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Good to hear Plugwise has a voice as well. But participating in data collection should be optional, not compulsory and it should be very clear that it is happening.

You really should do an update of the software so it states things clearly and give the option to opt-out entirely.

For now I've renamed my fridge plug to alarm clock, and the alarm clock plug to fridge

I'll try to be as open as possible in what i say and do, so let me first share some more information.
Here you can find a 31k text file that do not undermine my conclusions of 2 days ago.
(I've added some CR/LF to make it more human readable)
All this information goes to the same portal.plugwise.com !!

Check things before making allegations? Certainly not with information Plugwise provided till than,
cause that was either not provided at all or "playing with words" to keep everything hidden as possible what was really going on. This is a matter of respect.
Now you tell me why i should NOT have accused Plugwise with what i knew 2 days ago.
The reason Plugwise is telling a bit more now, is due to <b>my</b> openness and concern about privacy, not Plugwise's!

But this is not the real issue. The issue is that sensitive information is sent without my approval.
I just have to believe Plugwise on their blue eyes that all is safe and according to law and i just have to
accept that and live with it. Yeah right. We'll see about that.

I don't want a website to control my devices! I already have one!
The crux here is, is that <b>I</b> am controlling what is done with my usage information. It's <b>my</b> life, <b>my</b> data and <b>I</b> control who gets to look at them.
Now i am <b>FORCED</b> to give sensitive information to a 3rd party. That makes it even worse!
Who are they? Who's behind this all? Who's paying them to do this?

Your reaction only makes clear Plugwise does not understand that i want to be in control of my sensitive data; Plugwise doesn't respect that; i don't want to be forced!

And stop the "word playing". Don't fool with us. Be open in what you do.
I think i can fairly say that this has undermined the company's credibility more than you can imagine.

Plugwise is a good product. Very good. And I like it very much. I want to keep on using it and expand it with much more circles. It's working very well, you really did a great job there in Sassenheim, but please, have respect for people who don't want to participate in data-mining or whatever.

With how the Source works now, you don't show that respect.
Not openly telling what is happening under the hood before this thread started, not giving users a chance to opt-out, collecting data 'that will never be used'.
Until the privacy statement changes, no doubt.
Cause you have the liberty to do that, so you will do so some day, right?

If you are truly committed to upholding (a feeling of) privacy, then stop collecting data that will never be used.
As a benefit it saves traffic, disk space, CPU cycles. How's that for protecting the environment?

The response of Plugwise on this matter will determine my next steps.

PS.
Look at the Apache server. Working with PHP 5.2.1 ??
From PHP 5.2.1 to PHP 5.2.2 i count 15 Security fixes! (http://www.php.net/ChangeLog-5.php)
It's a matter of time, until a 4th party will have our data!
Another reason to change the behavior of the Source.

To be honest I have no problems even when they have the usage info..
Some of the forum members have more info on there webpage then what is maybe send to plugwise.
and yes it will be nice to know how much my fridge is using compared to the others...

Robert,
You link to PlugwiseDataSessions.txt does not work at the moment.edit.. When looking at the HTML source it does show fine.

re: yes it will be nice to know how much my fridge is using compared to the others...
You will still not know what kind / type of fridge the others are using, so it's of no use!

Now it does, zipped it.
FF was ok, IE had problems.

Thanks for all the reactions. We will absolutely taken all response into consideration (I now this sounds politically correct, but that's not the intention). Please be notices that when changes are necessary it always takes time. Every change takes time. These changes takes months. One for the reliability of the software, two for the portal. Just an example, the notification of software and firmware updates. Just stopping sending information to the portal will cause bigger problems.

In the meantime, for the ones who have problems with this, block the PlugwisePC.exe in your firewall, and all the information send to the portal is blocked and your software is still working. Please be noticed, that then we can not inform you about software and firmware updates, witch are sometime necessary for the reliability of the plugs.

@ digit: Yesterday I have send you an email to contact me by phone. You haven't done that before reacting on the forum. I would be pleased if you would do that still.

@Reinder: Hotmail... checked once a month or so
I'll give you another address.

Like buying a car, which has a gps device installed. It sends out data to some server where your current location/speed is *but* its never used.. (so they say) that would just spook the hell out of me.

// Erik (binkey.nl)

Plugwise already offered a temporarily solution "In the meantime, for the ones who have problems with this, block the PlugwisePC.exe in your firewall, and all the information send to the portal is blocked and your software is still working."
Let's wait wat happens. We can all agree on the fact we want to have a choice in this matter. [;)]

I will block it. As Digit says: If I haven't been asked explicitly, there's no way I want them to get any information.

Question: what could be the drawbacks of blocking PlugwisePC.exe? No more sw update notifications?

DJ

As far as i can assume, if you initially put in your e-mail address, you will get a update. Block it after that and you should be fine.

Dont forget, most of us are on the forum. If a new version comes out somebody is bound to tell here too..

// Erik (binkey.nl)

No, if you want you can block only outgoing on ipnr
updates are also available here http://www.myplugwise.com/

Not exactly through. Without connection to our portal, you are not notified of updates.
If you now updates are available you can download and run the setup at www.myplugwise.com. It's not a update wizard, but a setup wizard but the effect is the same, it will update the software. It is only working for software updates, NOT for firmware updates.
For firmware updates you need a connection to our portal. The update wizard will only start when it can connect to our portal and can check the versions of software and firmware. When it is notified there are updates available, the update wizard starts. And then again, it checks again at the portal and will download the appropriate updates. After that the portal needs to now if it is succeed. So when you want updates, we recommend you keep the Source open to the portal. But if you don't want that, ok it's your decision. Again, we don't use your personal information, but I think that's clear right now.