"I thought the house would take care of me but instead it asked me to do things" - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: cdev
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 16, 2018, 02:58:32 pm
content: This is an interesting article."In "The House that Spied on Me," Kashmir Hill outfits her home to be as"smart" as possible and writes about the results".https://gizmodo.com/the-house-that-spied-on-me-1822429852“Our TV is watching us?” he asked, surprised, even though he’d been the one to connect the TV to the router surveilling us. “Wow, I forgot.”

author: IanMacdonald
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: February 17, 2018, 08:17:12 pm
content: There is already an analysis of how an existing smart meter can tell what TV channels or DVDs you watch by noting changes in electricity consumption during bright/dark scenes and matching these to known patterns. Only works on displays with variable backlights of course. That is without the TV being a smart appliance.

author: Neomys Sapiens
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 18, 2018, 12:09:27 am
content: Oh my. Must we have a power line jammer too? Nice idea.

author: Halcyon
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: February 18, 2018, 08:38:23 am
content: Quote from: IanMacdonald on February 17, 2018, 08:17:12 pmIn a "perfect" world, yes, sure. However most houses don't just have the television running. There are plenty of other appliances running which will cause that kind of "fingerprint" to become invalid. Computers, fridges, lights, pumps, amps/speakers, fans, air conditioning...

author: julianhigginson
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: February 18, 2018, 10:12:26 am
content: There's some smart metering tech right now that is very intelligent...I'm thinking of an article I read on one, that was developed by ex SDR(I think) guys and using techniques from that field in relation to unpicking a bunch of close RF signals, that let them detect all sorts of devices from a single mains feed into a building.If they can unpick the tv power draw from everything else, it shouldn't be hard to then detect the station with another step.Now I'm going to have to go find that article....

author: TheWelly888
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: February 18, 2018, 02:31:42 pm
content: I stopped when I read that she connected her sex toy to the internet!!

author: Cerebus
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 19, 2018, 01:37:53 am
content: Quote from: Halcyon on February 18, 2018, 08:38:23 amNot really. There are a limited number of TV channel 'signatures' that you would be searching for. Just as a lock-in amplifier can pull a signal out from below the noise floor, because it 'knows' something about the signal, the same applies here and it would be possible to pick the characteristic effects of a particular channel out of confounding power line noise.

author: T3sl4co1l
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 19, 2018, 02:52:27 am
content: Quote from: TheWelly888 on February 18, 2018, 02:31:42 pmMy friend who often snoops around with a Pineapple says he finds a lot of, *ahem*, suspicious clients / access points.Well, he watches Wifi APs, MACs, BT, whatever. I forget if it's Pineapple specifically, but needless to say, a lot of people don't realize how much private information they're leaking over the public airwaves.Though in some cases, I wouldn't be surprised if some do so intentionally. It might be an interesting exercise to walk around big city streets carrying a transmitter for many of those devices. See if anyone walking by has a... reaction. It may well be their intent; some people are like that.Tim

author: jmelson
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 22, 2018, 10:32:26 pm
content: Quote from: Cerebus on February 19, 2018, 01:37:53 amA LOT of people are using internet TV services, so they could be watching Youtube or one of thousands of digital cable channels of video on demand programs, at least in the US. So, I really DOUBT this "limited number of TV channel signatures". Of course, the info could EASILY be gotten out of the ISP.Jon

author: Cerebus
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 23, 2018, 12:23:33 am
content: Quote from: jmelson on February 22, 2018, 10:32:26 pmWell exactly. It's only of interest for over the air TV channels (which is a reasonably bounded set) because if you're hacking their smart meter, or measuring by direct attachment to the power line then either scenario means you're also in prime position to MITM their internet access.

author: beenosam
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: March 04, 2018, 01:19:36 pm
content: Quote from: TheWelly888 on February 18, 2018, 02:31:42 pmThat's quite a thing for her to admit...for science.