MOBODEXTER

Chandramouli Srinivasan

The IOT article talks about the dumb security risks with the devices in the market.

My key takeaways

IOT products are not being designed with security. Security is ignored over other aspects like TTM, Cost and User Experience.

As the scale is going to be massive in the next few years existing solutions are being pitched for adding security into IOT products.

Security is ignored by IOT product vendors as there is no one asking for hit.

With the adoption picking, the technology world is headed for big trouble without security.

Only a ground-up security IOT solution can solve this massive problem.

 

The author states the following which are summarized here.

A study by HP of ten popular IoT devices—including smart TVs, webcams and home automation devices found an average of 25 security flaws per device. Seven of the ten devices had serious vulnerabilities.

Yet one Symantec study of sports bands and smart watches found the majority lacked privacy policies, nearly all connected to a cloud service, and 20 percent sent passwords without encrypting them.

Home automation faces the same issues. One intrepid reporter even used the information from the research to contact users and demonstrate that she could control their homes.

Chris Valasek, director of vehicle security research with security services firm ioActive—studied 19 different models of cars and found vulnerabilities in every vehicle.

IOT Vendors are saying that they could implement security, but no one is asking for it,” he says. “So, if no one is going to pay for it, it is not on their list of priorities.”

http://www.pcworld.com/article/2884612/internet-of-things-security-check-how-3-smart-devices-can-be-dumb-about-the-risks.html

IRC LOGGER is designed to ease the efforts of logging the time volunteered towards International Rescue Committee work. The app allows user to log the time sheets of the work and automatically mail them to user’s IRC supervisor based on the configuration settings in the app. It allows helps to record repeated work easily with configuration settings.

– User can select your task, start time, end time,details or just insert hours worked to save the time sheet in the app.

– User can easily create a report with all time registrations from the selected period.

– User can send the time sheet to their supervisor through email.

– Entire app can be password protected and the password is stored on the device itself.

– Email configuration on password setup is used to send password if user forgets the password.

– You can also login with Facebook. Facebook login is for login purpose only and not posting any content of the app to Facebook page.

– Multilingual support for English, French, German, Italian & Spanish and app lets the user to select language at login.

– Internet Connection is required for sending mail and Facebook login. All other functionality is support in offline mode without any internet connection.

SxFxN is the best app to record and explore the user’s sexual passion as explored in the movie “50 Shades of Grey”. This app will help to track & explore the details of all types of sexual passion of the user from the choice of partners to type, place, date, day. This app has been designed based on the research paper published on the parameters influencing sexual passion in humans. Hence the app is designed to be neutral to the user’s gender and neutral to the partner’s gender as well.

The app will provide an easy interface for the user to enter the details of the user’s sexual activities under 3 categories like sex, masturbation, and others. Under each category, the user can store the details of sexual act like with whom, where, type of actions/position, domination, and your feeling providing a rating for each category.Based on you’re the user entries app will generate reports that help the user in identifying user’s sexual passion on the aspects like

· What makes you more satisfied.

· With whom you express most passion during sex.

· What, Where and Who makes you happier by comparing the statistics.

· What are all your best things during sex, like the place, type of action, etc.,

· Best partner details and when the user peaks.

Security Features:

· The app is password protected for securing the user’s privacy and all the data entered in the application by the user is stored only on the user’s device.

· The user feeds in all the information for the application to generate charts and dashboard of the user’s sexual exploration.

· The user can choose the information in the app that can be shared with his potential/past/future partners via social media and email.

· The app does not carry any images or video on how, where and when to perform sexual acts. This application does not contain any explicit porn content.

· All content is fed into the application by the user and hence will remain as a copyright of the user only.

Available on Amazon & Apple Store.

Chandramouli Srinivasan

I read couple of these recent articles in Gizmodo on the challenges and issues being faced with a couple of smart home IOT devices/solution. I have earlier written about the launch and feature of these devices in CES 2015 launches.

