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Yeah I agree. The browser does seem to be the preeminent attack vector since it's the easiest way for actors to reach into your systems. I can imagine the next

Yeah I agree. The browser does seem to be the preeminent attack vector since it's the easiest way for actors to reach into your systems. I can imagine the next generation of ransomware where your smart devices are held hostage for small-ish ransoms. To your point about privacy, yeah I also agree. I think the real evil here is how implicit the exploitation of trust is with using Chrome and Google services. Ideally the privacy disclaimers should be more pronounced and end users should know what exactly they're giving up by using these products. I come from the Chinese mindset where privacy doesn't have the capital P like it does in the US. Most Chinese are fine with the government and private industry infiltrating their lives if the net effect is that their lives are improved. I think a lot of them have not fully weighed the cost-benefit analysis properly, and who knows if there ever will be a tipping point event where people decide technology has too deep a hand in their inner-lives. I think most people in the US have yet to encounter the potentially dire consequences of the slow erosion of their privacy. Who knows, maybe the net effect for most consumers will always be positive. I'm still using Chrome, Gmail, and am locked into Google's net, but I like to think it's something I'm cognizant of, and paying attention to from far away.

mr_toad 6y ago
> your smart devices are held hostage for small-ish ransoms. I thought the vendors did this already. But maybe the ransomware developers will do a better job supporting the smart devices than the actual vendors.
- nikkwong 6y ago
  Hahah. That made me laugh out loud. The idea of having a more open standard to be able to talk to devices in other people's houses is an a pandora's box; but I could also see a lot of interesting use cases. I'm just toying with the idea of warming the color temperature of the lights in my parent's house at night to help them sleep (since I can't get them to care enough themselves). Or think about some type of live poster that your circle of friends streams content to. I'm sure there are tons of interesting possibilities.
3747yreur 6y ago
>I come from the Chinese mindset where privacy doesn't have the capital P like it does in the US. Most Chinese are fine with the government and private industry infiltrating their lives if the net effect is that their lives are improved. < Most Americans don't care either and it's always weird to me how many mental gymnastics the American tech community will go through not to acknowledge it. The argument I hear is always some mix of exploitation or informed consent. But then you'll also be given evidence from things like the Snowden leak claiming that the controversey there shows how many people care (the same people who don't understand the topic well enough to form 'correct' opinions) and if you're expecting evidence of consumers being damaged in a real way then you're out of luck. The reality is that most Americans don't care, they might be a little nervous because of the fear campaigns being waged but overall they prefer having useful tech products. The only people who want worse tech products are activists and the Europeans.

mr_toad 6y ago

> your smart devices are held hostage for small-ish ransoms. I thought the vendors did this already. But maybe the ransomware developers will do a better job supporting the smart devices than the actual vendors.

nikkwong 6y ago
Hahah. That made me laugh out loud. The idea of having a more open standard to be able to talk to devices in other people's houses is an a pandora's box; but I could also see a lot of interesting use cases. I'm just toying with the idea of warming the color temperature of the lights in my parent's house at night to help them sleep (since I can't get them to care enough themselves). Or think about some type of live poster that your circle of friends streams content to. I'm sure there are tons of interesting possibilities.

3747yreur 6y ago

>I come from the Chinese mindset where privacy doesn't have the capital P like it does in the US. Most Chinese are fine with the government and private industry infiltrating their lives if the net effect is that their lives are improved. < Most Americans don't care either and it's always weird to me how many mental gymnastics the American tech community will go through not to acknowledge it. The argument I hear is always some mix of exploitation or informed consent. But then you'll also be given evidence from things like the Snowden leak claiming that the controversey there shows how many people care (the same people who don't understand the topic well enough to form 'correct' opinions) and if you're expecting evidence of consumers being damaged in a real way then you're out of luck. The reality is that most Americans don't care, they might be a little nervous because of the fear campaigns being waged but overall they prefer having useful tech products. The only people who want worse tech products are activists and the Europeans.