Smart Homes: A Rant

I’m not a big tech guy. I’m big and a guy, but not “techy”. I use an iPhone and had an iPad until my son dropped it on the floor. With that being said, I’m fascinated by the growing industry of technology for the home or the “smart home”. I’ve toured homes with the Nest, which is a smart thermostat that knows when you’re at home and adjusts the temperature while you’re home or not home(among other things that I fully don’t get). I’ve had to use key less locks to enter homes too. Additionally, I’ve read countless articles about smart houses and I’m not a big fan.

Again, I’m not an expert in technology, so I can’t zero in on the specifics of these products. I can, however, tell you what frightens me most about these products are their connected to the internet. I remember last October when Zillow and other real estate websites(as well as many more websites) were hacked in one of the largest hack attacks in history. What happens to my thermostat if someone hacks Nest?

I know that everyone is sick of hearing about hacking(was it Putin or wasn’t it Putin), but when it comes to “smart houses” with all their bells and whistles I get nervous. My son and I were at Lowe’s a couple weeks ago and we started playing with the refrigerator that essentially has an iPad in the door. Have you heard of this? So not only can you respond to emails all day long from your computer, mobile phone, tablet device, but when you’re grabbing that late night snack you can fire off a note to the boss in between sneaking bites of that pie your wife baked. I forgot to mention the fridge takes pictures of what’s inside it for your convenience-and the convenience of anyone that hacks into the cloud that stores these pictures.

I’m paranoid, yes,I realize this. But, I’ll just stick to using keys to unlock my doors, push buttons on my thermostat, and the only voice from my fridge being my conscious telling me to step away from the baked goods!