• Vendetta9076@sh.itjust.works
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        10 months ago

        Fair point, I didn’t think of that. Any IoT device gets put in the “naughty” vlan and 99% of their outgoing requests goes straight to /Dev/null

      • GissaMittJobb@lemmy.ml
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        10 months ago

        An alarm could likely help you accomplish the same thing without the wifi-connected washing machine.

        Whatever works for you works for you, though.

        • hitmyspot@aussie.zone
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          10 months ago

          Likely an alarm needs to be set every time, a notification of finished load is likely automatic.

        • FoxBJK@midwest.social
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          10 months ago

          An alarm could likely help you accomplish the same thing without the wifi-connected washing machine.

          This is only true if every load takes exactly the same amount of time. Modern machines have more sensors to adjust things like water level and spin times. Very often now I start my washer and the time will drop from 1 hour depending on how much is in the machine.

          Plus, the alarm is easy to dismiss and forget about. An actual notification on my phone isn’t.

          • GissaMittJobb@lemmy.ml
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            10 months ago

            Well, you don’t necessarily need to deal with the laundry the second the machine is ready - if you merely set the alarm to be the approximate maximum time, you’re probably going to be fine with the laundry spending half an hour or so sitting wet in the machine.

            If the alarm is easy to dismiss, then perhaps a reminder app could be of use. I frequently use Google Tasks with a time for the tasks to cope with everyday life, which sends a notification at the specified time.

      • ebits21@lemmy.ca
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        10 months ago

        I have an lg machine with notifications… it’s very helpful.

        We have two young kids, laundry is constant.

      • andrew@lemmy.stuart.fun
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        10 months ago

        FWIW I accomplish this with a zigbee outlet on the washer and dryer (dryer is gas, so it’s not a 50a circuit). It has stats on power consumption and I have a home assistant sensor set up so that when it drops below a threshold for a period of time, it counts the washer/dryer as off and notifies me.

        • wewbull@iusearchlinux.fyi
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          10 months ago

          Only works if you can start a cycle on power on. My machine will just sit there waiting for someone to press the go button.

          • andrew@lemmy.stuart.fun
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            10 months ago

            I don’t actually use it to control anything, though I have in the past had an automation to turn off the dryer because GE is total crap and the sound on/off button busted, but the sound is super annoying. But anyway yeah, I’m actually only using these outlets for their sensors to decide if the machines are on or off.

      • tabarnaski@sh.itjust.works
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        10 months ago

        Doesn’t have to be connected to the cloud for that, except if you do your laundry when you’re not home.

      • webghost0101@sopuli.xyz
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        10 months ago

        Its a good reason to allow wifi but there is no reason for you to receive such a notification unless your home to act on it, otherwise your better of receiving the notification once your phone reconnect with your homes wifi.

        Wifi isnt the same as internet.

        There is sometimes but rarely a good reason for those same decides to connect to the public web. They are much more secure if everything stays local.

        The prime reason companies claim they need internet so you can set up things like stop heat when i am not home…. But guess what, if my phone isnt activity at home connecting to wifi, my home server can figure it out on its own, no cloud required.

    • ricecake@sh.itjust.works
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      10 months ago

      So I actually have one that does.
      I get notifications when laundry is done.
      I get a notification when I need to do routine maintenance like change filters, or refill the detergent. (It has a built-in jug and dispenser) I can send it settings via the app, which is easier than via the built in controls. (It has things like extra rinse, wash times for different rinses, and steaming and stuff). It’s not impossible to do via the interface, but it’s a bit easier via the phone.

      • criticon@lemmy.ca
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        10 months ago

        The one I had also sent me a notification if the clothes were too humid after the drying cycle, so I could add more minutes to it. That was a Samsung tho

          • criticon@lemmy.ca
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            10 months ago

            It was an ECO mode, most of the time it was enough, but sometimes you need the real power. I guess it didn’t do itself because it would consume more power

            I liked the connected features but now that I use a “dumb” washer and a dryer I don’t really miss them

    • Snot Flickerman@lemmy.blahaj.zone
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      10 months ago

      Joke Answer: Just ask Pied Piper about their fridges.


      Non-Joke Answer:

      Not personally owned washers of course:

      I live in a set of apartments and we have a laundry room and the quarter slots have been removed entirely and now you have to pay for your laundry with an app and Bluetooth.

