I don’t use a smart toothbrush, but I use Smart Floss, which I highly recommend.
I subscribed to NewsBreak after a friend showed me an article about a unique house in our area, built into the rocks, on the app. I had never heard of NewsBreak before. Now, it interrupts my day with local stories as well as breaking news like this one below:
3 million smart toothbrushes were just used in a DDoS attack. Really
What’s next, malware-infected dental floss? But seriously: It’s a reminder that even the smallest smart home devices can be a threat. Here’s how to protect yourself.
Written by Steven Vaughan-Nichols, Senior Contributing Editor
Feb. 6, 2024 at 12:48 p.m. PT
It sounds more like science fiction than reality, but Swiss newspaper Aargauer Zeitung reports that approximately three million smart toothbrushes were hijacked by hackers to launch a Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attack. These innocuous bathroom gadgets — transformed into soldiers in a botnet army — knocked out a Swiss company for several hours, costing millions of euros in damages.
No, we’re not kidding.
https://www.zdnet.com/home-and-office/smart-home/3-million-smart-toothbrushes-were-just-used-in-a-ddos-attack-really/
That story is so wild! Who would think someone could commandeer toothbrushes to take a website down on the internet? Apparently, the toothbrushes used JAVA and were used to take down a Swiss company’s site.
Maybe those stories about our microwaves spying on us are true after all?
Have you heard about the toothbrushes gone wild before?
What appliances do you own that are considered smart?
As for the SMART FLOSS, as the daughter of a dentist, I think it’s the best floss I’ve used in my life. It’s a twisted rope with cardamom flavor and cleans my teeth and gums better than any other floss. You can buy it on Amazon or Whole Foods, of course. As for a toothbrush of the old-fashioned kind that won’t commit a cyber attack, my dad recommended Oral-B, soft bristles.
What a crazy story about the toothbrushes! As for smart devices, we don’t have any!! Dr. Zeus is very privacy- and security conscious, so presents a very compelling counterargument for every fun gadget out there. Our phones and computers run on open-source Linux operating systems, so he has full admin control. On vacation, he spent an hour disabling all the smart features on the rental car. Our good friend works in the field of AI and is similarly wary of smart devices, which I find to be very interesting.
I am not that tech savvy like you and Dr. Zeus. I’m not sure what we have that is “smart.” I have read that people who work in Silicon Valley won’t allow their children any devices and only let them play board games and in parks.
I don’t even know what all the devices are beyond Alexa/Echo (I don’t know what they are, really…), Ring doorbell, video baby monitors, robot vacuums, TVs, and refrigerators. I’ve been shown examples of all these things being hacked. Apparently, people hack baby monitors and sell access, so people can pay a few bucks to watch babies sleep or a woman breastfeeding… horrific!! Our friend in AI used to work in Silicon Valley and while they don’t yet have kids, they’re 100% doing no tech beyond what was available during their childhood (80s-90s).
That’s creepy with the baby monitors. I would never have Alexa but I do have my AI bird feeder and an outdoor camera.
Wow! That’s like the way I grew up when we didn’t have cell phones. Primitive, at best.
When I was young we had one wall phone in the kitchen.
Yep,but we also had an extension in my parents room.
We did later on in our second house.
Nothing smart here, unless I am unaware and my wall heaters are listening in or transmitting! Your floss is part of the newest trend in dental floss. Stretchy and expanding. Almost every well-known dental brand has some form of this floss. My office is big on Coco Floss- same principle but it also has a bit of coconut oil which is good for tissues. I really want to know why anyone would need their toothbrush to be that connected that it could be hacked??
Okay I just googled. The only thing a “smart” brush does is keep track of how you brush- analysis of time, pressure, technique basically- which I’m sure then can give you and your dentist some sort of real time data. What a ridiculous waste of resources and money!
I know my daughter uses a smart toothbrush. It does seem silly. The company even mails her a new head periodically which is more money. I don’t think we have smart appliances, but I’m not sure because they came with the house.
Actually, after I sent this comment I realized my stove has smart capabilities. My original died and the landlords replaced it with this high tech one, which I think was over the top… I have no idea how to even set up the expanded features and wouldn’t even if I did. I just want it to cook my food not monitor everything I do in the kitchen 😉
I’m not sure what a stove would do with smart capabilities? When we bought our house, the prior owners replaced some of the appliances, so they could be smart, too.
