Six Tips For Using Smart Devices Safely

Smart Devices : Over the past few years we have seen our homes become smarter and smarter thanks to devices known as IoT (Internet of Things).

These objects, such as cleaning robots that are able to learn the shape of your house or virtual assistants that are able to recognize your voice and perform actions, allow us to perform tasks easily, automatically and, in many cases, connect to the Internet.

They are useful and convenient, but with the increase in their use in homes we are also seeing how the security threats associated with them grow: the smarter and more functions a device has, the more risk there may be of suffering some type of attack, especially those that come from cybercriminals through the Internet.

Avoid default passwords: Many of these devices come with default or factory-set passwords, to make the installation process easier. Always remember to change this password and if it is not possible, it is best to avoid that device, as it may not be secure. This occurs, for example, in routers that already have a built-in password and that must be immediately modified.
Never repeat passwords: In case there is someone who still does not know, we will explain it: passwords are the basis of our security and, as long as it is kept secret, no one should access our data. But, although it is not common, companies can have security breaches that cause our data to be leaked and, therefore, used to access other personal accounts. You can alleviate this problem if you avoid reusing your passwords, both on the websites and on all your personal devices such as your mobile phone, tablet or smart watch. If you have any suspicions, here you can check if your email has been leaked.
Buy from well-known suppliers: One of the ways that users have to increase the security of our devices is to buy products from reference and well-known brands. These manufacturers are usually safer at the base, since they have large security teams that are responsible for investigating and solving any problems that may arise. When a security bug comes to light, these companies are the first to fix it while an unknown brand may never fix it. For example, one case that became famous was that of a robot vacuum cleaner manufacturer using insecure servers, and that led to the leakage of the plans of its users’ homes.
Update your devices: No matter how good and secure a company is, security errors arise quite frequently. In order to protect you against these vulnerabilities, companies release periodic updates that fix these errors and that is why we should have the devices always updated (an example is electric cars, which have to be kept regularly updated to prevent someone from manipulating your vehicle, accessing its configuration, etc.). When a device cannot be updated, but has features such as connecting to the Internet or communicating with other devices, it may not be secure.
Use devices on secure Wi-Fi networks: You may have heard that passwordless or public networks are dangerous and should not be used. This is completely true, when a network does not have a password anyone can enter and steal our data that is sent unprotected. For this reason, it’s best to avoid using these networks with IoT devices that typically have fewer protections than a current PC or mobile phone.
Protect your device physically: Many times devices can be safe for the Internet, but then be exposed in a place that anyone can access. Always think about who has access to devices like smart cameras or virtual assistants. An example of physical protection offered by these assistants is that they only respond to the voice of authorized people, this means that although you have the device within reach of many people, only we can use it.