Security: Difference between revisions

Security is both a blessing and a curse towards control over the things consumers own. Being forced to login to a laptop to use it is a sensible decision, being forced to connect your treadmill to the internet and gain authorization just to run on it (as seen [[Peloton Removes Just Run Feature|here]]) is not. Companies may use security as an excuse to reduce consumer control and so it is important to identify these misuses. If a company takes away consumer rights using security as an excuse consider that "the emperor may not have any clothes" and their security is not as strong as they portray it. {{Citation needed|reason=needs verifiability}}

[[Security through obscurity|Obscuring]], or hiding, a product's information increases the time a person or organization would need to take to fully understand how a product works. While this will delay the discovery of security vulnerabilities{{Citation needed|reason=needs verifiability}} it can never stop them{{Citation needed|reason=Who?}}, in addition obscuring product information prevents maintenance of products by the consumer, violating their [[Right to Repair|right to repair]]. {{Citation needed|reason=needs verifiability}}

#Avoid using physical products that require a proprietary app to use. While the product itself may not connect directly to the internet, your internet device now serves as a bridge to it. This opens the door for companies to take away your rights via the app. In addition, the app itself may have security vulnerabilities of its own.

#Avoid using physical products that need a subscription to use. For example, a normal treadmill won't brick itself if the company goes out of business, or decides to [[Peloton Removes Just Run Feature|eliminate a subscription free feature]] in the name of safety or security.