Are you living in a smart home? Worried about the security of smart devices installed in your home? The TVs, refrigerators, ACs, washing machines, door locks, security cameras, and just everything in the modern era can be operated even from remote location. These smart appliances have made the life smoother and easy.
The security of a smart home is one of the major concerns these days. A number of people fail terribly when it comes to securing their smart devices. These devices are vulnerable to so many security threats like hacking, Trojans, or malware. Now, the question is how to secure smart gadgets in your home? Follow the brief guide alongside and find out ways to secure your smart appliances and gadgets.
Table of Contents
Install a Home Scanner
An ideal home scanner should be capable of scanning your Wi-Fi networks, mapping the devices, and identifying and highlighting the network flaws. Bitdefender Home Scanner is a free IoT scanner which looks for the weak passwords and vulnerable encrypted communications. It also correlates the information gathered the connected devices having a vulnerable online database and provides you a complete report ensuring maximum security of your network.
Don’t Connect to Internet Always
Almost every appliance you buy today comes with smart features. For example – almost all new TV sets come with internet connectivity so that the user can access the streaming services. But if you are making use of Roku or Apple TV, you need not connect your smart TV to the internet. Avoid connecting your smart devices unnecessarily to the internet.
Change Default Password
Initially, the smart gadgets you buy come with a default password. So, you are required to change the default password and set a strong password using a mixture of alphabets, special characters, and numbers. If you don’t change the default password, your device is more vulnerable to hacking.
Install a Security Solution
It is always recommended to install a security scanner while running too many smart devices in your home. An ideal security solution will protect all your devices from security breaches. The all new Bitdefender Box 2 is a tiny hardware box that provides security for the internet of things. It comes with a network firewall, vulnerability scanner, intrusion prevention system, and a complete antivirus solution.
Once you integrate your smart home network with Bitdefender Box 2, it lets you monitor all your devices from a single mobile app providing cyber security for all the devices connected to the internet. Its antivirus system is capable of identifying the threat based on behavior.
Moreover, it gives advanced parental controls so that the parents can monitor the online activities of their kids and save them from online predators. Bitdefender Box 2 comes with a free one-year subscription of Bitdefender Total Internet Security 2018.
Access your Gadgets from Secure Devices
Your home gadgets are totally secure, but accessing them from unsecured devices make them vulnerable. Using public Wi-Fi network or public computers can give others access to your gadgets. If you are making use of laptop/PC without antivirus protection, the malware might infect your gadgets. So, access all your smart gadgets from secured devices.
Update the Software
Every gadget uses a firmware to function nicely. You need to update the firmware regularly just like you update your smartphone apps. As the software developers find vulnerabilities in the firmware, they fix them and update the software. You should update the firmware as soon as the update is launched. The hackers might try attack your gadgets using these breaches. Avoid such attacks by installing the software updates regularly.
Buy Smart Gadgets Only from Reputed Brands
It is really important to buy any smart gadget from a reputed brand. If you are purchasing it from just any local brand, you are compromising with its security. Moreover, a number of such local brands do not provide support after you make the purchase.
Over to You
It is really very important to take the required security measures for protecting your smart home from malicious threats and hacking attempts. Adding a home scanner in your network with a powerful security solution can turn out to be a good option. Though you can try manual methods to ensure the security of your gadgets, adding network layer security will always help.