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Internet-Enabled Thermostat
ptorrone writes "Engadget has a little write-up of what is supposed to be the world's first Internet-enabled thermostat from Proliphix, which has an Ethernet port and a built-in web server and can be controlled from virtually any standard browser. So how long until everything in the home has its own IP address and script kiddies decide to get their kicks messing with your air conditioning during a heat wave?"
Sigs cause cancer.
And people said we don't need IPv6.
We can make hell freeze over...
Hey I got some a new windows installed today!
Cool, double glazing?
No.... longhorn..
What I've found in my family's ruleset for when we do and don't use our A/C system is that when we decide to disable the A/C, we immediately must open our windows to let in outdoor air... is there any system that could motorize the windows so that they'd open based on the same software that might decide that the outdoor air was too cool for A/C but too warm to let the house be allowed to retain heat by having the windows closed?
...but is it SNMP monitorable?
Home automation is actually pretty simple and the idea's been around for years. Instead of a thermostat being set at a particular level all of the time, it can be dynamically reset by software logic based on whatever rules you can think of. In the mainstream now, there are simple hardware based models that can change their settings based on time of day paterns, but just think of the potential power if a thermostat could base its rules on more relavant details like the outdoor conditions and whether there are people home or not.
So how long until everything in the home has its own IP address and script kiddies decide to get their kicks messing with your air conditioning during a heat wave?
So how long until everyone realizes that maybe you shouldn't give your air conditioner an external IP address?
Do you have your network printer on an external IP address?
So what happens when a virus gets into the seventy zillion unsecured windoze boxes out there, and drops every thermostat they can reach to fifty degrees in the middle of august? ConEd in NYC already has a heck of a time keepin gup with mid-day summer loads from all the AC units- you could easily knock out the entire east coast (again) if enough of these thermostats come online.
hope they put at least a userid and a password on it, and set them randomly at the factory.
What a strange bird is the pelican, his beak can hold more than his belly can.
"So how long until everything in the home has its own IP address and script kiddies decide to get their kicks messing with your air conditioning during a heat wave?"
And just why exactly do you think that these devices are going to be open to the internet at large? Just because some marketing dweeb decided to call it "internet-enabled", doesn't mean that it's going to be on the net. Face it, having an ethernet port and webserver is not the same thing as being connected to the internet. These devices are designed to be run on a local network, which is likely behind some sort of DSL/cable-modem router, which means that unless the user goes to great lengths to do so, the devices are not visible. If of course you decide to set up NAT to let other people get to your thermostat, then you should be ready to feel the heat...
why?
what do outside conditions have to do with anything? If you want your house to be 76 degrees, you set the thermostat for 76+- degrees. If it is snowing, then the heater kicks in, if it is hot then the air conditioner kicks in.
The Kruger Dunning explains most post on
But Can it run Linux?
Seriously. Every time one of these topics comes up on the /. there are a flood of posts talking about how useless or pointless the invention is. Applying an easy stereotype I notice most of these comments come from posters who joined in the last couple of years.
/. really changed so much? Is it not appropriate to have a little lust and desire to see tech invade every portion of our lives? Wasn't /. itself about the new and exciting uses of technology and cool things on the net?
Has the general readership of
More on topic, your thermostat will be networked one way or the other. Either you choose to do it, or your power company will within the next 10-15 years to help control power blackouts, surges and fluctuations. Some power companies already offer discounts for those in high heat areas if the end user allows the power company to turn off their AC during peak usage times.
--- I do not moderate.
You know that the DOJ will want to be able to view your household temperature without you knowing it (PATRIOT ACT). You see, they'll check the temp to see how warm you're keeping your house. If it matches too closely with the temperatures of the climates of countries that host terrorism, you'll get a visit from the Feds. It'll be the same thing for web contolled lighting - gee, this guy keeps his lights on the exact same time as daylight in Irag, and the same temp. We need to investigate!
is if it runs in IIS and uses plaintext passwords!
My heating bill would look like the Nat'l Deficit.
This
Your dentist would end up in jail after your idle toothbrush sent him images of your child in the shower. Your bathtub would be tepid after you got stuck in traffic. Your fridge would order far too much food after you hosted parties, and you'd end up with a constant stream of turkeys after Thanksgiving.
G