Smart home automation and home security systems are supposed to keep our homes and families safer, right? Every day we recommend the use of sensors, wireless security cameras, Wi-Fi thermostats, smart door locks and more to make our lives safer and more convenient. What happens when the very technology we bring into our homes to protect us actually makes us more vulnerable?
Several articles have appeared in the media in the past year about how computer hackers can access some smart home devices and either disable them or gain access to other data from your home network. While many of these stories have been overblown of misunderstood, there is some truth to the idea that smart home systems require their own special application of security. An article in the new issue of Electronic House talks about these network security concerns and offers helpful tips in how to address them.
Are all smart home systems vulnerable to attack? Is it the system’s hub, the individual devices, the wireless connection? Or is it not the smart home system’s fault at all, and more a matter of how secure the network you have it connected to is? These issues are addressed in this new article, so you can have more confidence when buying and installing your own internet-of-things smart home system or DIY home security system.
One of the weakest links in any networked smart home system is your network security and password strength. This isn’t the fault of the smart home device, such as your Wi-Fi thermostat or wireless camera; rather it’s the fault of your original network. This is something that can be easily corrected, and the Electronic House article explains how.
Are online password managing programs a good solution for network and device security? You can read about those here and decide if that’s something for you. Other tips offered in the article are firewalls and VLANS, which are also explained here.
There’s one super easy tip for network protection. It takes about a minute to do, and will cost you no money. Read here to find out what it is.
With the proper precautions in place you can be confident that your smart home devices are safe from most hackers, which in turns makes your home safe. Get yourself informed with this article.
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