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> was talking to a bunch of Chinese servers constantly Out of curiosity do you want Chinese companies to use US servers? Or where would servers be ideally plac

> was talking to a bunch of Chinese servers constantly Out of curiosity do you want Chinese companies to use US servers? Or where would servers be ideally placed for a Chinese brand to be accepted? I genuinely am curious to know.

dylan604 6y ago
Is this a serious question? How about don't contact any external server unless the user clicks an update button (or possibly on a schedule time the user has specifically allowed). After that, there is no legit reason for a device sensing the temperature in my home, a light switch, an electrical plug to ever call "home" about how it is being used. Maybe, just maybe, if the device detects that it is failing or other serious errors that might be okay, but if and ONLY if the user has specifically allowed that to happen. I don't care if the server is located in the US, China, Timbuktu, or Atlantis, and I don't care if the company is based in the US, China, or Martian. Just don't do it.
- pferdone 6y ago
  I think you're both on the same page here, but (and I'm also guessing here) I think OP implies there's a certain bias when it comes to chinese servers. And I too have this feeling, that if it's a server in the "western world" not a lot of people would bat an eye. But if it's a chinese or russian server, now that's something "we don't want".
  - melomal 6y ago
    This is what I am trying to figure out. I have a UK focused website therefore I use UK based servers, US focused website I use US based servers. Aren't most processing chips/hardware made in China for all major western tech companies anyway? I get the RU/China server suspiciousness but as far as I can tell, US unicorns are up to the same tricks and openly/brazenly pillaging data without any threat or fear.
    - buran77 6y ago
      We're in a western/US-centric bubble here on HN. People are aware data collection is bad, they'd rather not have it at all even if they'll accept some from Google, MS, Amazon, etc., but most of all they'd rather not have China/Russia/NK/etc. have any that data. As you can already tell, just asking the question is enough to get flak. Otherwise most consumer products (devices or software) phone home for one reason or another, whether it's telemetry and data collection, basic functionality that's implemented exclusively via cloud, or more advanced cloud features. It's down to deciding whether you trust western legal system and increased transparency to deal with the nefarious aspect of data collection, rather than the Russian, Chinese, etc. legal systems and transparency. Almost every device or software with network connectivity I played with phoned home: the Philips Hue gateway (Netherlands), Tado (Germany), Apple Homepod (US), Amazon Alexa/Fire* stuff (US), Synology (Taiwan), Unifi Controller (US), LG/Samsung smart TVs (South Korea), Google Chromecast (US), random assortment of network connected cameras (China, Taiwan), and a big etc. here. Some do a better job than others and just connect for basic stuff as far as I can tell, some enabled telemetry without asking and after the backlash ask again after every update, some have no option to disable this connectivity, etc. One thing that trips most people looking at this for the first time is when they start off with blocking internet connectivity for the least trustworthy devices (Chinese brands) and immediately see a zillion attempts being blocked, even if the device keeps working. They conclude the devices are trying to exfiltrate that much data. They're most likely constantly reattempting until they get a response. Some of my network cameras would try every second but after a successful connection the flood stopped and they barely sent anything. I chose to "complicate" my life a bit and buy hardware that I can flash with some open source firmware cutting out the cloud features completely, or connecting via "home made" solutions everywhere I can then using my home VPN to control them if needed. Whether China or the US have that data is of little real consequence to me right now but it's a matter of principle and I'd rather not shift my principles based on geography.
      - melomal 6y ago
        Thank you for your response and clarification! Your point on the multiple attempts to connect etc seems to make sense. I would imagine a lot of people checking these requests may jump to conclusions that every piece of data is being pulled across. > just asking the question is enough to get flak You are definitely right about that!
yumraj 6y ago
If Chinese companies place servers in US, then these servers would just be a proxy to feed data to Chinese servers. To each there own, but I think China will have to fundamentally change at this point for me to have any trust in any Chinese companies. Just look at Alibaba. If they are not safe from CCP influence, then it is safe to assume that all Chinese companies are just shells, or under influence of, the CCP.
- melomal 6y ago
  I get the fear but what do you imagine would happen to you and your data if the Chinese government got their hands on it? Will they create an internal credit system for the West? If so, how would this affect you. I'm genuinely curious what people fear will happen to them and their data if it went to a Chinese server. What are the consequences? What is the difference between Amazon running A/B tests to get as much money from you as quickly as possible VS TikTok trying to improve their suggestion algo to improve their engagement for increased ad revenue?
  - higerordermap 6y ago
    They collect data of all other countries. As their devices become pervasive, the data and thousands of RCEs serve as an aid to intelligence, if your country is competing with or in a fight with China, this is actively harmful.

