How to Keep Yourself Safe in Smart Home
“Home is where the Heart is”, is quite an old saying. I think it should be, “Home is where Technology is”. Nowadays, most people have smart homes or rather, smart-home devices at home that just use your voice to control literally everything at your home, except the living people or pets.
Whether or not you have an assistant in your office, all of us can now have virtual voice assistants and they are like a genie from the lamp, capable of fulfilling a lot of your virtual requests. So while technology is growing, homes are getting smarter and much more assistive towards those who live in them.
However, it would not be too wrong if I say that while technology is getting smarter, people are turning dumber. Or rather, the ones who intend to harm people virtually are getting smarter. This is why, if you are using smart home devices, you need to be utterly careful. Here are some of the life-saving tips and tricks that can really help you in regards to this:
Never Keep Smart Speakers Near a Window:
Smart speakers are one of the most common products that most homes possess these days. Most of these smart speakers are powered by MediaTek chipsets and are really assistive and prompt in offering responses.
However, you should never keep these smart speakers plugged in near a window, especially if the window overlooks a busy road. Forget the risk of being carried away, these smart speakers can spell more economic losses when someone shouts a command to order something from an online store, the payment gets made out of your saved card, and then the ordered product is already collected by the same person from your doorsteps.
In this entire juggle, you may never come to know about the loss, if you are not too vigilant So keeping the smart speaker near your window is a risk because these virtual assistants still cannot recognize voices.
Voice Purchasing is Never Too Good:
Unless you order something specific with a specific measure from a specific brand, voice purchasing should not be enabled in your Echo devices. I understand that it is really easy, but you are at a certain risk as well because anybody at home, even your children, can order anything they want and the payment gets made automatically. You can return it and get the money back but won’t it be more convenient if you order things using the app on your smartphone?
Wireless Cameras Can Spy on You:
Do you have wireless cameras installed in some part of your home for security purposes? You need to be of utmost caution using these. For starters, many of these wireless cameras may not be password protected and the passwords of many of these devices could be easily hacked. So if a hacker performs such an act, your private life is always at a huge risk, and sometimes, it could be a life-threatening risk as well.
So if you really need cameras at home, make sure you buy them from the most reputable brand and make sure you can protect the privacy using a strong password. If you sense anything fishy, do not hesitate to contact an expert.
Do Not Depend on Alexa for Everything:
Did I say people are getting dumber? Well, there is a reason for that. Once they get a smart home device such as a smart speaker etc., reminding them for each and every task is the liability of the virtual assistant and they forget that they have a brain as well.
I know this is quite helpful and Alexa or Google Assistant devices are really quick with their MediaTek chipsets to help you in every task. However, some people are like, “Alexa, wake me up at 7 AM, remind me about workout at 8 AM, remind me about orange juice at 9 AM, remind me about my office at 10 AM, remind me to pick my kids from school at 2 PM, remind me to hit the gym at 6 PM, remind me about my protein shake at 7 PM and so on.” Are you too one of these people who depend entirely on Alexa for their living?
Well, if any smart person knows this or hacks your smart speaker to get your schedule, breaking into your house when nobody’s there would be easy peasy.
So while you use smart home products, make sure you act smart and follow all the tips that I mentioned above. To be smart is not using smart products, but using them safely.
