An update -
I have decided to get the Nest 3rd Gen Learning Thermostat, add another Echo Dot, and the Philips HUE Lighting starter kit. The Echo Dot I initially purchased has proven so helpful to me and the entire family that I've ordered another one. In a way, nice tools added to my home for me and the family.
Thanks & Happy Wood Chips,
Dennis -
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I started to take the dive into home automation. Right now I have two Logitech Harmony hubs, one for the living room and one for the master bedroom. These allow me to pair all devices for entertainment to my iPhone as well as my Echo Dots. I can control my tvs with voice commands now. I also have a smart thermostat paired to my phone and echo as well. Next up will be lighting.
Is it possible someone is a sleepwalker? they can do some crazy things - turning on a TV might be the least.
Note: last night during the super bowl, they came back from commercial and my announcers were Spanish. Not sure how that happened. The TV itself isn't on wifi but the chromecast device is. Could something cause that similar to your tv turning itself on? I had to shut it off and turn it back on with the remote for it to go back to Al and Chris.
Since it was at 4:00 am, and stopped after disconnecting from netwwork it was probably a "smart" factory programmed update.
We had some ghosts also.
We would do a system shutdown of all our video and components then leave that part of our house, only to hear the Toshiba TV a few minutes later. We would turn it off, it would come back on... off-on.....
It was maybe my wife's phone,...... we think. We had enabled the HDMI-CEC (HDMI-CEC”, short for HDMI Consumer Electronics Control, is an HDMI feature many TVs and peripherals have. Source -https://www.howtogeek.com/207186/how-to-enable-hdmi-cec-on-your-tv-and-why-you-should/).
She had a TV remote app and we have a Amazon Fire Stick in the TV. One of them was turning it back on. We disabled CEC. She can no longer use her phone as a TV remote and the fire stick can no longer switch inputs, we have to use the TV factory remote for those functions; but, it stays off when we turn it off.
Last edited by Charlie Velasquez; 02-06-2018 at 11:46 PM.
Comments made here are my own and, according to my children, do not reflect the opinions of any other person... anywhere, anytime.
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"It's paradoxical that the idea of living a long life appeals to everyone, but the idea of getting old doesn't appeal to anyone."
Andy Rooney
Lots of good information here. One thing I didn't see mentioned is that all of these devices connect to the company servers in order to store and analyze data. This means that information about your smart devices - the settings, usage information, metadata such as time/date/location/connection method/IP addresses/etc. are stored and probably analyzed in some way by the company. Advertisers would love to have this information and are willing to pay for it. Do you believe that a company wouldn't be tempted to sell information about when you're home and when you're not, or your cooling/heating/lighting/music/tv preferences to advertisers? Or that Amazon, Google, Apple, etc. are so interested in putting listening/watching devices in your home just to sell you soap and music downloads? It's not necessarily the government or hackers who might use the devices to listen in - it's the companies themselves. Like smartphones, these devices are designed from the ground up to gather information about you which can be analyzed and sold (and subpoenaed by the government and stolen by hackers). That's where the money is. The devices are loss-leaders in many cases.
This is especially true for devices that allow remote connections (e.g. from your smartphone). The connection to the device is not direct, as you might assume, but rather goes through the company's servers and gives the company access to a whole range of new information (your device's various identifying characteristics, its location, etc.). I think this is especially problematic for home security services since a hacker could have easy access to the status of your security system and your location (e.g. you're not home and won't be anytime soon because you're at Disneyworld). Remember that the company's firewalls or other security measures won't do any good if your phone is compromised. Based on what many said above, people have way too much faith in firewalls, malware protection, and other security measures.
One partial solution, if you want some semblance of a smart home, is to host your own server. Travis mentioned a company called Synology that sells devices that allow this cheaply(ish) and easily. It's not exactly plug-n-play but it's about as simple as it can be. QNAP is another company that makes a similar product, and I'm sure there must be more as well. Synology has mobile apps that connect directly to your device - no intermediary - allowing you to connect cameras and other devices and manage them remotely. You can also replicate many of the services you get for "free" from Google, Apple, Microsoft, Yahoo, etc. like email, cloud file storage, calendar, music/photo/video library, VPN, etc. The difference is you control access and these companies aren't scanning your private information for things they can sell. You also decide whether or not your smart devices have access to the internet and, therefore, whether they can send information back to their manufacturer. (BTW I don't have any affiliation with these companies or any other technology companies)
I know that this sounds paranoid but read the terms of service for any of these devices or services and see if you really agree to what's in them. You should also find a source of information you trust and read up on privacy issues. I really like the following two sources, but there are many others:
The Electronic Frontier Foundation
Krebs on Security
I know many people who don't care if their information is sold, which is fine. My thing is: know what you're getting into before giving access to your home.
Edit: added a couple of sentences for clarity.
Last edited by Brian W Evans; 02-07-2018 at 2:59 PM.
Many people simply don't care if these companies collect all of this information. There's nothing illegal about it if you agree to it in advance, so no opportunity for lawyers to get involved.
I am a person who values my privacy more than many others (posting on SMC excepted, I guess) and I don't agree to that kind of data collection. So, I spend a lot of time trying to find ways to keep my information private. If you are of the "I have nothing to hide" persuasion and you're willing to trade access to personal information in exchange for convenience, more power to you. I just feel strongly that people should be aware.
I have seen TV's and other electronic devices turn on by themselves. I have also seen a 220V tablesaw cut on by itself one time, but it was not connected to the internet or wifi.
I personally don't think there is any way to be totally protected. Keeping up with what you have on your network and what and how it communicates internally and externally is not an insignificant endeavor. The fact that we have devices that communicate and link up outwards automatically is another hole...
Last edited by Travis Porter; 02-07-2018 at 4:44 PM.