      In other words, it could be fucking worse and you might not have a choice because your landlords don’t give a shit about poor people (who may not have a device capable of running the app).

    • yobananaboy@lemmy.ml
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      10 months ago

      I have an LG washer/dryer. With the app you can add downloaded cycle programs. And you can just have one at the time, and there are two cycles I sometimes swap between. It also gives me a notice when it needs to be cleaned and it has smart diagnostics when something goes wrong. And of course delayed start via app and notification when the wash is done. So there are some benefits, but I still hate it

        • Saik0@lemmy.saik0.com
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          10 months ago

          I have mine in hass… the integration is cloud dependant.

          Edit: The stuff I can do in with it in HASS is great though. I can only hope that someone figures out how to skip the cloud requirement all together like they did with some other stuff that I use.

    • dQw4w9WgXcQ@lemm.ee
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      10 months ago

      Not that this covers many cases, but a lot of appliances are running touch screens and a lack of non-visual indicators. Blind people could benefit from having an app with a screen reader to run the machine. Of course, this is just a patch for a problem which shouldn’t have existed in the first place.

    • nothing@lemm.ee
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      10 months ago

      So I never would have bothered. We built a new house and the set we got came with Wi-Fi (not a feature I cared about) and it was actually really helpful to have notifications. I have a family and kids and they don’t always watch when things are done. So now I can catch when cycles are done as sensor cycles can be highly variable.

  • mlaga97@lemmy.mlaga97.space
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    10 months ago

    That’s a pretty silly headline for an article that quite clearly states that the issue was with the router’s data usage reporting capabilities.

    • Auzy@beehaw.org
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      10 months ago

      Zwave chips are all made by one company, and the old ones can’t be updated against a newer vulnerability.

      But each to their own

  • rar@discuss.online
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    10 months ago

    I don’t understand the craze of slapping wifi or bluetooth connectivity to everything without giving proper thought. Cameras, television, vehicles, coffee pots, medical devices, laundry machines, hipster juicers… what’s next? Is my salt shaker going to have it?

    • cosmic_skillet@lemmy.ml
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      10 months ago

      That’s a great idea! You can check your salt levels while at work or on vacation. You could even have your salt shaker automatically order more salt from Amazon when the level got too low. Or how about you program your maximum daily salt intake so it closes up when it’s reached.

      So much potential!

    • space@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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      10 months ago

      And the bad part is that it is being forced upon us. You can’t even find non-smart TVs to buy anymore.

      I wouldn’t be surprised if appliances come with their own data plan, because the data they collect is valuable.

  • Arthur Besse@lemmy.ml
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    10 months ago

    It’s possible that it had some vulnerability which was automatically exploited by one of her majesty’s secret services (perhaps with help from their US counterparts) to make it a component of their covert infrastructure.

    Sounds outlandish, but

    this was happening in 2010:

    • Kecessa@sh.itjust.works
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      10 months ago

      Or quite simply, hackers scanning for unsecured devices that access the internet and using them to do shit.

      Listen to Darknet Diaries -> Start fearing everything

  • MiDaBa@lemmy.ml
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    10 months ago

    Do not buy BS internet connected devices period. There was a time when internet connected devices did exactly they were supposed to do and nothing more. There is literally no reason why most of these devices can’t act as their own server and keep your data local and private. Corporations have become far too greedy to trust their cloud won’t sell you out in every way it can. The ONLY two reasons a manufacturer adds internet connectivity are:

    1. To monitor and collect as much data as possible and/or:

    2. To implement a subscription service for something that normally wouldn’t require monthly payments.

    Corporate closed clouds have proven time and time again that they can’t be trusted.

    • Auzy@beehaw.org
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      10 months ago

      I do home automation… And no, its not…

      They do it because everyone wants to control these appliances when away from home. And port forwarding isn’t an awesome idea honestly.

      A lot of the devices we used to port forward honestly, ended up getting hacked because of out of date firmware or whatever

    • Catsrules@lemmy.ml
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      10 months ago

      There is literally no reason why most of these devices can’t act as their own server

      As much as I dislike cloud stuff. The cloud is by far the easiest solution for support and average users.

      Your not dealing with end users calling in and having to diagnose why two devices on their network are not talking to each other.

      As long as both your devices have Internet it will work.