The Smart Homes solution is dumb:

In this case, the reviewer has installed $1200 smart home solution comprising of a bunch of components from bulbs, hub and shades of Wink standard from various vendors. The excitement of smart home turns into a nightmare as the devices aren’t working out of box as advertised, setup is complex and the solution turns out to not worth the cost. It takes lot of efforts to get all of them working as an integrated solution.

       Major Issues reported in this article

*  One needs call Wink Support for help every step of the way. Some device worked but only after hours on time    on the phone.

*  All devices especially the bulbs have connectivity issues with Wink hub.

*  Shades work well after lot of efforts. However extremely costly component of the solution.

*  The cost of the solution is extremely high. It seems not worth for the effort required.

Detailed review can be seen here – http://gizmodo.com/why-is-my-smart-home-so-fucking-dumb-1684949715

August Smart Lock:

In case you’re not familiar, the August Smart Lock is a $250 cylinder you install on the inside of your door. This is was launched in CES 2015. You don’t actually need to remove your lock, because it only replaces your deadbolt thumb turn. It’s super easy, even fun to install, and takes practically no time at all. Then you’ve got a Bluetooth-connected, motorized deadbolt that can remotely lock and unlock the door when you press a button on your phone.

       Major Issues reported in this article

Bluetooth gets out of range from certain parts of the house and outside the house. Hence the phone app used to lock and unlock the door doesn’t work.

August Smart Lock only controls your deadbolt. Not any other lock you’ve got on your door. So if you live in a household which is paranoid enough to also lock your doorknob, you’re done.

Despite August’s earlier promises, the Android version of the app doesn’t yet support the auto-unlock feature. I wouldn’t be able to just walk up to the door and turn the knob.

The lock doesn’t lock always due to alignment issues in the lock. This is most scary thing as the very purpose of lock is broken here.

Detailed review can be seen here – http://gizmodo.com/august-smart-lock-and-connect-review-ill-use-keys-tha-1685319060

Whom did you date last month? Where did you go?

How was your experience on each of you date?

Who is your best date? Which is the place you like to date more?

Whom are the partners you date more?

Puzzled finding answers?

Need something to store your lovely memories and also save you from a fight with your partner. So here is our app solution for Android and iOS devices called Date2DATE where you can easily manage all your dates, log your experience and rate your date. Check how long you have been with your date at a glance, celebrate your memories and share it with them, make a record of all your dates in one place and according to your satisfactory level it will show you your best date. All the data is stored on the device only and you can choose to share in social media if you want. The app does take or store your personal data outside the device.

Date2Date App Features:

·Managing your dates–Manage all your dates and satisfaction levels for same.

·Login- To secure the app from other users of the device, it has a login associated with it so no one else can see your personal data, as well as it has social Facebook login.

·Multi-Lingual support-It has multiple language support including English, Spanish, Italian, and French & German, based on the settings at the time of log-in it will change language of application.

·Sharing – You can share your date experience with your date. You can share your feelings with your partner or with the social group.

·Adding DATE & Repeating DATE – Date form is very simple you just have to tell your date name place and your satisfaction level to add a date, also without need to worry about filling form again one can easily update repeat date with repeat option.

·Edit or Delete Date–One can easily delete or edit their date details any time.

·Internet is not a barrier between Date2DATE and User–Worried about internet, for Date2DATE you don’t have to worry about your internet connection, you can use this anywhere, any time as all data is stored only on the device.

Kavitha Gopalan

Read this article which gives a true perspective of the problem facing IOT.  The actual problem is not in enabling devices with internet or letting device connect to reach other. In authors own words “The point actually is creating a structure for gathering and processing data from all those devices, giving access to them to developers and building meaningful services that provide real value to the users on top of that structure”

Key Takeaways:

– It is really about who the data from billions of these devices are collected, managed and handled in a secure way.

– IOT is happening now and it is not future and it is already the next technology disruption     after smartphone. Every large technology company is doing it.

