Home Monitor

[alanmalk]

Originally Posted by John in Santa Cruz

the fear isn't the IoT device itself being hacked, but rather that it could provide a stepping stone into your network and be used to hack your other systems, for instance installing ransomware that encrypts your files, then demands money to unlock, or gets into your ecommerce accounts (amazon, etc) and/or accesses your banking and credit cards.

I would maintain that a micro-processor, unlike a micro-computer, is hack-proof by the virtue that it can only run one program, and that program can not be installed over the air, but only by an actual wire connection to the programming device (usually your PC).


Hopefully you have changed the default password on your raspberry pi!

[John in Santa Cruz]

Originally Posted by alanmalk

I would maintain that a micro-processor, unlike a micro-computer, is hack-proof by the virtue that it can only run one program, and that program can not be installed over the air, but only by an actual wire connection to the programming device (usually your PC).


Hopefully you have changed the default password on your raspberry pi!

i'm not worried about my pi's, they are running a stripped down install of 'rasbian' (debian linux for rasberry), its the IoT consumer stuff like Nest cameras and thermostats, various noname chinese cameras, etc that scare me.

in fact the reason my weather station runs on a pi is the software it came with looked dreadful to me from a security perspective, so I'm running an opensource weather collection app called WeeWX.

btw, in technical parlance, a microprocessor is the CPU part of a microcomputer.

most all embedded systems now are flash programmable in the field, many self update. most anything that can connect via ethernet or wifi is probably running some sort of embedded Linux as its much harder to do tcp/ip protocol without an OS to help you along.

[alanmalk]

I would say, in very general terms, that the more "updatable" or "field programmable" a device is, the easier it is to be hacked.

I didn't worry about my r-pi until I realized that the password was known to everyone AND I had connected it to my network with sharing turned on. Big WHOOPS... "Hey everyone, take a look into my computer..."

[Jim Bennett]

To come at this from another angle, the one I use of course, why not just have someone house sit while you are gone. When I am gone for only a week, and especially months, I get someone to come live in our house for that time, and provide them with some money for food and a bit of a payment when we get back. It is usually one of our kids, nieces or nephews.

This provides constant care for everything from plants to cleaning to just monitoring the functions of the home.

This way there is someone living there every day. Heck, for insurance reasons we need someone to come in to check every 48 (maybe 72, I forget) hours to check the house anyway.

I am surprised that nobody has mentioned house sitters, is this not done by folks for some reason?

[cpaharley2008]

I am surprised that nobody has mentioned house sitters, is this not done by folks for some reason?
This is what we do as we have indoor rescue cats that need tending. The dogs go with us.

[jxoco]

Originally Posted by cpaharley2008

I am surprised that nobody has mentioned house sitters, is this not done by folks for some reason?
.

We go to the cabin, where the Escape is parked every weekend usually.
To 'get the h3ll out of the city'.
The Escape is winterized, the cabin not.
So it's not so much a house sitter thing.

We do provide "drive by house sitting" for people in the cabin neighbourhood who are Snowbirds.
Last year we got to make a "hey part of your roof has blown off" phone call to one of them.
We had some contractors at our cabin and I have an emergency tarp big enough to cover our whole cabin. So I gave them the tarp and pointed at the neighbors cabin/house and said 'GO'.
Fun times..
(We only lost some shingles and a chimney cap.)

[gbaglo]

Had my brother-in-law house sit once. He emptied the liquor cabinet.

At least he left my beer.