Google Home

For Christmas I got a Google Home (which I asked for) and I have got to say it is pretty amazing. My laziness level is going to reach new heights for sure. I was very surprised how well it picks up what I ask it to do, though if you are about 10 feet away it does have issues. Also, I've found there is definitely a level of detail involved that blows my mind, though I suspect they thought of many things. As an example, I utilize it for my morning alarm. The first morning it goes off and I said "hey Google, snooze for five minutes" and bam it said "ok speak to you in five minutes". In turn I used sleep instead of snooze and it still worked. Anyone else get one and have any tips or tricks?

I will add I do have some security and privacy concerns, though I have to do some research into those. The recent case involving the Amazon Echo has me wondering what, if anything, is stored on the device.

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Comments

NetworkNewb

Nice! I'm interested in getting one of those (or the amazon one). I think if I ever end up getting one though I'd start spending a ton of money getting things to connect to it.

TheFORCE

But then you want have to come to this forum to ask how many CISSP's are out there. Hey Google how many CISSP holders are there? Hey Google, book my next exam for the CISM - Google answer: exam booked, credit cars charged $500.

veritas_libertas

LOL, I've started installing Z-Wave and Zigbee devices throughout my house. I'd like to get a couple of Echo dots, but I think the kids would drive me crazy by talking to them all day.

TechGromit

the_Grinch wrote: »

I will add I do have some security and privacy concerns, though I have to do some research into those. The recent case involving the Amazon Echo has me wondering what, if anything, is stored on the device.

It's too early to tell what kind of security vulnerabilities google home has, but I certainly do not want to be the one to beta test the product. Often in the rush to get a product to market, security takes a backseat. It's wired into the internet, so you basically have a speaker listening to everything you say wired into servers on the internet. If someone were to hack your home network, they can listen to everything you say. I guess the same would be true of any nanny cam, but for a device the sits in your living room, it's going to pick up a lot more conversation traffic, not to mention you have wire it into several other systems. It may be neat, but i think I'll wait before I cut my throat the cutting edge of technology.

xxxkaliboyxxx

Look up IoT exploits, they have some ports that are always open, I have no idea how to close IoT ports, if that is even possible. We use Amazon Echo at my house and I love it with the smart plug and TP-Link wifi enabled lights. Now I'm sure I will be used for a DDOS attack like they did with Dyn.org since those devices are always on and unsecured, but being able to turn off my lights from sitting on my ass is worth it.

Amazon is pretty cool if you have Prime and other subs from them, but you can't ask it questions like Google Home.

TechGromit

xxxkaliboyxxx wrote: »

Look up IoT exploits, they have some ports that are always open, I have no idea how to close IoT ports, if that is even possible.

Your IoT device connects to the internet though your router, so you should be able to close ports on your router, however a cheap home router isn't a firewall, your not going to be lock down ports by protocol. Even commercial routers are limited to restricting one type of protocol per interface.

PC509

I have the Echo and Echo Dot's. I haven't done any Wireshark or anything to see what/when data is transmitted. I run a pfSense firewall/router currently, but haven't looked too far into what ports the Echo's use (just got them for Christmas!).

I have it coupled with a Wink hub, SmartThings hub currently with a few bulbs. I plan on extending it to other things, too.

Some people have suggested integration with home alarm systems or door locks. Others have said it's not supported by default because it's not person specific. Anyone can talk and have it do the action.

It's still in it's infancy. Quite a few security issues but some can be mitigated.

xxxkaliboyxxx

I ran wireshark a few weeks ago and sniffed my echoes. From the top of my head I remember port 8080 (http) and 443 (ssl) being open. I also remember one more that was specific to the Amazon Echo but I can't remember what it is.