superanth
28730
772
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Feb 7, 2026 8:36 PM
superanth
28730
772
26
NZSheeps
beefsteak73
- PiHole + Unbound
AyrA
You can skip the pi and just run the adblock DNS on OpenWRT. Or just configure the adguard DNS server addresses in whatever router you use, which is the most end-user friendly version of achieving DNS level blocking.
SacrificialClam
This is probably what people said about eletricity in the 1800s.
OdinYggd
There were people scared of it when it was new. But the power grid didn't exist that far back, it was just starting to really get going in 1900 and wouldn't be fully built out till the 1950s.
In the 1800s anyone with electricity was wealthy enough to have their own powerhouse with a steam engine in it and dedicated staff to keep it running, or was fortunate enough to spin the generator with water power and only needed to pay an attendant to regulate the generator.
usernametakenisthestoryofmylife
yep.
19marcurious57
I second that.
tylerlarson
Im a programmer.
I have a "smart" sprinkler system. I designed and soldered it myself, and I wrote the firmware and the phone app I use to control it.
I have an Internet-connected climate monitoring/control system. I designed it myself and wrote the firmware.
I have a home security system. I ripped out the controller and replaced it with one that i designed myself and... You get the pattern.
mothmam
This is the way
LordOfTheFleas
To introduce obscure bugs and vulnerabilities because there's no code review and security is hard?
ourari
All networked devices with sensors should have hardware off-switches for those sensors (camera, microphone, etc.)
NaughtButOne
My take on it is that you're either paranoid or you aren't. They can add a hardware kill switch, but unless you disassemble it, confirm every electrical trace and maybe even dump the ICs, you can't know there isn't a bypass built into it.
I have 'smart' lights and a couple power sockets, but nothing with a camera or anything like door locks, and I don't bother with routines or anything; just simply being able to "on or off" from my phone.
DarkZalgo
Yeah this. You can either be paranoid about everything, or accept provable facts. The chances of people actually gaining access to your network even on an unsecured device is pretty fuckin slim.
kurvarVillain
Electrical engineer....
Refuses to buy a modern truck with assisted breaking and lane control.
Ended up getting a used Toyota Landcruiser 79 series pre-2019. It has hand wound windows but also will never break.
ToSisPoS
I’m just poor.
mothmam
Yeah I feel lucky just to have a washer & dryer in my place at all!
dontrike
My home owner put in a smart thermostat with the new heater and I hate it, that thing shouldn't be able to get messages that need to be deleted. He also has an amazon assistant just to turn off the lights. It's annoying as shit having spyware like that in the house
OneMoreLime
But how will you know if your Ai actually likes you unless you install the Bluetooth bidet and it choses to not cook your butthole of its own free will?
valen00
Ok now wait a second, I did not realize that was an option.
exbenedict
*chooses
powwerbottom
"I'm sorry Dave, I'm afraid I can't do that"
Pokegeologist
Eyebrows engineer says full bridge rectum frier.
WorkerLurker
As a tech expert, we don’t humanize the demons you call computers
TeelMoobeel
pray to the Omnissiah you heretic!
WorkerLurker
Injects “Psudo root rm /“ goodbye omnissiah
spidermenz
These are the questions we must ask ourselves
Comet260
You joke but: https://old.reddit.com/r/SubredditDrama/comments/1qv3ut7/rmyboyfriendisai_mourns_the_loss_of_their_chatbot/
maincarrot
I just have an AI robot that sucks my dick, but it's mouth is also a bladed garburator... I've learned to say sorry more often, cuz you just never know. You know?
ThisNameUnavailable
when a girl buys a vibrator, its seen as a bit of naughty fun. BUT when a guy orders a 240 Volt FuckMaster Pro 5000 blowup latex doll with 6 speed pulsating vagina, elasticized anus with non-drip semen collection tray, together with optional built in realistic orgasm scream surround sound system, hes called a pervert?
OneMoreLime
Disgusting! And where might one find such a DISGUSTING device? So I can avoid that website. Any link or maybe an ad you know so it can be more easily avoided by me.
Pokegeologist
Japan.
