Recently, iRobot (the maker of the Roomba, cleaning robot) announced that they were working on a deal with big retailers to share maps of their users homes to Amazon, Apple and Google. As you may be, people were outraged and confused. What does your vacuum cleaner actually know about you? Your Roomba and even other home appliances collect a personal data. But you can secure the privacy of your home with some of the following tips.
When it comes to your appliances, such as your vacuum, buy a cheap one. It can’t connect to the wi-fi, it just gets the job done.
If you have to have that newest model that does everything, disable the cloud sharing function, or other sharing functions.
Set up MAC address filtering on your router. This is a little more tech intensive, but what it comes down to is this: every device you connect to the internet has a unique MAC (media access control) address. You can give your router a list of MAC addresses and set it to only let those on the list connect.
Scan for vulnerabilities in your home network. Products from companies such as Avast or Trust Guard can scan for vulnerabilities and notify you of weak router passwords and protect your personal data.
Read the full article from Avast Blog here: Is Your Vacuum Cleaner Spying On You? Because That Would Suck.
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