  • ExLisper@linux.community
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    10 months ago

    My heat pump can be controlled by an app but it all goes through an external web page for some reason so I noped out of it.

    • thecrotch@sh.itjust.works
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      10 months ago

      The reason is so you can control it from anywhere without setting up port forwarding and a static IP. Most people don’t understand, or can be bothered, doing that. I get why you don’t like it, I wouldn’t like it either, but it’s not some conspiracy.

      • wewbull@iusearchlinux.fyi
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        10 months ago

        It would be far better if somebody sold a single VPN device for the mass public to be able to access home devices. Something wireguard based could be so simple for people to use. Even better if your ISP had this as a standard feature which they made easy to setup Then none of these devices would have an excuse to go out to the company’s servers. Any that did would be obviously spying and they could be shamed.

        • thecrotch@sh.itjust.works
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          10 months ago

          Doesn’t wireguard’s zero config work by relaying through an outside web service? Seems like the LG solution with extra steps.

  • nicerdicer@sh.itjust.works
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    10 months ago

    It only would be a big problem if household devices like washing machines are built in a way that makes a connection to the internet mandatory in order to function properly. Imagine you can’t do your laundry because of an internet outage.

    Name any household device (washing machine, dishwasher, dryer, toaster, water kettle, iron, coffee maker, (microwave) oven, …) that has been improved in functionality by connecting it to the internet, making it a internet-of-things-device. I can’t think of any.

    We have a washing machine that cannot be connected to the internet. After starting the program, we set up a timer on our smartphone, 15 minutes longer than the time the washing machine display is predicting. Works like a charm.

    • Deconceptualist@lemm.ee
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      10 months ago

      Name any household device (washing machine, dishwasher, dryer, toaster, water kettle, iron, coffee maker, (microwave) oven, …) that has been improved in functionality by connecting it to the internet

      I once heard of a toaster that could download patterns (character faces and so forth) then burn them onto your toast. Totally novelty but kinda cool if you could have Batman toast with breakfast. I don’t know if it actually exists as a product or was just a proof of concept though.

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      10 months ago

      Not sure if this exists, but it would be really nice to remotely see if my stove/oven is on and also remotely turn it off

  • Pat_Riot@lemmy.today
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    10 months ago

    If you bought a washing machine that needs Internet access you are a fucking idiot.

    • Deiv@lemmy.ca
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      10 months ago

      They don’t need wifi, so no, you’re not an idiot if you buy one and just leave it disconnected

  • forgotmylastusername@lemmy.ml
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    10 months ago

    Bloatware has spiraled out of control. It’s a consequence of coding becoming easy and accessible. Programming is no longer the domain of idealistic nerds. It is possible for anyone to make garbage tech wares.

    • nossaquesapao@lemmy.eco.br
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      10 months ago

      Wait, wait, wait. Let’s not aim at the wrong thing. Programming becoming accessible is a great, and is not the cause of bloat. Bloat is not even something that can be easily pointed to a single cause, and a lot of things played a role, like poor tech education, companies not giving a fuck and relying on hardware replacement, lack of regulations, big tech corporations having practically monopolies and no incentive to create better products, the high demands of timing for projects, etc.

  • Karna@lemmy.ml
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    10 months ago

    That’s a clear indication of IoT control being taken over by malicious actor to make it a part of botnet.

    Any IoT needs to be secured when connected to Internet (and, not intranet).

    • survivalmachine@beehaw.org
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      10 months ago

      What exactly in this article indicates that? I feel you’re either mis-reading the article or baselessly fear-mongering here.

  • Auzy@beehaw.org
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    10 months ago

    I happen to work in Home Automation… This is likely wrong, and I agree its probably dodgy router

    Customers with a moderate amount of tech logging are sometimes our biggest bane. In this case, there’s no information of what the washing machine is connected to. And no packet dumps… Yes its asus too, so don’t trust their routers at all (they aren’t known for making good routers).

    And then, we also constantly have customers picking out every single thing on their router too who think their information is being stolen or whatever because a service its connecting to sounds technical.

    Then we also have the ones who get their info from places like Toms hardware, such as with CCTV, which “confirms” china is watching their lawn grow or whatever. Never any actual packet dumps, traces or anything else though.

    Honestly, when you see an article like this, the first thing you need to ask is for packet dumps and such.

    In practice, just don’t forward your devices online using port forwarding, and use a strong password, good devices, and you’re fine.