ThisNameUnavailable
MightyIink
This is exactly why I don't let these internet connected devices into my home. My PC doesn't have a camera or microphone and my phone permissions are all blocked except for the call app. https://www.businessinsider.com/microsoft-contractors-were-paid-to-listen-to-audio-recordings-from-xbox-players-2019-8
leviaton
I run them all on their own private network with isolation. Home assistant talks to most of them for the heavy lifting. My Internet is down though for days now and it's insanely dumb it breaks it all. So up next will have to be local LLM and private mics for commands.
Grambot
Yeah my smart home stuff is isolated. People talk like securing things is impossible when there's plenty of open standards and diy options available. I just don't like playing IT guy after doing it 40hrs/wk so it's limited got that reason
leviaton
Yeah I've been picking up used unifi gear and things over the years. My biggest requirement has always been custom DNS and something for a good firewall. No network wide ads. Adguard DNS is what I just switched from PiHole. But to each their own.
Grambot
How was the Adguard setup? I'm still using pihole for both dns and dhcp
leviaton
Actually really easy. I used the docket image and set shared directories. Way nicer lists too. No ads here or in the apps which is always what I want. 38% of all network DNS requests are sunk without issues
RunThatIn
lol xbox party chats will give the tech guys ptsd. i almost feel bad for whoever gotta listen to those, if not for the whole invasion of privacy deal
Whatdoyousaytoanicecupoftea
This. It takes seconds on set up to lock down permissions. Word, for example, does NOT need automatic connection to your microphone. Yes, there are cases where voice to text is necessary, but you should dictate* when those are needed.
*pun not untended
HypoHyperHippo
They can turn speakers into microphones. So I hope you dont have speakers either.
NefariousGoop
They can scan signals in hdmi cables from the outside.
Foxcross
My speakers are from 1998, they are not doing shit to those
smashole
I recently went away for 3 days. I had my smart thermostat program to never dip below 67f. Welp.....I got an alert on my phone that said... we've turned your thermostat on because its below 40f in your house! I get it!
tater1337
I work in IT. I have home assistant, a NAS, a local Minecraft server, various other smart devices. Because I know my craft and didn't slide by in school
Srcsqwrn
Oohh. I was a NAS one day. But it's a pricey entry. I plan to get plex running at some point. A friend of mine has her own server with all the bell n whistles, and I'm jealous
AK90
UNRAID is fairly easy to use (if not the documentation/help you can get is plentiful). Just use old PC hardware and just chuck a couple drives in it and boom you have a NAS
Srcsqwrn
I might check it out, thank you! c:
HelpfulCorn
I work in IT. I use zwave for my smart devices
OdinYggd
Ex-IT here. Everything important is on low tech physical controls. Things that are convenient but not important can be on more advanced systems that are easily bypassed if they don't do what I want.
Best of both worlds that way. Just have to keep a tight choke on how much call home telemetry is happening and invading my privacy.
DdCno1
I got myself a pretty cheap robo-vaccum recently. Base station and everything. I made sure to pick a model that does not have cameras (or "optical sensors" as some manufacturers like to call them) and that can be controlled entirely without an app and Internet access. It comes with a little remote, so when I need some vaccuuming to be done, I just use that. There is apparently a fully featured app, but I haven't felt the need for using it even once. Even the manual makes no mention of it.
StupidCanadianWolfBird
I, for one, welcome our new AI overlords.
hwatL4bloopy
#1 yeah, I work in software/ it and I use Smart home devices. I can call for help. Of course, I have it sequestered on its own network with a bunch of other safeguards
imnotinthewitnessprotectionprogram
Why’d you leave the gun so close to the printer???
solrev
100%.
ToxiKitty
+ no Social Media
+ PfSense Firewall
+ VPN
+ An OS for every Usecase
TrumpRapesAndEatsChildren0002
And then there are those that aren't running around like headless chickens and use the tech that works and doesn't compromise privacy.
LustyLombax
As a programmer and tech enthusiast. The world is going to hell anyways, I don't care. I'll use what makes my life easier.
jakedafish
I want to know who leaves printers plugged in other than the once every 2 year need for them?
