I just bought a portable a/c. It has wifi functionality so I can set a timer on it and control it from an app. i have an openwrt gl.inet router, and a spare laptop that can only run windows 10, is there a way to monitor what this portable a/c is doing through something like wireshark? I just want to track how much GB of data it's using to see if it's doing anything shady like becoming part of a Chinese vpn botnet.Any ideas on how I would go about not only isolating this portable a/c to a very limited wifi network, but also monitoring the traffic it's sending back to the chinese servers?Pic unrelated. It doesn't use alexa or google home, just some chinese android app.
You can do everything from the OpenWRT router. Create an isolated VLAN, configure a separate Wifi SSID and assign it to the VLAN, and then, monitor the traffic from the router and do packet captures from it. Install Gentoo on the laptop.https://openwrt.org/docs/guide-user/network/vlan/switch_configurationhttps://openwrt.org/docs/guide-user/network/wifi/basichttps://openwrt.org/docs/guide-user/services/network_monitoring/bwmonhttps://openwrt.org/docs/guide-user/firewall/misc/tcpdump_wiresharkhttps://wiki.gentoo.org/wiki/Handbook:Main_PageYou should be running a separate VLAN for all IoT devices, regardless of origin, given the infrequency of updates and the frequency with which these devices are abandoned and eventually compromised.
>>108353123you don't need a special router. as long as you're connected to the same wifi network, you can send a packet telling the device you're the router now. then all packets are routed via your computer. but I expect electronical devices to use encrypted communications, so it'll still be harder since they may rely on certificates.
>>108352994Yes, the Chinaman ABSOLUTELY wants the gold mine of information that is safely concealed inside your Appalachian shanty.You are right to be paranoid. West Virginia hillbillies have been specifically targeted by these malicious home appliances. A state actor may have even intercepted the package while in transit in order to plant special backdoors.
>>108353123Thank you anon. You are the best. I love this board.
>>108352994>works with alexa>works with google home!this is likely an esp32 based IoT device that uses their software stack. i'm betting the app is the usual themed generic app everyone else uses for their wifi light bulbs and shit.
