Common Cyber Security Threats, And How To Protect Yourself

Image courtesy https://www.freeimages.com woman at computer, bills, phone banking, security, online security, secure payment, Naturally devices which are constantly connected to the internet and sending information to one-another and to you wherever you are in the world are going to be vulnerable to cyber attack. That’s not a surprise to anyone. What is a surprise though is how easy it is to use basic security measures to prevent, and more surprisingly yet, how people still get it wrong!

It’s perfectly natural to want to feel secure and relaxed in your own home, that’s what it’s there for after all. And it’s nice to have the convenience of labour saving devices around you which you can control without getting out of your chair, but what if those gadgets which do so much work for you could be put to work against you without your even knowing? What if they spied on you, collected your financial and personal information, let burglars know when you’d be at home and when you’d be out, and even let them unlock the doors to let themselves in?

Well, that’s all perfectly possible, but only if you DON’T follow the basic steps it takes to secure your Smart Home devices against hackers, scanners, and all other kinds of cyber intruders. Read more

Home Security In The Digital Age

Google and Amazon have been pushing us to buy smart connected devices for the past year or so, and as their offering of controllable devices, apps, media subscription services increases, the viability and usefulness also increases. And, just as Moore’s Law predicts, as the processing power increases exponentially, the price of entry decreases. Indeed, in order to secure their device’s place in your home, you can find offers on Minis, Dots, hubs bundled with lights etc. for at least half of the usual retail price. Their theory is, once you adopt one device or another you’ll have no need to buy the other since they effectively do the same job. Once you’re tied in they’ve got you for life. As we see every day in tech purchasing, brand loyalty can become deeply entrenched.

Smart Home Devices are being pushed by the major high street retailers. Home entertainment, TV subscriptions, lights, sound systems are all on high rotation during the ads, online marketing is placing the ads in front of us when we’re scrolling on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, making the Smart Home Option almost inevitable. We see the advertised advantages, but what are the down sides? Read more