Home Automation

[Trevor87]

Hi all 

I thought since home automation is growing quite big now with all enter linking devices  I thought may to start topic about it and see how it go.

We discusses problems  and solve problems and discusses new technology that is coming out.   

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It's a terrible thing in my opinion.  Huge potential for disrupting someone's home and/or life by hacking these IoT devices which are more often than not poorly secured and out of date.  And once that does happen, they then go on to participate in other cyber attacks, including but not limited to DDoS, etc.

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1 minute ago, thom derksen said:

I personally have Philips Hue light bulbs through my house, and love how practical they are. It is very convenient that I can control them from my phone and outside the house. 

Why on earth would you need to control bulbs when outside your house?

[VolkA]

3 minutes ago, Ryan_Vickers said:

Why on earth would you need to control bulbs when outside your house?

Maybe to pretend that some one is at home when there is no one at home? I assume ...

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Just now, VolkA said:

Maybe to pretend that some one is at home when there is no one at home? I assume ...

I feel like a good ol' fashioned dumb timer could do that

[Trevor87]

Most z wave devices come with AES128 encryption and it is the same level that major banks use to protect your financial information.

[VolkA]

Just now, Ryan_Vickers said:

I feel like a good ol' fashioned dumb timer could do that

Well ... You know with the old fashioned timer ... Well ... Yeah he could as well ...

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1 minute ago, Trevor87 said:

Most z wave devices come with AES128 encryption and it is the same level that major banks use to protect your financial information.

Every other week it seems there's a new story about "device such and such accessed by attackers".  Sure, some of them may be good, but just as with banks, some run all their important infrastructure off a out-of-date second-hand consumer-grade router with default passwords (anyone remember that story? )

[Trevor87]

Just now, Ryan_Vickers said:

Every other week it seems there's a new story about "device such and such accessed by attackers".  Sure, some of them may be good, but just as with banks, some run all their important infrastructure off a out-of-date second-hand consumer-grade router with default passwords (anyone remember that story? )

You know you could always change your password form the default password 

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Just now, Trevor87 said:

You know you could always change your password form the default password 

it was a metaphor 

[Trevor87]

I have some info for you all if you are looking for devices for your home every country has a different MHZ frequency.

 

U.S.A/Canada/Mexico is 908.42 MHZ

South Africa/Europe/China is 868.42 MHZ 

 

If your country is not what have typed the list of you country will be on this link http://products.z-wavealliance.org/ 

[Trevor87]

Hi all I have some news there seams to a problem with the UK Samsung smartthings plug reading throw quite few post it seams they have made the contacts in the plug a bit to loss witch is creating heating and will become fire hazed but it also seams with some people they don't read the maximum amps the plug can take.

Here the link to one article https://community.smartthings.com/t/smarthings-outlet-fire-hazard/82201/57         

[TacoSenpai]

On 8/10/2017 at 3:02 AM, Ryan_Vickers said:

It's a terrible thing in my opinion.  Huge potential for disrupting someone's home and/or life by hacking these IoT devices which are more often than not poorly secured and out of date.  And once that does happen, they then go on to participate in other cyber attacks, including but not limited to DDoS, etc.

I could very easily see things even more nefarious.  With everything on God's green earth now "needing" to be connected to the internet for "reasons" I could see things like AC units, refrigerators, stoves and so on getting hacked into and controlled.  Whats preventing say hacking into several smart fridges for instance and shutting them down spoiling thousand's of peoples food stores at the same time?  Or say shutting down AC units in the dead of summer when elderly or infants are sleeping in their cribs?  Its incredibly stupid to me.  I mean there are even dumbass kickstarters for things like smart shoes.  Like why?

[Trevor87]

 

1 hour ago, LordTaco42 said:

I could very easily see things even more nefarious.  With everything on God's green earth now "needing" to be connected to the internet for "reasons" I could see things like AC units, refrigerators, stoves and so on getting hacked into and controlled.  Whats preventing say hacking into several smart fridges for instance and shutting them down spoiling thousand's of peoples food stores at the same time?  Or say shutting down AC units in the dead of summer when elderly or infants are sleeping in their cribs?  Its incredibly stupid to me.  I mean there are even dumbass kickstarters for things like smart shoes.  Like why?

Well your saying internet and email is a bad thing and should have been invented just example. Smart devices are getting better with there security. For I know you could be a virus joke.  

[TacoSenpai]

19 minutes ago, Trevor87 said:

 

Well your saying internet and email is a bad thing and should have been invented just example. Smart devices are getting better with there security. For I know you could be a virus joke.  

No what I'm saying is that not necessarily everything NEEDS to be wi-fi enabled or connected to the internet. 

[Trevor87]

6 hours ago, LordTaco42 said:

No what I'm saying is that not necessarily everything NEEDS to be wi-fi enabled or connected to the internet. 

There is a option to disable your WiFi on your smart device and most smart device don't us WiFi they use Z wave.

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Just now, JayKay3000 said:

2025 - Wifi enabled condom?

I mean we already have shoes, a salt shaker, and the Juicero

[djneo]

On 12-8-2017 at 0:11 AM, JayKay3000 said:

2025 - Wifi enabled condom?

