How safe is it to operate household gadgets remotely?
Q I KEEP seeing adverts for Hive from British Gas. These say I can turn on my home heating and lights wherever I am from my smart phone. And there seems to be all sorts of other clever things that either we can already or should soon be able to do from our phones. But is this a good idea? And is it safe? Tricia B
A ALL these applications where household gadgets can be operated remotely are known as the Internet of Things – IoT.
If you can’t set heating controls to a regular on and off pattern, turning on the heating remotely could be welcome in winter.
Other ideas – and there are plenty – include remote access to your TV recorder box and a smart fridge that would order more food, or remind you to shop.
One downside is cost. You will either have to replace or adapt gadgets for IoT, although as they become more popular, the expense should fall.
Another is you could be hit by the marketing which finances “free” apps. Supermarkets want to know when your fridge is out of milk, or beer, or cheese.
You’ll always need to keep your phone charged (or carry an external battery) otherwise that bluetooth controlled bike lock will stay shut!
But the biggest concern is security. A Which? investigation has shown that hackers could get into your home network via security flaws in some gadgetry.
While few miscreants want to turn on your lights and heat your kettle at two in the morning, they can exploit weaknesses in these items to get into the rest of your home internet system – the part where you might keep valuable details such as bank accounts. Criminals may make their task easier by getting you to respond to spoof emails and texts.
Ensure your router is password protected – it’s the entry point to everything at home. Some devices can come with easy-to-guess passwords such as Kettle or Oven. Ask before you buy if they can be changed. If you can’t, don’t buy.
Ensure smart devices always route through secure connections – some can work on their own, not recommended. And always update software.
If you take precautions, the convenience of IoT should outweigh any disadvantages.