Home security is increasingly becoming a hot topic amongst homeowners. With the advent of digital, smart technologies that allow virtually anyone to install their own home security systems and protect their homes, valuables, and digital assets, it stands to reason that more and more homeowners are focusing on home security. That said, just because the technology is available and you have it installed in your home, is your home secure?
Today, we’re looking into the hot topics of home security and offering some recommendations for how to keep your home as secure as possible.
Smart Devices
Smart devices are present in virtually any home with access to the internet. Whether or not you’re leveraging those systems as part of your home security or if they’re a detriment is a big question in today’s modern home.
Naturally, having smart devices such as cameras, doorbells, motion-activated lighting, and the like will get you a long way down the road to having a more secure home. By literally being able to see every corner of your home, you can rest easy knowing that your back is covered, your home is secure, and your family is safe 24/7. Remember that smart devices are 100% dependent on the internet and wifi to do their jobs, so make sure you have a safe, reliable internet connection to keep things running smoothly.
Internet Security
Along those same lines, in order for your home to be as secure as possible, it’s probably a good idea to evaluate your current internet and wireless situation within your home. Crafty hackers are becoming increasingly savvy with their ways to break into your home’s internet. By doing so, hackers can get access to your devices, possibly your computers and browsers, and virtually anything tied to your network. For that reason, it’s of extreme importance that you do an internet security assessment ASAP!
If it’s within your means, purchasing your own router will be a big step in protecting you from cybercrime. Your router is the front door lock to your home, any access to it gives users full access into your internet dwelling place. Whether you own or lease a router, make sure that you have your router set up with password-protected networks for your main network, a guest network, surveillance, and smart devices. Having dedicated networks within your router will give you more control and limit access to other parts of your home’s internet system.
Even if one network is breached, not all of them will be accessible at the same time which will give you an opportunity to re-secure your router or network in the event of a hacking event.
Invest in a Firewall
Firewalls, once exceptionally high-level and high-tech, are now available from manufacturers to be plugged directly into your router or internet access point for major security boosting power!
Products such as Firewalla give you simple, plug-and-play functionality to protect your home’s online presence and cost little more than about $200 for most average-sized networks. Firewalla and similar firewall products give you peace of mind not only with your home’s digital network but with your overall presence on the internet including browsing safely and preventing cyber attacks from beyond your home.
Not only do firewalls protect you from cybercrime, but they give you full control over the users within your household. This is a great feature for parents looking to control how much time their children spend on the internet as well as what kind of content and websites they have access to. Quite a bit of value for such a small investment!