GarmBlack
My thermostat is technically *connectable" but has never been connected, it works just fine as a standalone. Other than that, the whole house is dumb, which I for one, love to no end.
tachyx
vanishing
I've wanted to create a "dumb home". A home that allows for some technological conveniences, but always has mechanical overrides for them and never does really stupid things like connecting your lights to an app on your phone.
huffnpuff72
I quite like the idea of a smart home, but screw connecting it to the internet and using apps. Devices should be able to stand alone, be programmable without extra devices AND have mechanical overrides. End of the day, I reckon id set up my favourite settings, then never change it again.
herrcane
Home Assistant, yo. I've got lots of fancy tech going on in my house, and ALL of it (except a notifier via Discord) is local-only.
Feralkyn
My SO loves the tech shit, and I keep findng him leaving webcams on and crap. It infuriates me to no end. He also set up a dimmable light bulb that links to bluetooth and at one point I just couldn't turn the bedroom light on in the dark. Like... who needs this shit??
aducksayswhat
What gets me is the "convenience" reasoning, and even given tech's track record never considering being pragmatic for the inevitable problems down the road. How much convenience do you really need in your life that you go to the extent of networking your room lights? Is the inconvenience flicking a switch so high?
aducksayswhat
I think the main issue is that tech security is seen as abstract, and not safety or durability in the same way professionals would yell at you if you used the wrong materials or a bad design
YouMagnificentBastard
It very much suffers the same as a lot of other industries in the "it's what we've always used" mentality. The underlying OS for most 'smart' devices is the same OS they've used for years with minimal upgrades. Like the espressif SoC devices. Sec people have been yelling loudly for years about it, and it is slowly gaining some traction.
valen00
The issue isn't tech it's ownership and monetisation. Use homeassistant. Put a "server" the size of a deck of cards somewhere in your house. Your stuff talks to that. You can talk to that from outside your house if you really want to. Now if I forget to turn my outside lights off I can do so from bed. No internet required. As well as a plethora of other things. Going to install it on a farm to watch water/power use on distant pumps so they can be disabled if there's a fault.
TakeMeBackToSanFran
This all sounds so good, but I just don't know how to set it up. Maybe I'm thick, or tech is starting to pass me by, but I've no clue how to create my own system
valen00
https://www.home-assistant.io/installation/
You can buy it pre-done if you want, but the key is it's still yours after you buy it. You aren't buying a "licence" or whatever.
If you use the subscription that's a bit of a different story, but that is outsourcing the management of the same thing to someone else. You can replace the subscription with your own hardware. It's also all open source so if the company commercializing it gets fucky people just fork it and do their own thing.
Eldibs
For me, setting my lights on a schedule forces me to go to bed on time. Opening an app/webpage to turn my light and screen back on is enough of an inconvenience to make me go to bed. Of course, mine are blocked from phoning home and are controlled through a local instance of Home Assistant running on a server I built myself, so no corporate spyware.
TheBigBadBonerBiter
I remember getting into it with someone over smart thermostats once. How much control over a thermostat do you need that can't be managed by a dumb one with minor schedule capabilities?
ProjectDA
homes can be wires like where i live. the outlets are wired to different switches, even the plugs on each out will be wired differently. then the basement, every outlet down there is wired to 1 switch. flip and everything down there goes off. i hate the wiring. who ever it was that owned it before the current owner, i hope they got a splinter in their foot that they never could get out. dont get me start on the dishwasher. the wronge sized pipe was soldered solid into it, and wired to the outsid
maincarrot
I just want a quality home. High CRI light bulbs, fancy dimmers on not just the bathroom switch. ALL the switches. Do you know how nice it is to walk into the bathroom in the morning and just turn it on like 2% brightness with a little slider? 😌
Variable can furnace. On-demand hot water tank. Encapsulated basement... It's all on the menu this year. Soon.
SavageDrums
My toilet seat has a nightlight. It's basically the perfect amount of light to make sure I don't miss.
gcleff19101
Dim bathroom lights are dope. We don't have one though so I turn my flashlight on on my phone and let it sit slightly off the sink and point it at the floor. Love me some dark showers in the morning
astrangehop
A little tip from 1995 — you can absolutely put a nite lite on a gfci outlet if you want.
maincarrot
Eventually, all new siding. Strip it down the studs, new insulation, sound proofing and sealing... Then get the house checked for drafts, get that fixed up, new windows if needed... It's coming together. Slowly. Next year, new landscaping, new shed/shop... The year after... Add on a second story, and a deck above my carport. I don't need it to be smart l. It can be 0 smart. I just want it comfortable, not falling apart, and nice.
