SMART AND SAFE
A little attention to your tech will let you enjoy your home without fear of hacking
It's no secret that I love my smart home. The ability to control everything from my lights and locks, to my security system, even down to my coffee maker right from my phone is a convenience I never could have imagined even 10 years ago.
While some people swear by the old methods, smart homes are gaining in popularity, particularly for the convenience that they provide to homeowners.
Every time I talk about smart homes I get tons of emails and social media comments about the dangers of smart homes in regard to their vulnerability to hacking. I get the concern, but if you take the right precautions against hacking, your smart home setup will be super secure. Now that's smart!
Here's what you should do:
MAKE IT HARD TO CRACK
A lot of homeowners never change the default settings of their Wi-fi router, not even the password. When you're using the default settings on your router, it's much easier for a hacker to guess the credentials needed to log in.
Change your router's username to something inconsequential (and that doesn't identify your address or unit number). This makes it more challenging for a hacker to determine what kind of router you're using. When you keep the default name, a hacker can determine who manufactured your router and they may already be familiar with the weak points in the model's security they can exploit.
This is the same reason you don't want to keep using the default password. If a hacker can figure out the model of the router, odds are they may be able to crack your password as well. Change the password to something that incorporates uppercase letters, lowercase letters, numbers and symbols.
For added security, change the password often. I've seen some experts recommend that you should change them about every three months. Here's a tip: when you change the filters in your HVAC system (at least every three months), change your router password, too.
LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION
Where does your wireless router live in your home? For most of us, it's probably in a fairly accessible common area that would allow anyone to easily go in and reset the router should any problems arise. That makes sense, but depending on the location, you could be making your system more vulnerable.
Try to place the router in the middle of your home. Not only will this help give the entire home equal, consistent access to the system, you also want to prevent your signal from spilling too far from the home, where it could be more vulnerable to attack.
HIDING IN PLAIN SIGHT
Once you've set your gadgets up on the Wi-fi network, you can hide the network from further devices. Any tech that's already connected to the network will remain connected, but anyone near the home won't be able to detect the Wi-fi network to connect to it.
If you get some new gear, you can temporarily unhide the network to reconnect, then hide it again.
KEEP OTHERS OUT
A key component of Wi-fi security is allowing your trusted devices to connect securely, but keeping out suspicious devices.
Firewalls are security protocols that monitor your network traffic and will either allow or block devices based on its set of security rules. Odds are your router has a firewall, but it may not be activated.
You should be able to find firewall activation under your settings and make sure it's switched on.
Some routers will allow remote access, meaning they'll be able to connect to your router's privacy settings despite not being paired to your Wi-fi network. Switch that off to keep the bad actors out.
On average, a home will have nine connected devices. Like anything else in our home, it's up to us to make sure we take the initiative to protect these devices from external threats.
Don't overlook the advantages of a smart home because you're worried about hacks. When you take the right precautions, a smart home can be totally safe and secure.