– However the real challenge is in developing industry standards, building growing ecosystems and figuring out how to provide security for the users.

– Security is the most neglected part of this technology disruption.

http://thenextweb.com/dd/2014/07/19/internet-things-narrative-change

Kavitha Gopalan

Wearables is another trend that we have been seeing lately. By Definition Wearables are tiny computer devices that can be worn on the body or cloths. All big companies have announced one or more products in the wearable segment like Google Glass, Apples I watch , Intel’s Bracelet and many more. CES this year also saw a bunch of wearable devices. The main categories they were fitting in were in watches Fitness trackers, Medical devices, health sensors some of the key ones listed here

The Dash

This product from Bragi is a pair of ear buds that connect wirelessly to the phone as well as to each other. This device has on board storage to play your music and has good battery life. This also has sensors like accelerometer, heart rate monitor and Oxygen Saturation sensor.

http://www.engadget.com/2015/01/18/best-of-ces-2015-award-wearables-bragi-dash/

Smart Watch

In CES several vendors showcased their smart watches that has built in sensors for fitness tracking and Bluetooth for connectivity

Gramin ‘s Vivoactive:

Gramin released series of Smart watches and one of them was Vivoactive with GPS for athletes. The Vivoactive builds on the Vivo fit sports band, offering users some lifestyle tracking functions, but it adds built-in GPS and connects to your smartphone for notifications. It works with Android and iOS. It keeps a track on running, cycling, winning and golf, as well as steps, sleep and workouts, while also keep an eye on calls, messages, emails and calendar notifications.

http://www.macrumors.com/2015/01/05/garmin-vivoactive-epix-fenix-3/

Withings Activite Pop:

This looks like a normal wristwatch but with a fitness tracker in it . It has a built in sensor to monitor the activity level and it has Bluetooth to sync this information to the other connected devices like phone or computer. It also does sleep tracking. It measures three levels of sleep deep, light and awake

http://www.cnet.com/products/withings-activite-pop/

Misfit Swarovski Shine

Misfits Swarovski shine is not just normal crystal Jewellery but a fitness tracker too. The focus of this design is puts emphasis on two factors Style and battery life. Misfit has patented technology which they have used in the Violet blue version of the Swarovski shine that harvests energy from sunlight so it eliminates the need for a charger.

http://www.cnet.com/products/misfit-swarovski-shine/

Montblanc e-Strap

The Montblanc e-Strap screen sits on the underside of the wrist where the clasp would normally be. The e-Strap will track the wearer’s daily activity and it offers a screen and vibration for phone notifications via Bluetooth 4.0, including calls, messages, calendars, social media, reminders, plus you can use it to control the phone’s music player or camera.

http://www.pocket-lint.com/news/132171-best-smartwatches-and-wearables-of-ces-2015-montblanc-withings-polar-and-more

Author: Chandramouli Srinivasan, CEO & President

Continuing the Previous blog post on CES coverage here is the next list of Home Automation products that caught our attention from CES.

Belkin enhances its WeMo Portfolio

Belkin that owns the WeMo Brand of connected devices launch a bunch of connected-home products at CES 2015

* WeMo Water with Echo Technology is the most interesting item in the new collection. Attach it to any one water pipe in your home, and it monitors pressure changes and vibrations that occur throughout the plumbing and sends this data to an app on your phone.

* WeMo Door/window sensors are a better solution, because the simple act of opening a door can trigger numerous lights to come on.

* WeMo Keychain Sensor generates alerts when the person carrying the keyfob leaves and returns home.

* WeMo Alarm Sensor listens to the noises in your home and generates an alert when it hears your burglar, smoke, carbon-monoxide, or glass-break detector sound off.

* WeMo Room Motion Sensor is a battery-operated infrared model that detects heat signatures. This should render it much less susceptible to being triggered by pets inside the home, and it has much better range: 30 feet with a 90-degree field of view.

