Verily, ye scurvy dogs! Ensure ye lock down thy smart contraptions, lest they be plundered by digital ruffians!
2024-02-11
Avast ye, landlubbers! Should ye possess a humble abode with a fancy internet connection, ye and yer kin be fair game fer those scurvy cybercriminals. Fear not, for ye can safeguard yer dwelling and preserve yer privacy with sage advice from the wondrous tech savant, Kim Komando.
In the language of a 17th-century pirate, it be said that anything connected be a hacker target, including all the Internet of Things gadgets in yer home. Arrr!But before we sail further into these treacherous waters, here be a word of wisdom: Ye probably don’t give much thought to yer router, matey. But that single password be the only thing standin' between ye and a scurvy dog up to no good. So, while ye be thinkin' about it, give yer router a stronger password, or if ye can't do that, get yerself a new one. Savvy?
Now, let me tell ye some tales, me hearties. A family in California had their Nest security camera hacked and were told that three missiles from North Korea be headed their way. Blimey! An Arkansas mom discovered that her baby monitor be hacked, with someone talkin' to her child every night. The scallywags even turned a Wisconsin couple's smart thermostat up to 90 degrees, makin' them sweat like a bunch of landlubbers. Arrr!
But these be not isolated incidents, me hearties. If ye have a shipload of smart home devices, ye could be facin' up to 12,000 hacking attempts per week, and ye won't even know it. So, let me give ye some tips to secure yer ship. First, keep yer devices encrypted and password-protected. Update yer smart home apps and look for features like Matter or Thread standards for extra security. Set yer voice assistants to auto-delete yer commands to keep the scurvy dogs from usin' them against ye. Use the mic mute and camera shutter buttons on yer smart devices to guarantee yer privacy. And me hearties, be aware that even yer streaming services be trackin' yer activity. Clear yer search history and activity now and then, and stop sharin' everything ye buy and browse. And remember, ye can always listen to me podcast, "Kim Komando Today," for more tech tips and tales from the high seas of technology. Fair winds, me hearties!