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I upgraded my water heater and discovered how bad smart home security can be

Could you really control someone's hot water with just an email address?

Opening a tap triggers the exchanger, heats up the water (with natural gas, in my case), and the device has to push it through the line to where it's needed. When I went into the utility closet to shut off the hose bibbs for winter, I noticed a plastic bag magnetically stuck to the back side of the water heater. Recirculation means that the heater would start pulling water and heating it on demand, rather than waiting for enough negative pressure from the pipes.

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