“Living in a Smart Home is a completely different experience. Everything is automated and happens quicker,” says Tim Williams, a resident of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. He chose Smart Home Automation while moving to his new residence three years back, and since then, new normal to him and his family has been all about a smart lifestyle. Tim and his family have nothing but positive reviews on life with smart home technology, already equipped with smart devices for most utilities across the indoors and outdoors.
He was happy with the technology, the ease of accessibility, the control it provides, and most importantly, the happiness was about his smart home being kids and pets-friendly. The connected devices added a new level of safety and comfort.
However, it was only last year when he came across the home and connected devices’ vulnerability to security. He cited an outsider trying to hack the Wi-Fi router amidst the COVID lockdown! Needless to say, he knew that home routers act as the door to the entire smart home network. Hence, it became very crucial to take action towards the security of all Smart Home Devices. Tim reached out to smart home automation experts for help.
Here are a few tips the experts advised to secure his smart home.
- Renaming the router
Tim changed the router to an unusual name that didn’t relate to him or his family by any means. He found the connection to be more secured after this activity.
- Using a strong encryption method for Wi-Fi
Tim applied a stronger encryption method, i.e. WPA2, for his Wi-Fi, resulting in maintaining a secure network and communication.
- Setting up a guest network
Tim was a home tutor, and hence, the students who visited home used the home internet often. He created a separate account for friends, relatives, visitors and maintained a private Wi-Fi account to avoid interference with other IoT devices at home.
- Changing default settings, usernames and passwords
Tim was advised to choose the devices that allowed him to change the default integrations. He changed the usernames, passwords and settings of the smart devices and stepped closer to keep cyber criminals away from accessing the default information stored in IoT products.
- Disabling unnecessary features
Until Tim was advised by Smart Home Automation experts, there were many features that were unnecessarily enabled in a few smart devices. He checked onto them and disabled all unimportant features like remote access.
- Keeping the software up to date
Tim was always careful about the software updates notified by the manufacturer. He ensured that all the updates were downloaded and applied to the devices for extended security and home safety.
- Enabling the two-factor authentication
Tim enabled the “two-factor authentication”. So, every time a new device login was found accessing the home devices, a one-time code was sent to his mobile number. Thus, keeping away the burglars from accessing/operating the integrated smart products.
- Avoiding public networks
Though Tim hardly moved out of the house, he was advised not to use public WiFi-networks. The alternative was to use a VPN instead.
- Choosing the best/premium brands
Experts said the primary benefit of choosing premium products is that they are responsive to bug reports faster. Moreover, due to excellent customer service, Tim could solve any problem quickly.
- Watching out for network outages
Tim was also advised to be careful about outages as it was directly related to the entire home’s security. Like electricity and water, internet connectivity is a critical utility that kept the smart home residents truly connected to their home.
If you are someone who is concerned about the security of your home automation devices, you have come to the right space! If you are looking for professionals to help configure and manage your devices, we’re right here, happy to help you! The Smart Hive – Your expert partner for Smart Home Automation.
Do take a peek at our blogs on the various aspects of smart home automation, find the best of smart solutions and understand the IoT products in-depth with our expert team. And! don’t forget to stay in touch with us on social channels!