Are Hackers Spying On You?

“Wake up Allyson, you little slut!”

Those were the words Marc Gilbert heard coming from the baby monitor inside his infant daughter’s bedroom. Surprisingly, the baby monitor had been hacked and a total stranger somewhere in the world was watching and talking to the child as she slept in her crib. When Mark and his wife Laura ran into the room, the camera swiveled to face them. The hacker then called him a “stupid moron” and his wife a “bitch,” before Gilbert unplugged the camera and ended the messy saga.

Latest Technology in Computers
Welcome to 2013 and 21st Century technology. Innovation has given us all types of tools to make our lives supposedly “easier.”  We can turn lights on and off when we’re not home, lock and unlock doors, even flush a toilet all with the simple press of a button on our trusty iPhone’s. But technology is also a double-edged sword and the case of the Gilbert’s and their hacked baby monitor should speak volumes.

We all love technology, but we are surprisingly irresponsible with it.  We don’t take the time to update the firmware on our Wi-Fi routers or other tech items in the home.  Many of us make up easy to crack passwords for our Wi-Fi network, or reuse passwords from other accounts to secure our Wi-Fi networks. Oddly, some of us don’t even lock our Wi-Fi networks, leaving it open for any and everyone to latch right onto. But therein lies the problem, since that’s like leaving our front doors open with a sign saying “Hey criminals, come in here!” Hackers know we are lax with our technology, so they enjoy exploiting our irresponsibility or stupidity on how to use our tech toys safely. Well, it’s time for us to wise up and fight back.

Latest Technology in Computers
Our first line of defense starts with our Wi-Fi routers.  Smartphone apps send a signal through our Wi-Fi routers to control our home camera monitors, locks, lights, etc., so we must stay on top of Wi-Fi security.  Make sure that the firmware is always up to date.  The companies that make our routers are constantly creating firmware updates to thwart the myriad of hacks invented every single day to breach our home technology.  Check for these free updates frequently and make use of them.

Next, create a hard to crack password to secure your network — don’t just leave it open and unprotected. Your birth date, your address, your phone number or some password you use with several other accounts is NOT good enough.  Create a password of at least 12-25 digits, using upper and lower case letters, numbers, even symbols and/or spaces.  “BraZil vacaTion 2013” might be the type of password you consider, since it has all the elements that would be hard to crack.  Write it down somewhere safe where you can access it in case you forget it.  If it’s hard for you to remember, then it’s probably a good password.

Latest Technology in Computers
Also, cover your cameras.  If you have a Wi-Fi camera inside your house or one built into your laptop, place a piece of masking tape over it when you’re not using it.  That 2 cents piece of tape could be enough to prevent a stranger from hacking into your network and watching you when you’re undressing or sleeping.  Bet you didn’t know hackers are sometimes using those cameras to watch and listen to YOU?

Finally, think twice before you buy apps that allows you to unlock your front door from halfway around the world, or make a new key to your home just from an image on your smartphone.  Is it convenient for when you need to provide home access to a family member or friend?  Yes.  Is it smart, safe and totally foolproof?  No!  Sometimes the old school way of a real key and a hard lock is still best.