Monday Moaning

Invasion of the white appliances

This is scary.

Technology at its worst.

Did you know your washing machines, air conditioners, TVs and fridges are spying on you?

Why your washing machine is a security risk

As washing machines get linked to the net, they might be leaking data

“Hello! Do you need any help, sir?”

“No thanks, I’m just browsing.”

This is a lie. I am not just browsing. I am trying to make a smart washing machine on display in this electronics store cough up its deepest secrets.

On this model, that means I need to simultaneously press a couple of buttons on the control panel to jog it into a mode that shows how it connects to wi-fi. But I need to hold the buttons down for five seconds or so and every time I do that a hovering salesman or woman comes over and I have to abandon the attempt.

Maybe there is a better way to plumb the secrets of smart devices. I’m curious about the security on these gadgets as I’ve just bought a washing machine that can communicate its well-being via an app.

More and more domestic gadgets that, since their creation, have been as isolationist as North Korea are now becoming decidedly verbose. And they do most of their chatting via apps. With home routers regularly getting enrolled into scams, I’m wondering if smart washing machines, ovens, tumble dryers and fridges will be next.

Source: BBCNews Read more scary stuff

Opinion:

I find it quite scary that appliances have the ability to transmit information without the user being aware of it. Further, there’s no way you can turn it off!

If this information is intercepted, as the article claims is fairly easy to do, by people with nefarious intent, can they determine when the house is empty?

Does this information make you ripe for the pickings of burglars and ne’er-do-well?

One thing I hate about all this information gathering is ‘targeted advertising’. Which is why I have blocked ALL access to advertisers and beacons from the sites I visit.

The road we are going down is fraught with danger…

Big Brother is watching you more and more, there is no escape.

Personally, I refuse to buy anything, that has this ability, or the potential. Which is why when I bought my new cellphone, I got as simpler model as possible. Smartphones are just too damned smart for my good.

 

Nature Ramble

Tarantulas this week.

Are they as fearsome as we imagine?

The link today points to a BBC slide show.

.

Tarantulas

Tarantulas have large, hairy bodies that make them the stuff of nightmares for many, but they look more threatening than they actually are. The mild venom of their bite is weaker than the average bee’s, and causes little more pain than a wasp sting. There are hundreds of species of tarantula living in the world’s tropical jungles and deserts. South America is home to some of the most sizeable species, such as the Goliath spiders that can have a leg span of 30cm. The name tarantula originates from the Italian town of Taranto.

See more tarantulas

Change the World Wednesday – 11th Jan

I am having withdrawal symptoms…

No Change the World Wednesdays since 30th November, and I have to wait until the 30th January still…

Yikes!

I am a blathering mess, I’ve tried coffee, I’ve tried sleeping, I’ve tried ignoring the problem, I even tried doing the dishes, even therapy shopping doesn’t help. Nothing works, it’s always there, haunting me, teasing me, threatening me… NO CTWW.

Last night I had a nightmare about it. I wrote a CTWW post, the best I’ve ever written, and there was no CTWW when I woke up.

@GiveTreeGifts tweeted about it, and included my name. My gorge rose in my throat. I have to have a CTWW, I just can’t do without it. Two whole months of deprivation, I’m losing it, I’m losing weight, my hair is falling out… oh wait, that is just old age, all the dishes are done… again, I’m losing sleep, I just sit here and stare at a blank screen every Wednesday morning, hoping, waiting, dribbling from one corner of the mouth

I tried reading past CTWW posts, but it wasn’t the same, even my passionfruit project has failed me; and I am sure that is a result too. Last year I had a bumper crop, harvested more than 200, this year, I have 1. Yes, only 1 lonely passionfruit growing over the front door, hanging there, taunting me.

I have even regressed, yes, regressed. I had a packaged 4-cheese lasagna last week; it was wrapped in plastic!

I can’t even recycle my grey-water, we have had two weeks of torrential rain, if I give my plants any more water, they’ll drown.

I will add, on a slightly more serious note, that Smallfootprints has worked hard over the past year in bringing us all CTWW, she deserves a break. Personally, I would just like to say a big…

Thank you

and we’ll see you at the end of January.

So I am going to finish here with this…

Farmer's Market

I hope you are all supporting your local Farmers’ Market