2017 http://britishcondoms.uk/icon-smart-condom.html It's not a condom but a ring

still it features the best feature ever

Quote

 but users will have the option to share their recent data with friends

i'm personally trying to create a 'good' Home automation software package but there are so much different types of devices and use cases. it's crazy

[Trevor87]

HI all I don't know if any of you guys can help me I have problem with the RE927X it is blocking my tip and ring function on my paradox alarm system so if my alarm go off my security company does not get the single that it has gone off.

I don't know what is coursing it on the gate way or the alarm board ?

I don't know if any one is have the same problem or if they know how solve the problem ?          

[Trevor87]

Here some interesting news U.S second big's Home builder Makes Z-Wave Standard.

 

In yet another signal that U.S. homebuilders are catching on to the value of technology in new homes, Lennar Corp. (NYSE: LEN), the second-largest homebuilder in the U.S., recently debuted a high-tech community in Orlando with standard amenities such as rooftop solar, home automation and wall-to-wall connectivity as standard features.

The community, named Innovation at Storey Park, is a gated enclave of 144 new homes with prices starting from the $270,000 range. It features Lennar’s “Everything’s Included” standard amenities policy, which has quite a bit of technology.

"The average home in this country is 38 years old – long before people heard of the Internet," says Brock Nicholas, president of Lennar's Orlando division. "Our new homes reflect how people live today and come standard with the lifestyle conveniences once reserved for custom-built private estates."

 

Find full story link here   http://www.cepro.com/article/lennar_community_goes_standard_with_z_wave_based_controls 

 

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this week's story lol

 

[Trevor87]

Understanding/Overcoming Consumer Fears of the IoT

When streetlights first lit up New York skies in 1880, Edison was initially revered as a hero. Electric lights were unlike anything his peers had seen before, accustomed as they were to gas lamps and candles, and they cheered to see the new technology go live.

However, that awe quickly faded, becoming a major PR problem: Victorians may have at first viewed the invention as a modernist feat, but they mistrusted electric lights and believed they were unsafe for their homes—especially after hearing about horses that were electrocuted in the streets while traveling over lanes where transmission cables were laid.

The Wizard of Menlo Park eventually gained some ground with the public after launching a massive advertising campaign—one that included dancers with lightbulbs taped to their heads, and power lines running the length of their arms—to demonstrate to audiences that bulbs were safe enough for any home. And the rest is history.

Just like electric lights, smart homes are experiencing some of the same ups and downs that plague any new technology—initial excitement, followed by resistance, especially as reports are released that detail problems.

 

Find full story link here http://readwrite.com/2016/07/25/these-5-issues-are-scaring-homeowners-away-from-iot-pl1/

[Trevor87]

5 hours ago, Ryan_Vickers said:

this week's story lol

 

Thanks for the news

[Trevor87]

Here is some thing I came cross.

 

  

Z-Wave vs. Wi-Fi vs Bluetooth: A Breakdown

One of the easiest ways of explaining an unfamiliar technology is to compare it with something people already understand. That's why you might hear things like: "It's like Wi-Fi, but…" or "It's similar to Bluetooth, but…" when talking about Z-Wave. And it's true that all three technologies have a lot in common. They're all wireless, and each has its role to play in the future development of the smart home. But that's where the similarities end.

Like Wi-Fi, Z-Wave relies on wireless technology to send information through the air in and around your home, from one point to another. Like Wi-Fi, it relies on advanced security to make sure that those bits and bytes aren't intercepted bad actors. And like Wi-Fi, it ties together a larger network of devices, so that each can communicate with the other.

But…

While your Wi-Fi network probably sends and receives large chunks of data around your home—giant email attachments, streaming audio and video, and all of the two-way data sent and received by multiplayer video games—Z-Wave doesn't have to carry quite so heavy a load. The information sent back and forth over a Z-Wave network consists mostly of tiny commands, like "turn on this light" or "adjust thermostat to 74°," along with small status updates, such as "this light is current at 45% brightness" or "this door is locked."

As such, Z-Wave can operate at much lower frequencies, and with much less power. What's more, whereas every new device added to your Wi-Fi network makes it weaker and less responsive, the mesh-network capabilities of Z-Wave means that every new device added to your smart home actually makes your Z-Wave network more robust and further-reaching.

All of which makes Z-Wave sound a lot more similar to Bluetooth, right? Well, not quite. It's true that the two share a good bit in common. Simpler pairing than Wi-Fi, for example. Z-Wave and Bluetooth also require less power and have lower bandwidth.

But…

Unlike Z-Wave, most Bluetooth devices don't yet support mesh networking. And although that will certainly change in the future, it's uncertain right now how many Bluetooth devices you'll be able to connect to a single smart home control system. Z-Wave, meanwhile, is capable of supporting dozens of connected devices. Hundreds, in fact, as Z-Wave is inside the most robust controllers available in the marketplace today.

It's for those reasons, and many others, that Z-Wave remains the best wireless technology for reliable, far-reaching, energy efficient smart home control. But committing to one doesn't necessarily mean you're locked out of other wireless options. Some Z-Wave hubs, like SmartThings and Wink, include built-in support for Z-Wave, Wi-Fi, and Bluetooth (although the full potential of the latter may not be unlocked just yet). The point remains that different technologies have different purposes – so don't let the this OR that story get you down.

[Trevor87]

Hi all 

Just reading  though some articles came cross a Global statistic on sales z wave devices.  

find link attached https://t.co/CLyztKvTVv.