March 2010 April 2010 May 2010 June 2010 July 2010
August 2010
September 2010 October 2010
November 2010
December 2010
January 2011
February 2011 March 2011 April 2011 May 2011 June 2011 July 2011 August 2011 September 2011 October 2011 November 2011 December 2011 January 2012 February 2012 March 2012 April 2012 May 2012 June 2012 July 2012 August 2012 September 2012 October 2012 November 2012 December 2012 January 2013 February 2013 March 2013 April 2013 May 2013 June 2013 July 2013 August 2013 September 2013 October 2013 November 2013 December 2013 January 2014 February 2014 March 2014 April 2014 May 2014 June 2014 July 2014 August 2014 September 2014 October 2014 November 2014 December 2014 January 2015 February 2015 March 2015 April 2015 May 2015 June 2015 July 2015 August 2015 September 2015 October 2015 November 2015 December 2015 January 2016 February 2016 March 2016 April 2016 May 2016 June 2016 July 2016 August 2016 September 2016 October 2016 November 2016 December 2016 January 2017 February 2017 March 2017 April 2017 May 2017 June 2017 July 2017 August 2017 September 2017 October 2017 November 2017 December 2017 January 2018 February 2018 March 2018 April 2018 May 2018 June 2018 July 2018 August 2018 September 2018 October 2018 November 2018 December 2018 January 2019 February 2019 March 2019 April 2019 May 2019 June 2019 July 2019 August 2019 September 2019 October 2019 November 2019 December 2019 January 2020 February 2020 March 2020 April 2020 May 2020 June 2020 July 2020 August 2020 September 2020 October 2020 November 2020 December 2020 January 2021 February 2021 March 2021 April 2021 May 2021 June 2021 July 2021 August 2021 September 2021 October 2021 November 2021 December 2021 January 2022 February 2022 March 2022 April 2022 May 2022 June 2022 July 2022 August 2022 September 2022 October 2022 November 2022 December 2022 January 2023 February 2023 March 2023 April 2023 May 2023 June 2023 July 2023 August 2023 September 2023 October 2023 November 2023 December 2023 January 2024 February 2024 March 2024
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28
29
30
31
News Every Day |

How to Prevent Hackers From Getting Into Your Baby Monitor

How to Prevent Hackers From Getting Into Your Baby Monitor

My wife and are I about to have a baby, which is great! But as most new parents quickly learn, modern babies seem to need a lot of accessories – crib, changing surface, diapers, car seat, stroller, and, of course, a baby monitor (among many other things).

Choosing the right baby monitor proved to be an interesting challenge for me in particular: I recalled the various recent headlines of devices being easily hacked, their video streams compromised, and scary voices coming on the two-way talk functions and screaming things at babies in the dark.

As a journalist supposedly versed in science and tech, I wanted to be sure I selected the most secure device I could within our price point of around $200. After lots of reading and scouring the internet for different product listings, here’s what I learned about the state of baby monitor security, and the model I ended up purchasing.

Not All Wireless Transmission Technologies Are the Same

There are a few major types of wireless technologies that baby monitors use to connect the camera that’s watching your child to the receiver unit (or app) that you’re looking at and listening to.

Here I should mention that for the purposes of my hunt, I focused entirely on video monitors. There are still audio-only monitors you can buy, but broadly speaking, they rely on some of the very same wireless tech as the video ones, so the following can help you evaluate their security as well. Below, the three main categories of available video monitor:

Analogue baby monitors

These use one of the main available radio frequencies (generally 49 mHZ or 900 mHz, according to the Spruce) to transmit the sound and video from camera to the receiver.

The advantage to this is that it’s a very longstanding technology, so it may often be more affordable than a digital signal baby monitor. But it’s not as secure as other technologies — anyone nearby using a device on the same frequency as your analogue monitor can begin receiving your audio and video, or vice versa.

If you do encounter interference on an analogue monitor, there’s usually an option to manually switch the frequency to another unused one. MomTricks suggests that analogue monitors may be better for those who live in rural areas away from people and sources of possible interference, but because they are so often unprotected, I can’t in great conscience recommend them to anyone.

Digital baby monitors

These use a digital signal, which transmits and receives the audio/video as discrete numbers, rather than a continuous shape like analogue radio waves (usually on the 2.4 ghz frequency).

The advantage to this type of signal is that it can be more readily encrypted, meaning that even if someone else is using a device operating on the same frequency as your baby monitor, that person can’t easily see or hear what the baby monitor is capturing and transmitting.

Some digital baby monitors accomplish this by automatically switching signals in an effort to avoid eavesdropping, usually with a technology known as Frequency Hopping Spread Spectrum (FHSS). You can Google or product-search for baby monitors using that term or acronym – FHSS – and should come across several options.

