Washington Apple Pi

A Community of Apple iPad, iPhone and Mac Users

August 2019 General Meeting

Privacy and smart home devices

August 24, 2019, 9:30 a.m., George Mason University

The meeting will be at George Mason University, in Enterprise Hall, Room 275.

In case of inclement weather or other emergencies, the Pi follows the same schedule for closures as the Montgomery County school system or, in the case of General Meetings, George Mason University.

Smart home devices have been increasingly adopted. Still, research and development in this field have shown that these devices pose security as well as privacy risks for consumers. Recent examples of attacks include baby monitor hacks and the Mirai botnet. This talk discusses the privacy concerns as well as privacy actions of consumers using smart home devices.

Through content analysis of online reviews and survey, we analyzed privacy concerns of smart camera users, and compared concerns from device owners and non-owners. Our results show that online camera reviewers are mainly concerned about the confidentiality of data collected, whereas owners of smart home devices are mainly concerned about data protection. We also learned that the lack of privacy and the data collection are the primary concerns of non-owners. Most consumers rely on a trusted vendor to purchase smart home devices."

We'll connect remotely with GMU professor Vivian Motti, researching Human Centered Computing, Wearable Health and Usable Privacy.

Professor Vivian Motti, George Mason University

We are working on a new live stream solution for this meeting - stay tuned!

If there is adequate bandwidth, and it isn't entirely used up by the attendees and their iPhones, iPads, iPods, etc., we will stream the meeting over the Pi's YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCeX9TuhjBL7n1HGlHOaNCmQ

Here's our Attendance Check-in link, https://drive.google.com/open?id=1J1v4kDYa4_RYpUfaBt8JXufn0byPU4XroatG9aYycEU

The General Meeting will be in Enterprise Hall, Room 275, #16 on the map below, on the George Mason University campus in Fairfax VA. Check back closer to the meeting date for any updates or changes.

George Mason University map

Enterprise Hall, our normal meeting place, is #16, and Exploratory Hall is #17. Click on the map for a much larger version of the George Mason University campus map.

George Mason University Essential Information

Address: 4400 University Dr., Fairfax, VA (near Rte 123 and Braddock Road). Directions and Map: http://www.gmu.edu/welcome/Directions-to-GMU.html

A whole bunch of George Mason maps: http://eagle.gmu.edu/map/fairfax.php

Important Parking Information: Two Options, Paid and Free

The Shenandoah Parking Garage (formerly the Sandy Creek Parking Garage because it is located on Sandy Creek) is fee-based facility. It is more convenient and closer to the meeting location. The Pi will subsidize the facility's parking fee by providing vouchers for donation request of $4.00.

If using the parking garage, park in Visitor's area; i.e., the lowest level. Take the elevator to the third floor (Campus Level), and exit along the sky bridge.

After the meeting, exit the garage using the exits marked for Validated Tickets. Your parking ticket goes in first. Then the validation ticket goes in next. If you have any problems, there is a speaker box for calling the parking lot attendant at the checkout point.

Free parking in Lot A

Park as close to Mattaponi River Lane as possible, then walk north along that road toward the main campus buildings. The sidewalk route takes you directly to the side of Enterprise Hall, on your left. The meeting room is located on the second floor, accessible via outside stairs or via an elevator on your right as soon as you enter the building through the doors behind the outside stairs. We will endeavor to have signs posted to help guide you to the right location. It is at least a five-minute walk from Lot A and up a slight incline. We will be using a golf cart along the route, to offer rides to those who want or need a lift.

Handicapped Parking: There are three handicap parking spaces next to Enterprise Hall that can be used by members, on a first come first served basis. Have your Handicap Sticker showing on the dashboard or on the rear-view mirror.