An article about smart devices on the Science Daily website and in newspaper articles discusses the possibility of hackers gaining access to your computer system through smart devices including washing machines and light bulbs, a matter I was in the dark about. The basic issue is that anything connected to your computer or operated by Wi-Fi such as the light bulbs needs to have strong passwords in order to protect your privacy.

To me it seems not that great a worry, not just because I don’t have these devices but more so because I don’t think I am that interesting. A look inside my fridge would show some healthy food, some not so healthy food and some chocolate but no fascinating creative cooking that will inspire thousands of home chefs. If you want to leave me in the dark by turning off my light bulb, I’ll just go to bed and sulk. If you think you can spy on me via a Wi-Fi washing machine all you are going to see are some dirty cloths and a few ‘unmentionables’.

Sometimes science goes too far in developing useless applications for useful technologies and maybe for a while the pressing area of concern is finding a vaccine for the COVID virus.

In the meantime, I am going to see if I need to change my lightbulb or just its password before it gets too dark to see.

Dennis Fitzgerald — Melbourne, Australia