With the ever-increasing number of ‘Smart Home’ devices available, being able to keep all your data safe is essential. Connected home devices such as voice assistants, thermostats, security cameras and lights can be incredibly convenient, but if not properly secured they can present many risks for hacking or other malicious users gaining access to your data or even breaking into your home. A properly protected connected home is essential to keeping you safe online and ensuring that all the information you store on your devices remains intact. In this article, we’ll cover the steps you can take to ensure that all of your Smart Home devices are secure.
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Install a firewall:
A firewall is an essential security tool for any smart home. It serves as a gatekeeper, monitoring all incoming and outgoing traffic and preventing malicious attacks. The most secure firewalls are those designed specifically for connected homes, as they are designed to protect the home from any potential vulnerabilities that other firewalls do not.
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Secure your network:
Make sure the network your devices connect to is secure by using a strong password, avoiding public Wi-Fi networks, and disabling remote access when possible. This will prevent hackers from accessing your network and installing malware on your devices. Also, updating your router with the latest security patches ensures that it has the latest protections against attacks.
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Enable two-factor authentication (2FA):
Enabling two-factor authentication (2FA) adds an extra layer of protection to logins to your accounts, making it much harder for hackers to gain access to your accounts or data. Using two-factor authentication requires you to provide two pieces of information, such as a username and password combination, before logging in, which adds an extra level of verification to complete before signing in. get access.
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Use encryption:
To further protect data transmitted between devices or sent over the air, encryption should be enabled whenever possible. Thus, sensitive information remains safe, even if it is intercepted by a third party. For additional security measures, consider using end-to-end encryption for communications between devices to maximize the security and privacy of data transferred over the Internet or Bluetooth connections.
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Regularly update your connected devices:
Keeping your devices up to date with the latest software versions helps ensure that they remain secure against new vulnerabilities discovered since their initial release date. It is therefore essential to regularly review the available updates and apply them immediately to maintain the security levels of the devices at all times, even after they have been installed in your home environment. Also consider implementing auto-correction features if available on some models. This allows you to rest easy knowing that any vulnerabilities are patched quickly without having to manually check each time an update is available.
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Be proactive in monitoring what is happening on each of your connected smart home devices:
Set alerts for abnormal activity such as suspicious logins or settings changes, regularly check logs for signs of strange activity, and act quickly if something doesn’t seem right. A few minutes of verification or response can save you hours (or more!) of damage control.
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Change your passwords and accesses after each maintenance.
It is important to be aware of the importance of the security of connected objects. Whenever any type of maintenance or modification is carried out, it is essential that passwords and accesses are updated accordingly. This ensures that only intended users have access to the system and will help mitigate the threat of inappropriate access to a user’s device. Also, whenever possible, it is a good idea to disable remote access features on smart home devices when they are not needed, as this can greatly reduce the risk of malicious actors breaking into the system. system through third-party tools. Taking these simple steps can make all the difference in maintaining the integrity and security of connected objects.