Kehy
Best I can do you for is a mid 70's rambler with 8 types of flooring in under 900²ft. Half an acre, but with the high voltage power lines cutting across, you can't really use it. Also the existing microwave is held up with bondage chains.
((You will take my weird ass house from my cold dead hands))
maincarrot
Hang on. Mine is also 900sq ft rectangle box. I also will not give it up. Lol. My ex and I bought a 3200 sqft house, and I kept this little thing. Now divorced, I'm back in it. And omg. It's so cheap to run. Easy to take care of... Amazing!
Kehy
Mine has this tiny wood stove as secondary heat (it can handle a max of 2 pieces of firewood) but that's enough to heat the place if we wanted. We do have the original giant ass 70's windows where we lose a bunch of heat, BUT we also haven't found any same size replacements- everyone just wants to make them smaller windows. Between that and the wood paneling I love, very tempted to bring back more 70's style
sometimesarobot
My new washer has wifi capabilities, not turned on, but I don't trust it anyway. (however messing with it would void warranty sooo)
OriginalSyn
A company recently remotely bricked a person's robot vacuum because they prevented telemetry from being sent on the network but allowed software updates. It's not gonna be long before IoT devices refuse to work if you don't connect it to a network.
cyno01
I wouldnt hate having my washer text me when it was done...
elmesito
I have a power meter connected to my home automation that monitors the washer. I get a message once the power consumption is below 1W for more than a minute. Also my home automation doesn't rely on the internet, so everything keeps on working if that is missing, in fact everything works even without the home automation, which is nice
sometimesarobot
Probably what it's for, but I'll get to the washer when I get to the washer.
mothmam
I know mine is done when the spin cycle stops making noise.
DdCno1
I just set a clock for when it should be done and add ten minutes (because it's not that accurate on the machine).
RooGryphon
you do. its called your cellphone's timer app. set it and carry your phone with you. there is NO NEED for that useless privacy invasive crap
RooGryphon
or even better no cellphone, analog eggtimer
androidshard
I have never had a washing machine be consistent enough with it's run time for that to be possible.
sometimesarobot
iunno mine has a timer on it and changes the time depending on setting.
Onisa
And I've had a washer tell me there's 5 minutes left of the final spin for 12 minutes...
Axelxdisepic
Tech realists: I'm not important enough for someone to specifically target me and most likely my data will be stolen by a bank being hacked
YouMagnificentBastard
Except your details are often how they gain entry to these larger entities. There was a large insurance hack in Australia by a hacker who breached an IT person's outdated/upatched plex server, found his PC and hijacked a session to gain access to the corporate network.
Home users are a target, more so in the modern era with WFH.
DarkZalgo
Exactly this. If you're a big enough target that people actively want to hack *your* shit, maybe look into real network security, but they still might break in. Otherwise, it doesn't really make a difference.
OdinYggd
Far more likely the power company will mess with your thermostat because they have been neglecting their infrastructure again and sold more capacity than they can actually deliver.
And mass surveillance concerns that become possible when people are comfortable with privacy-invasive data collection.
One day you won't be able to turn off the Smart TV. Given the state of the US Government, can you really say it will never happen?
DarkZalgo
Yeah we can say that. The kind of shit you're talking about only happens in books and movies. Do you have any idea the amount of work that would go into that? It's not exactly a single line of code that can be pasted in. And even if it was, not all smart tv hardware is capable, and not every smart tv has a maintained usable toolchain to build an update, or a reliable mechanism to distribute such an update. And that would all have to happen with nobody leaking it.
OdinYggd
There is already always-on surveillance in many vehicles, and consumer devices are snooping for marketting purposes while being left on all the time out of convenience. It is not nearly as big of a stretch as it might sound anymore. The infrastructure developed by big data to make an extra dollar can easily collect data for the government too.
DarkZalgo
It's always so disheartening to see paranoia like yours, my dude. If you really think it's happening, why don't you do your homework and prove it? Android is open source. Wireshark is free. You really think your phone is illegally watching you, but nobody has noticed yet in the open source code everyone can download for free?
