NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — Have you ever talked about a product and then saw an advertisement for it online right after and thought how did that happen? Is my device listening to me?
We all have devices that are supposed to make our lives easier, but they're actually putting our privacy, and even our security at risk.
The report led by Imdea Networks and Northeastern University shows phones, smart TVs, virtual assistants and video cameras do not have secure data protections and even expose sensitive information about us and how we use these products.
"So from our local, from our local networks, what our IP addresses for our printers to our our, our particular laptops and our device name," said Former NASA rocket scientist Olympia LePoint. "This is all held in what we call a large database and from the time we log into our computer, our passwords or emails or keystrokes that's all kept and it's kept in a large database and is controlled by artificial intelligence."
Since smart homes need wireless connections to function, they are a key target of hackers. Outdated software can make your tech vulnerable to attacks, along with weak passwords and security features.
Experts say there's a few things you can do to better protect your data and privacy.
"We can change our passwords on a regular basis," LePoint said. "Like every six months, we can ensure that our passwords do not include our name in it and we can change our devices. So it doesn't have our first and last name in the device so we're not located."
Experts say you can also protect your smart home and devices by limiting connections using two-factor authentication and securing your WiFi network.
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