A Wi-Fi webcam, also known as an IP camera, can be taken over remotely if you don’t secure it properly. Learn how to secure it to make sure you’re not inviting a stranger inside your home.
Picture: Davide Restivo/Flickr
A compromised Wi-Fi webcam can be used to invade your privacy or harass you. That’s exactly what happened to an Ohio family recently with their Wi-Fi baby monitor. To help prevent these types of occurrences, the Federal Trace Commission recommends a few common sense security measures:
- Start by securing the wireless router in your home and using a camera that supports the WPA2 security mode.
- Immediately change the camera’s default password and replace it with a strong one.
- Enable encryption on your camera if it supports SSL.
Beyond those precautions, you should also check your camera’s support page on a regular basis for firmware updates and security bulletins.
Using IP Cameras Safely [Federal Trade Commission via Avast Blog]
Comments
One response to “Keep Your Wi-Fi Webcam Safe From Hackers”
Another tip may be to disable remote access. My front door camera uses dyndns (or one of those services) to give me remote access in (which means it plays really nicely with my Ninja Blocks), but also means it could potentially show up in a search somewhere and be brute forced.
It’s probably not an issue, but still something to be aware of.