How To Protect Your Smart Thermostat From Hackers
With a home's heating and cooling system, one of the newest things is the smart thermostat. You can control your thermostat from your smartphone if you have service. While these are convenient, they do allow hackers to get into your system.
Why Does It Matter?
With smart thermostats, you may wonder why do you need to worry with security. You're not putting your banking information into the smart thermostat. Why take all these steps to protect it? The reality is that hackers use the smart thermostats to learn your schedule.
They can learn when you're going to be at home and when you're away. They can even see what time you go to sleep based on the thermostat schedule. When hackers know you're not home, they're going to break into your home at that time. Here are some tips to avoid having your home’s smart thermostat hacked.
Don’t Keep The Default Login
Each new smart thermostat comes with a default login. After logging in for the first time, change these default login settings. Make the settings more unique to protect you and your thermostat.
Use Multi-Factor Authentication
When setting up a new username and password, you should use multi-factor authentication. Many smart thermostats offer multi-factor authentication. This protects your device even further. This works in two different steps. First, you login using your email and password. Then, the thermostat will send a unique, temporary password to you.
You'll have to enter in this unique password before you can login to your account. If a hacker has your username and password, they still can't log into your smart thermostat. This is because it's protected by the unique password.
Update Often
Like your computer requires regular updates, so does your smart thermostat. Log in once a month and update the software for your thermostat. Unfortunately, most smart thermostats don't update themselves yet. This means you have to do it yourself.
Install Malware Protection
You should also install malware protection on all mobile devices. Any device that accesses your smart thermostat should have malware protection on it.
Call Our HVAC Professionals Today
If you're ready for a smart thermostat in your home, give us a call. Let our HVAC professionals help you find the best smart thermostats for your heom. We can meet your needs and find the best ways to protect your privacy.
