Exciting as it may have sounded in our last post, smart technology may not be for everyone. There are some potential risks and disadvantages to making your home smarter. Having so many different components connected to the internet broadens the number of ways that a hacker could access information about you or your home. A smart light bulb or thermostat may not have credit card info, but it does know when youre typically home and most likely whether youre home at that moment. LIkewise that camera that you installed to spy on your pet or nanny when youre at work, could be activated by a hacker to spy on you. Read more from CNBC.
Someone could also use your smart hub to gain access to other devices on your network. Perhaps more likely, a hacker could simply shut down some of your home systems, or systems that impact numerous people like the hack that happened last fall. Most reports indicate that many of these dangers can be avoided simply by changing the password on your smart device when you install it but its wise to research the safety aspect with a professional before installing your system.
On the other hand, theres a chance that your smart technology could save your home or maybe even your life. Lets say you have a smart toaster oven, connected to a hub along with some smart light bulbs and a thermostat. You decide to warm a few cookies for an after-dinner snack, then go to bed, forgetting about the cookies. When you get into bed, you use your smart hub app to put your home into bedtime mode to turn off the lights and lower the heat. Your hub processes that its bedtime, realizes the toaster oven shouldnt still be on, and turns it off for you, allowing your cookies to live to see another day and saving you from a messy cleanup or worse.
Voice-activated hubs are also wonderful for people with vision impairment or mobility challenges - or even the technically challenged like my 80-year old dad. Smart technology is allowing seniors to remain living independently longer, decreasing stress - both emotional and financial - on them and their family members.
If you decide that you want to smarten up your home by purchasing a smart hub, dont put your credit card away just yet. Next week well explore the myriad devices that can talk to your hub to make your home even smarter.
Seniors can find some excellent smart home recommendations from the folks at Frontier Internet here.
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