Search results

I would think that using your existing setup to access your home network is exactly what you want to use in China. Because you'll be routing through your actual home network's public IP address, it is unlikely that it would be filtered out by the great firewall. Although it seems that people...

If you use an older Amazon Fire Tablet, you should definitely look at the Fire Tool Box utility. It is an easy way to remove ads, add Google framework, remove Amazon apps, etc which can make it run more like a regular tablet. Unfortunately, it seems that Amazon has started to block some the...

I'm still using it, but honestly my system really hadn't changed much for a long time prior to CQC going open source and the loss of the forum. That being said, I can see a time where I will need to make a change. I guess I really need to look at Home Assistant because that seems to be one of...

I'm glad to know that there are companies still interested in the IR remote "game". With the discontinuation of the Harmony Hub, there hasn't been a lot of options. A lot of the URC stuff looks extremely "clunky" and complex. The Remote 2 looks incredible.

Congratulations on the impressive milestone! I have to assume that the number of active websites with a 20 year history of a single owner and mission statement is pretty small. I was going to post that while I have been here a long time, it wasn't close to 20 years. Then I checked my join...

You might look at the offerings from Shelley. They have some very small rely type devices and can control regular switches(like the Shelly Plus 1 Mini). It's probably still too thick for such a shallow single gang box, but you might be able to use a shallow double gang box with the switch on...

I'm sure there are still CQC users out there like myself. Obviously development has come to a screeching halt with Dean's decision to stop developing it. It's been open sourced so someone could continue, but I doubt that will really happen. It's even worse now that Dean shutdown the CQC site...

Actually always true. Obscurity is not effective security IMHO. If an exploit was ever found (and that doesn't necessarily mean it would be publicly announced), it would be easy enough for hackers to scan for that specific device on the WWW and potentially find your forwarded port. Just...

Great advice so far! I'll just add my standard answer that port forwarding is an extremely unsecure way of allowing outside access to your network. When you forward ports, your network is only as "secure" as the device/service that the data is being forwarded to. A single exploit in that...

https://web.archive.org/web/20230203231928/http://www.charmedquark.com/vb_forums/index.php Via the WayBackMachine.... There is a lot that isn't archived, but it is better than nothing.

I always thought I would move to HA if/when I was forced to. I honestly haven't looked at it closely however. I am shocked to hear they don't support USB-UIRT. Hopefully there is some sort of IR remote control support. Otherwise that may be a deal breaker. I use the Harmony Hub (which seems...

Just an FYI - I did hear back from Dean. Unfortunately it seems the forum is shut down for good.

I noticed the site was down as well. Hopefully it is simply an oversight on Dean's part, but I am worried that it is a "cost" issue. If the information on the forum was lost, that is really going to put a damper on anyone trying to use it. I realize the "growth" of CQC is zero, but there are...

Dahua cameras are good as well. They are another Chinese manufacture (like Hikvision) so you certainly should be taking precautions like putting the devices on their own VLAN and preventing them from having internet connections. But honestly in this day and age, you should be doing that with...

Just my personal opinion, but you couldn't pay me to trust Google with my automation system functionality. We all know they like to add and then cancel software at a drop of a hat. Imagine spending a lot of time, energy and money into the Google ecosystem only to have it dropped in a couple of...

Thanks for posting!

While I didn't choose Ooma myself way back in the day because it was propriety (I choose an Obi device because it works with lots of different service providers), I have to admit that Ooma has lasted the test of time. Plus, I've never really seen anything negative about Ooma. People that have...

I can only imagine the number of outdated and insecure routers/firewalls that are out there. I bet 85% of the general public is running something insecure - and has no idea how exposed they are. This, along with the proliferation of consumer grade IOT devices and how many devices want you to...

And paid doesn't mean expensive. There are plenty of cheap service providers out there. I pay about $3.30/mo for unlimited calling and e911 service ($80 for 24 months of service). I can't remember the name of the company off hand, but it was the VOIP service that Obi offered and was later...

I would expect most paid VOIP services to NOT have any problems.