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Another sample point and a different concern... We just bought a new refrigerator this weekend, replacing the $3500 2011 Bosch that came with the apartment. T
by amalter 7y ago
Another sample point and a different concern...
We just bought a new refrigerator this weekend, replacing the $3500 2011 Bosch that came with the apartment.
The Bosch burned out the compressor’s ECU - a $350 part that with labor would have been an $800 repair.
We comparison shopped all the appliance stores in NYC and ended up with a $2k Samsung side by side (not my favorite brand, but it fit in our tight galley kitchen)
PC Richard had only a single model with a touchscreen on the floor (Samsung French door). Best Buy and Home Depot had maybe one more from LG.
So on one hand, the concern that every refrigerator will have a useless touchscreen seems unfounded.
But... I was reading through the manual and was surprised to find instructions for connecting the appliance to my wifi. (MAC address available two hex digits at a time flashed through the temperature gauges)
Ostensibly this is to provide a channel for electric demand response (they even documented the api). It also connects up with Samsung’s SmartHome ecosystem (why??)
I have no doubt there is a full Android stack hidden what appeared to be a normal “dumb appliance”.
These hidden smart appliances are going to be great attack surfaces. I’m sure soon enough they’ll automate the wifi connection by making a back channel the nearest lightbulb or something.
Of course who’s following CVEs on their mesh connected toaster?
- groovylick 7y agoYou probably could have found the control board for sale online for half that cost and replaced it yourself. It's no more that a couple plugs, refrigerator repair is very over priced unless they have to tinker with the refrigerant.
- xxpor 7y agoMeanwhile my French door fridge from 1992 runs fine and does the one thing I care about: keeps food cold.
- DaiPlusPlus 7y agoWhat fridge is that? I don't remember seeing true french-door fridges in the 1990s (or do you mean a side-by-side?)