#Middlebury #SeniorNewsLine #SmartDevices
Nowadays there are smart devices for the home you can operate with your phone or even your voice. As convenient as they sound, there’s a big problem: These devices can be controlled by others. And at this stage in our lives, this is the last thing we need.
Smart devices can control things like your front-door lock, central air conditioning and refrigerator/freezer, all hooked up to your Wi-Fi. But imagine what would happen in the middle of summer if a hacker turned off your A/C. Or a hacker instructed your front door to unlock – no breaking in required. Some smart speakers that respond to questions have been found to record every word spoken in your house and store it away.
Smart TVs are everywhere now, and they are huge data collectors. The information on the package makes it sound so convenient to stream movies, but think about what they learn, sitting in our living rooms listening, hooked up to other devices.
The problems start when you try to set up your new television. You need to be an attorney to understand all the fine-print legalese you must agree to – which allows them to collect data on you. If you decline, there’s one TV brand that punishes you by turning off all the set’s smart features.
What if you already have a smart TV and find all of this snooping annoying? Put it all back to factory settings. Then, when you set it up again, say no to all of it.
If you’re buying a new TV and want to avoid the high-tech data collection, consider a non-smart set.
Read up on smart devices and appliances security. If you decide to reject smart devices, you won’t be the only one.
(c) 2017 King Features Synd. Inc.
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