In today’s digital age, securing your home goes beyond just locking doors and windows. With the increasing reliance on technology, it’s crucial to adopt practices that protect both your physical and digital spaces. Here are some essential tips to enhance your family’s security.

Update Your Home Routers

Your home router is the gateway to your digital life, connecting all your devices to the internet. Keeping it updated is vital for maintaining security. Manufacturers regularly release firmware updates to patch vulnerabilities and improve performance.

Neglecting these updates can leave your network exposed to cyber-attacks. To update your router, log into its web interface, usually accessible via a specific IP address, and check for firmware updates. Enable automatic updates if available. Additionally, change the default login credentials to something more secure and use a strong, unique password for your Wi-Fi network.

Implementing these steps can help prevent your home router from being manipulated by bad actors, who may redirect you to malicious sites or access your internal network devices and use them to attack others on the Internet.

Don’t Advertise Being Away from Your Home on Social Media

Social media has become an integral part of our lives, but it also poses security risks. Announcing your vacation plans or sharing real-time updates while you’re away can inadvertently alert potential burglars that your home is unoccupied.

To mitigate this risk, avoid posting about your travel plans until you return. If you must share, ensure your privacy settings are robust, limiting the audience to trusted friends and family. Consider disabling location services on your social media apps to prevent automatic tagging of your whereabouts. By being mindful of what you share online and you can protect your home from becoming a target.

Don’t Advertise Family on Window Stickers

Window stickers showcasing your family’s interests, such as sports teams or schools, might seem harmless but they can provide valuable information to potential intruders. In fact, give away as little information about your life as you can to the public. Intruders may use this information to learn your routines or worse exploit an adolescent child who is left alone in the house. This simple change can make it harder for intruders to gather intelligence about your home and family.

Don’t Store Your Car Key Fob Near the Front of the House

Modern cars often come with keyless entry systems, which can be vulnerable to relay attacks. Thieves can use devices to amplify the signal from your key fob, allowing them to unlock and start your car even if the key is inside your home. To prevent this, avoid storing your key fob near the front door or windows. Instead, keep it in a location further inside your house, preferably in a signal-blocking pouch or a metal container that can block the signal. Additionally, consider turning off the keyless entry feature if your car allows it. These precautions can help protect your vehicle from being stolen.