The smart home is in high demand right now. Almost everything from lighting, thermostats, water softeners, garage doors, sprinkler systems, and more can be controlled remotely from smartphone apps. Life can be so convenient with this type of technology, but is your home safe with all these apps working remotely?
How do you run your smart home?
There are two ways you can control your smart home remotely. 1. Each device in your home may have its own app that you can download directly onto your phone, or 2. You can have one smart home control hub. If you have a lot of other apps creating clutter on your personal phone, a control hub may be a better option for you as it operates on a similar principle to a universal remote control that handles the TV, radio, and stereo all from one device.
Be sure to protect your smart home system
Like anything that works off the internet, smart homes are subject to hackers. The more devices and apps you have, the more opportunities there are to have your system attacked.
Start by purchasing trusted brands for smart home products. Brands that are well-known often have better security features than small, new to the market brands. Do your research, and don’t always opt for the least expensive system. On the other hand, the most expensive system may not always be the best one either. Be sure to read reviews and ask for referrals to find the set up that works best for you and your lifestyle.
Next, make sure your home network is secure before you start adding devices. If your home wi-fi is not secure, you may be more susceptible to hackers and may want to think twice about connecting any devices to it. Always create unique usernames and passwords for every device you set up. This can be a hassle, but having your home system compromised is even worse. Choose your usernames and passwords wisely.
Lastly, don’t forget to run software updates that come along. This goes, not only for your home router, but all the devices you have that run off it. A majority of the time, updates are for security reasons more than improvements for the devices themselves.
Smart homes are the wave of the future
Smart homes are not going away. If you haven’t yet tried out some remote home features, do your homework to make sure you set up your system for expansion over time. Gone are the days where you can just program a few things to run while you are away. These days, you can hook your system up to your voice assistant devices to communicate by voice, you can even program doors to be locked and unlocked remotely. Do your research, set your home up properly, and you will truly enjoy the benefits of a very smart home.