* WeMo Wi-Fi-to-ZigBee Bridge is a Wi-Fi-to-ZigBee Bridge that can relay messages from its sensors to your Wi-Fi router as Belkin has turned to ZigBee chipsets for its various new sensors.

IC Real Tech’s 720-degree Allie camera

* The new Allie camera from IC Real Techcan turn two 360-degree camera feeds into an “all-D” image that lets you look in any direction you want.

*You can control the perspective in recorded videos, or even stream live footage.

* They all come with 8X zoom and pan abilities, connect to your Wi-Fi or cable network, and can be watched online or from a mobile device.

* Gyroscopic control on mobile lets you move your device around to control the angle, in addition to the option to swipe for navigation.

* They capture up to two hours of footage in an internal SD card, but can record to the cloud for much longer time periods.

Chandramouli Srinivasan, CEO & President at Mobodexer, Inc

The Global CES event concluded in Las Vegas on 9th January 2015. Lots of Innovative products were showcased in categories like Automobile, home automation, connected devices , health care solutions and others.

There are two major future technology trends after the smartphone –

Internet of Things (IOT) & Advanced Driver Assistance (ADAS).

Most wearables like smart watch or Glass are connected to internet and hence they would also fall under the category of IOT. That trend is “The rise of the IoT.” The Internet of Things continues to be the vaguest and B2B-sounding product category I’ve yet encountered in tech. It gets clearer when you see what the gadgets actually are: doors that lock themselves,

thermostats that program themselves, cameras that monitor your home for intruders, and more. But IoT isn’t about the gadgets, it’s about the way they talk to each other.

ADAS is also a variant of IOT but cars being driven much more intelligently with the support of internet connected technology before we head into the technology of driverless cars that Google is piloting in US.

We finally know what comes after the smartphone

Some of the interesting Home Automation devices showcased in CES

HomeKit from iDevices: This is a Switch, looks simple enough—it’s a little box that you plug into an outlet, and then plug another thing in. Switch contains both Wi-Fi and Bluetooth LE, so it connects with your iPhone effortlessly—you can even ask Siri to look for HomeKit devices in your vicinity. Then iOS 8 handles adding the HomeKit device to the same home Wi-Fi network your phone uses already.

Meet Switch, the first HomeKit product from iDevices

Misfit’s “Bolt” bulb: This is a $50 smart bulb that works with sleep monitoring device. It is wirelessly-connected, color-changing light bulb. The bulb, competes to some extent with Philips Hue’s smart bulbs, as it supports multiple colors into addition to white light.

The Bolt supports the ability to create “millions of color combinations,” and the ability to create colors in the blub based on preset configuration. The bulb will illuminate when the user is in their lightest stage of sleep. Bolt bulbs are controlled from a new app called Misfit Home, to be released on iOS and Android.

Misfit Debuts “Bolt,” A $50 Smart Bulb That Works With Sleep Monitoring Devices

Peeple, Peeple is a smart peephole to screen who is knocking on your door. Whenever someone knocks on your door, Peeple snaps a picture and send it to your phone. It’s a small box that you attach to your door right in front of your existing peephole. It has a camera, an accelerator, a battery and a Wi-Fi chipset. When someone knocks, the device wakes up, takes a picture and reconnects to your Wi-Fi network.

Peeple Is A Smart Peephole To Upgrade Your Door With Caller ID

Chandramouli Srinivasan

 

Hot technology trend to watch in 2015 is Internet Of Things (IOT), where devices are enabled to talk to each other through internet with/without the instructions from of the devices’ owner. This is direction in which the IOT world is heading and if this becomes reality, then who is going to ensure that the communication is secure and is in the best interests of the owner of the devices.

Remember no device owner wants his/her device to perform the instruction of someone who doesn’t own their device. Hence IOT world needs a security technology even at its nascent stage that can evolve with it. Hope we all remember the movie i-Robot.

 

 

Image Courtesy by  techeconomy