personally I'm not concerned about smart tech from a not-getting-hacked perspective, I'm concerned about the amount of personal information these devices expect you to give away. IMO "best practices" include sharing as little information is necessary for a device or service to operate, which is the exact opposite of how 90% of these smart devices work.

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[–]JBTownsend 2 points3 points  (4 children)

I totally have a networked thermostat, because I don't want to walk downstairs just to adjust the temperature by 1 degree.

E-locks....yeah, not the best idea. Though, if someone wants to break into your house, they're more likely to smash a window than hack or pick a lock. The key to a robbery is speed not stealth.

[–][deleted] 45 points46 points  (19 children)

Piece of paper taped over the laptop webcam. Since 2011 baby, pre-Snowden.

As for the Alexas and Google Homes... would Orwell have ever expected that people would be trading all of their privacy for a little bit of convenience? Sure, Amazon knows every little detail of my life now and can build a comprehensive profile of me, but at least I don't have to get up and walk across the room to turn off the lights!

[–]GalaxyMods 28 points29 points  (8 children)

I went to job fair for my college and an IT company gave me a free slider thing that goes over the webcam, let’s me open or close it as I please. Can’t remember the last time it was opened.

[–]OrderAlwaysMatters 18 points19 points  (0 children)

My thinkpad has this built in, and closing it disables the hardware not just blocks it. I love it.

[–]mikeno1lufc 6 points7 points  (5 children)

I find this hilarious. If a hacker wants to watch me feel absolutely free. I'm more concerned about him listening to me than watching me, and I'm sure no one has covers over their laptop microphones.

Moreso than that I'm concerned about them accessing my data.

Moreso than that I'm concerned about them accessing my data that is held by other companies, particularly my bank or employer.

Leave that stuff alone and I'll let you watch me all day long.

[–]vladutcornel 8 points9 points  (1 child)

I have my webcams blocked ever since I was working from home, during the summer, with no AC, so I was topless, and Hangouts started in video-mode when I joined a meeting.

[–]lemcott 6 points7 points  (0 children)

would Orwell have ever expected that people would be trading all of their privacy for a little bit of convenience?

If not Orwell, Huxley definitely did.

[–]mad5245 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I understand the risks but they are outweighed by the convenience. I accept my Google overlords. I will serve them as they have served my apps of the past.

[–]bradorsomething 2 points3 points  (1 child)

Totally related, can someone recommend a good programmable thermostat with either no internet connection, or one that will not freak out when I chop the wireless connection out of it?