OdinYggd
Its not paranoia anymore. ICE has been using such surveillance to identify protestors and confront them individually.
spontaneous9
Honk honk
BroccoliCabbagePatch
They call her... the honker.
KnifeKnut
how is this relevant?
spontaneous9
It's a response to the "honkifyoureadtags" tag.
superanth
https://media1.giphy.com/media/v1.Y2lkPTY1YjkxZmJldTFkemYxc2xqODJ1djRtM255cHczdDh6emQ1cHE4endqcHUxcmQwYSZlcD12MV9naWZzX3NlYXJjaCZjdD1n/1lk1IcVgqPLkA/giphy.mp4
spontaneous9
caitie578
I like having my thermostat connected to my phone. It’s nice to check on the temps for my dog.
However that is the most “smart” piece and I don’t have Alexa or anything. Everything else is dumb as dumb can be.
WhiskyBravo
yeah same, the internet connected thermostat is the only thing I have left, and it came with my HVAC I didn't ask for it. It is kinda nice to be able to do things remotely, but half the time it doesn't work
manditoryusername
Same but so that i can keep it cold over night and then turn the heat up when my first alarm goes off. Game changer for early mornings
androidshard
I just have the thermostat's own timer turn the temp down at night and up in the morning automatically, no phone or smart tech involved.
MasterDave
Nah. 20 year IT guy here. My entire home is smart. The difference in me and most is I know how to configure it all to be secure and private. If it can’t work without being sandboxed or neutered it goes away. Luckily most things are easy if you put in some effort.
I also haven’t had a printer in at least 15 years. They are the worst and i don’t trust people who print things. Totally unnecessary.
Procrastinator57
I hope your house is still functional when the internet or the power goes out. A buddy of mine got locked out of his home because of a power outage. He had to call around at 3 am to find a charged 9v battery to open the electronic door lock.
Feralkyn
Def. not in Europe then. Ironically, the data protection laws here mean a lot of shit *has* to be printed as government offices in many cases cannot respond to emails anymore, etc.
DarkZalgo
As an actual embedded software engineer, the guys who actually say this shit are either overly paranoid or shit at their jobs. 90% of cyber attacks are social engineering, not unsecured devices.
Feralkyn
Cool, but shit like "this cheap TEMU webcam is sending data packets back to China" are definitely a thing and I really do not feel the need to introduce further points of weakness in a system for things I'd barely consider a minor convenience.
DarkZalgo
Why are you buying some cheap shitty webcam from temu to begin with? What else would you expect? And besides that, with an ounce of effort you can just check to see where it's sending data to, if it's sending any at all.
Feralkyn
Me? Me personally? Me, who is aware of this that happens? I do not do that thing.
HOWEVER, it happens, and to think that US-built systems are more secure atm is a pipe dream with all the data theft that's ongoing. US privacy is nonexistent. I reiterate my prior point... why introduce further points of weakness for minor (at best) convenience? I don't need an AI telling me what needs stocking in my fridge for example.
androidshard
A great deal of embedded tech ends up unmaintained after a couple years.
Doesn't stop people using the tech but if there's any vulnerability there's sorta infinite time for a bad actor to get to it.
Like, I've got a premade NAS that's been unusable for years because no software support when the hardware's fine - and even when there was support so many vulnerabilities were found.
OriginalSyn
Most of what was listed wasn't about security, it was about privacy. Consumer grade non-mechanical locks, however, tend to be easily bypassed, for example, by a sufficiently powerful magnet.
cosonfused
"this is the lockpicking lawyer, and today we're going to open this smartlock by spitting on it"
OdinYggd
The problem is most retail supplied IoT relies on cloud subscriptions. And the cloud is just someone else's computer. Which means there is now a backdoor to manipulate the functions of your house.
Already there have been many incidents of smart locks refusing to open when the cloud host was down, locking out the users cause they hadn't been carrying the backup key.
And some power companies have taken to raising the AC setpoint on the smart thermostats they provided during peak load.
DarkZalgo
90% of what you're talking about is just shitty companies selling a shit quality product, my dude. If there are unsecured functions on the endpoint your device connects to, that's a huge red flag and you should get rid of that device. Same thing if lack of a connection to an endpoint renders the device unusable, that just means it's trash and you should toss it.