I suspect that it has to do much the same as the toothbrush. Monitor performance and such and be able to send reports to the owner. I have never sought to find the instructions on how to enable those features however.
I’m not going to bother with that either. We do have one smart appliance that I bought. It’s called Chef IQ. It looks like a crock pot but has an app on my phone. You put in the ingredients, it weighs them and cooks the right amount of time. It sears, is a pressure cooker and a slow cooker.
The one that really makes me shake my head is the fridge that tracks what you have and how much then alerts when things are low and makes a shopping list. I might be making this part up but I think it might also order groceries as well?? Regardless, I want none of it 😉
Oh my! That’s crazy. I do like the Chef IQ because my husband uses it to make the best baby back ribs I’ve ever had.
Whoa, what an interesting story. And I didn’t know that your dad was a dentist. Loved learning about that and smart floss. Thank you, Elizabeth!
That story made me laugh. But then isn’t it scary to think of how other things in our house and lives could be hacked?
So true!
😊
Oh, that’s funny! I wish they would hack into my Convection Oven to cook my food without burning it. Better yet, just cook food when I think of it. Make the ingredients appear out of thin air. The ideas are endless…
I like that! Do something truly useful. 😊
I only have a ‘smart’ phone. No other smart appliances. But a smart phone can do a lot of damage too, if so inclined!!!’
I’m sure! We could all be hacked.
Haha! Let’s hope not. 🙏🏼
👍🏼
😅
Holey moley guacamole? What next? I’m gonna give my Oral B a little side-eye when I brush later…wowza! 😲
I have always used Orab B toothbrushes, but not was with any electronics. Soft bristles are best according to my dad.
And I’m pretty sure an old-school toothbrush isn’t going to take over the world or invade my privacy. Oy! I didn’t remember that your papa was a dentist. Advice taken! Thanks, Elizabeth! 🥰😜🥰
Yes, and try the Smart Floss, too! 😁
Oh – right! I forgot to mention that the cardamon flavor sounds fab! 🥰
It took me awhile to figure out the flavor. I ended up reading that on amazon or the label.
😉😉😉
😊
The only smart thing I own is my “stupid” phone
Ha!
The iPhone, of course. A Google clock. My new bird feeder. My truck. My new headphones (apparently – it has an app for my phone). The TV and DVD player. The computers. All these things are connected to the internet is one way or another, though sometimes it’s just through the Bluetooth in my phone. None of our kitchen appliances, thank you. I don’t need my fridge telling what to buy at the store!
My toothbrush is a GUM 524. It is the best toothbrush ever! It practically takes care of the flossing while I brush.
You gave me a good list of what I own that is connected to the internet. Things I never thought of. In Palm Springs our utilities like water were all hooked up to a central source. How scary is that if the water was hacked and shut down?
Yeah, I suppose our electric meter would have to count, too. But that technically doesn’t belong to me.
True.
On your recommendation I bought some of Dr. Tung’s smart floss and love it. My teeth feel smarter because of it even if my toothbrush isn’t one of those sneaky smart ones.
You gave me a good laugh about those sneaky toothbrushes. Yes, Dr. Tung’s smart floss is the best!
The only smart devices we have are our iphones, but I think I’ll keep an eye on my microwave from now on. 🙂 I’ve never heard of smart toothbrushes, but what a story! I’ll check out the dental floss though. And yes, for soft bristles!
Isn’t that a strange story? I’d never heard of smart toothbrushes before.
Thanks for the tip on the floss.
It works well for me 😀
Smart things amaze me. I’ll be checking out the floss.
I love the floss. It does a better job than the old floss for me.
How the hell did everything get so smart? Hugs, C
I couldn’t figure out why anyone would need a Smart toothbrush, but according to Deb, it keeps track of your brushing time, pressure etc. Still she (and I) don’t understand the why?
This makes it look like few years back growing up without technology was much better than this! Yes, I have heard that those who work in tech don’t use much gadgets at home. Now I know why!
Absolutely!