dylan604 6y ago

Is this a serious question? How about don't contact any external server unless the user clicks an update button (or possibly on a schedule time the user has specifically allowed). After that, there is no legit reason for a device sensing the temperature in my home, a light switch, an electrical plug to ever call "home" about how it is being used. Maybe, just maybe, if the device detects that it is failing or other serious errors that might be okay, but if and ONLY if the user has specifically allowed that to happen. I don't care if the server is located in the US, China, Timbuktu, or Atlantis, and I don't care if the company is based in the US, China, or Martian. Just don't do it.

pferdone 6y ago
I think you're both on the same page here, but (and I'm also guessing here) I think OP implies there's a certain bias when it comes to chinese servers. And I too have this feeling, that if it's a server in the "western world" not a lot of people would bat an eye. But if it's a chinese or russian server, now that's something "we don't want".
- melomal 6y ago
  This is what I am trying to figure out. I have a UK focused website therefore I use UK based servers, US focused website I use US based servers. Aren't most processing chips/hardware made in China for all major western tech companies anyway? I get the RU/China server suspiciousness but as far as I can tell, US unicorns are up to the same tricks and openly/brazenly pillaging data without any threat or fear.
  - buran77 6y ago
    We're in a western/US-centric bubble here on HN. People are aware data collection is bad, they'd rather not have it at all even if they'll accept some from Google, MS, Amazon, etc., but most of all they'd rather not have China/Russia/NK/etc. have any that data. As you can already tell, just asking the question is enough to get flak. Otherwise most consumer products (devices or software) phone home for one reason or another, whether it's telemetry and data collection, basic functionality that's implemented exclusively via cloud, or more advanced cloud features. It's down to deciding whether you trust western legal system and increased transparency to deal with the nefarious aspect of data collection, rather than the Russian, Chinese, etc. legal systems and transparency. Almost every device or software with network connectivity I played with phoned home: the Philips Hue gateway (Netherlands), Tado (Germany), Apple Homepod (US), Amazon Alexa/Fire* stuff (US), Synology (Taiwan), Unifi Controller (US), LG/Samsung smart TVs (South Korea), Google Chromecast (US), random assortment of network connected cameras (China, Taiwan), and a big etc. here. Some do a better job than others and just connect for basic stuff as far as I can tell, some enabled telemetry without asking and after the backlash ask again after every update, some have no option to disable this connectivity, etc. One thing that trips most people looking at this for the first time is when they start off with blocking internet connectivity for the least trustworthy devices (Chinese brands) and immediately see a zillion attempts being blocked, even if the device keeps working. They conclude the devices are trying to exfiltrate that much data. They're most likely constantly reattempting until they get a response. Some of my network cameras would try every second but after a successful connection the flood stopped and they barely sent anything. I chose to "complicate" my life a bit and buy hardware that I can flash with some open source firmware cutting out the cloud features completely, or connecting via "home made" solutions everywhere I can then using my home VPN to control them if needed. Whether China or the US have that data is of little real consequence to me right now but it's a matter of principle and I'd rather not shift my principles based on geography.
    - melomal 6y ago
      Thank you for your response and clarification! Your point on the multiple attempts to connect etc seems to make sense. I would imagine a lot of people checking these requests may jump to conclusions that every piece of data is being pulled across. > just asking the question is enough to get flak You are definitely right about that!

yumraj 6y ago

If Chinese companies place servers in US, then these servers would just be a proxy to feed data to Chinese servers. To each there own, but I think China will have to fundamentally change at this point for me to have any trust in any Chinese companies. Just look at Alibaba. If they are not safe from CCP influence, then it is safe to assume that all Chinese companies are just shells, or under influence of, the CCP.

melomal 6y ago
I get the fear but what do you imagine would happen to you and your data if the Chinese government got their hands on it? Will they create an internal credit system for the West? If so, how would this affect you. I'm genuinely curious what people fear will happen to them and their data if it went to a Chinese server. What are the consequences? What is the difference between Amazon running A/B tests to get as much money from you as quickly as possible VS TikTok trying to improve their suggestion algo to improve their engagement for increased ad revenue?
- higerordermap 6y ago
  They collect data of all other countries. As their devices become pervasive, the data and thousands of RCEs serve as an aid to intelligence, if your country is competing with or in a fight with China, this is actively harmful.