MR. COFFEE HAS EYES

MR. COFFEE HAS EYES

Wednesday, May 13, 2015

Matthew [GW today] 10:29-31 "Aren't two sparrows sold for a penny? Not one of them will fall to the ground without your Father's permission. Every hair on your head has been counted. Don't be afraid! You are worth more than many sparrows.

Philippians 4:4-7 Always be joyful in the Lord! I'll say it again: Be joyful! Let everyone know how considerate you are. The Lord is near. Never worry about anything. But in every situation let God know what you need in prayers and requests while giving thanks. Then God's peace, which goes beyond anything we can imagine, will guard your thoughts and emotions through Christ Jesus.

   Are you familiar with the descriptive term The Internet of Things?

  Please be, for it involves contemporary and developing individual and collective intrusiveness.

  Fact is, Mr. Coffee and a number of current popular devices are a lot smarter than many folks realize. And they are being developed with more internet things on the way.

  Here’s how The Internet of Things goes beyond hot coffee and cool home by the time you park your vehicle equipped with OnStar in your garage with smartphone in hand sending additional commands hither and yon: The Wi-Fi network and/or apps that connect you to Mr. Coffee, HVAC, et al is designed to be read real-time by designers and manufacturers, the info compiled and used by them for business purposes. Some may share with or sell said info to other interested parties.

  The honest Mr. Coffees simply keep track of usage, equipment bugs and failures, product improvements possible, and fields of marketing. Unethical companies or employees therein may act far beyond. Does anybody remember the outrage from 2 women at SS Administration in Maryland living richly from proceeds from selling long paper lists of SS numbers and info? Their behavior was playground activity compared to potential and actual today.

  Candid Wuest has red hair. He’s one of the good white hats that researches security for Symantec (Norton). Prior to the 41,000 participant Dublin Women’s Mini (??) Marathon he invested $75 for parts and a few hours assembling an easily made device. Standing in the crowd as the mass of runners streamed by he covertly scanned personal data from activity trackers worn by runners -- 563 racers’ names, addresses, passwords, unique IDs of devices they carried. (With the right equipment Wuest could easily detect my pacemaker and history contained therein.)

  The Mr. Coffee family of snoops includes thermostats, refrigerators, light switches, TVs, door locks, security cameras, smoke alarms, vehicles, baby monitors, other household appliances, and more . . . and the list is growing as value is realized.

  USA Senator Ed Markey, D-Mass. and others are alarmed after reviewing and releasing a report on automotive privacy this past winter. What will be done? And if done will it be like specific drug laws with perpetrators simply redesigning/reformulating outside parameters of laws?

  This news gives a whole new meaning to the old advice “If you don’t do anything wrong you don’t have anything to worry about.” doesn’t it?

  I’m taking a break for breakfast. Along with Cheerios with skimmed milk, a big mug of coffee is ready thanks to Black & Decker. While enjoying I’ll check for cellphone texts. Until later ……

EBB4

PS. For much more complete info, including protective measures, acquire June ConsumerReports magazine. And please remember, awareness need not automatically result in angst!