When Gadgets Betray Us: The Dark Side of Technology Obsession - Exploring Privacy Risks & Security Threats in Smart Devices for Home & Office Use

It is not often that a book completely changes how you look at the world around you, but this one does just that. Robert Vamosi manages to open one's eyes wide to the real capabilities as well as the appalling vulnerabilities of the gadgets that increasingly manage our lives. The view is fascinating, if not always comforting. Gone is the complacency with which I implicitly trusted that all would be well when I pressed the remote and my locked car gently beeped back, when I twirled the dial on my gym locker or allowed my driver's license to be electronically swiped. Although I am not the least bit technically inclined, this book made clear to me how such devices work and how they can be compromised. Luckily the remedy Vamosi proposes for the possible disasters he outlines is simple--be aware and, for heaven's sake, use a little common sense.This clearly written survey manages to be totally engaging despite its technical subjects. It feels sophisticated and yet makes its information accessible to everyone. It is full of enjoyable vignettes of real people and the grief their gadgets have wrought, yet at the same time quite scholarly. Unobtrusive references make clear where the information came from and how to find more. What I enjoyed most about the book is the feeling it left me with that I actually understood (superficially at least) what is going on in the invisible wireless world of RFID's, SIM's, etc. I was not the least surprised by the kerfuffle in the recent press about Google tracking the whereabouts of iPhone users. Who knew? Anyone who had read this book would have guessed.