This tech works by quickly changing the channel that your camera and receiver are using to communicate, and doing so on a seemingly random fashion, making it difficult for anyone else to casually encounter your baby monitor’s signal and listen in/watch.

However, researchers have found a dedicated attacker could still find and follow your signal as it “hopped” across channels – if the attacker were physically close enough to you (the range varies on baby monitors, but we’re talking nearby apartments, mostly) and had the right listening equipment.

Unfortunately, digital baby monitors can still suffer interference from other devices operating on the same frequency (especially ones using the 2.4 ghz frequency, which is used by tons of modern devices, such as wireless routers and bluetooth headsets).

This interference can come in the form of temporary drops in connectivity on your monitor or the other nearby devices – a source of frustration, yes, but that doesn’t mean it’s easy for these other devices to listen in or see your monitor video feed.

Another disadvantage to digital baby monitors, like analogue monitors, is that they are localised, meaning you have to keep your camera and receiver physically close together to maintain your connection – you can’t check in on your baby from 4,828km away, for example.

Some digital baby monitors use Digital Enhanced Cordless Communications (DECC), a type of wireless tech that offers less interference (operating on the lesser-used 1.9 ghz frequency) and may also come with encryption. But again, researchers have proven that dedicated hackers can bypass this.

WiFi and internet-connected baby monitors

These offer the most integration with smartphones, computers, and other consumer gadgets. That’s cool if you want to get a push notification on your phone every time your baby does something interesting.

These monitors also tend to have unlimited range, in the sense that as long as your camera and receiving device/phone are both connected to the internet, you should be able to check up on your baby from anywhere on Earth.

However, as with pretty much any “internet of things” device, WiFi baby monitors are susceptible to hackers — if you leave them unsecured, or the hackers somehow gain access to/bypass your passwords. These things also come with their own firmware that can have bugs and may not be automatically updated, meaning if a hacker finds out how to compromise one particular model, they can potentially gain access to all of devices in that model line around the world.

Most of the reports of baby monitor hacking I’ve seen from recent years seem to be centered around WiFi baby monitors, so I would personally avoid this category of devices entirely.

If you want to use a WiFi or internet-connected baby monitor, try to find one that lets you change the password on it and automatically updates with new firmware releases. If you’re using a WiFi/internet baby monitor, you’ll also want to update your home wireless network password and make sure only the people you trust know it.

My pick

After lots of research, I ended up ordering the Infant Optics DXR-8 Video Baby Monitor with Interchangeable Optical Lens which uses 2.4 ghz FHSS wireless transmission. It’s the Infant Optics DXR-5 Portable Video Baby Monitor might have been an even better bargain at just $238.28 on Amazon. It too uses the 2.4 ghz FHSS wireless standard, though it has fewer features, lacking the 2-way audio and temperature control of the DXR-8.

Baby monitors I’d consider: Any that offer 2.4 ghz FHSS or DECC built-in should be pretty good if you’re worried about basic security.

Baby monitors to avoid: All WiFi and analogue models, especially those that have been linked to security issues in the past, including the D-Link’s Digital Baby Monitor Day/Night Cloud Camera and Wireless N Network Camera, the WiFiBaby (WFB2015), Withing (WBP01), and the following seven models: iBaby M6, iBaby M3S, Philips In.Sight B120/37, Summer Baby Zoom WiFi Monitor & Internet Viewing System, Lens Peek-a-View, Gynoii, and TRENDnet WiFi Baby Cam TV-IP743SIC..

The post How to Prevent Hackers From Getting Into Your Baby Monitor appeared first on Lifehacker Australia.

Москва

Культурные площадки Москвы ответили на вопрос о массовой сдаче билетов

Top 10 Emmanuelle Seigner Movies

Top 10 Love Affair Movies of the 2000s and 2010s

Top 5 Websites to Watch FREE Movies - TV Shows (No Sign up!)

I was diagnosed with cancer aged 39… you are never too rich, too famous or too young, says Dr Philippa Kaye

Ria.city






Read also

Terrifying moment masked teens wave foot-long machetes in broad daylight brawl – as thug pair jailed

At MSNBC, one man’s election denier is another man’s TV host

Is WeBuyAnyCar open over Easter? Bank Holiday hours revealed for 2024

News, articles, comments, with a minute-by-minute update, now on Today24.pro

News Every Day

Top 5 Websites to Watch FREE Movies - TV Shows (No Sign up!)

Today24.pro — latest news 24/7. You can add your news instantly now — here


News Every Day

The 10 Intense New Action Movies on Netflix That Left Me on the Edge of My Seat!



Sports today


Новости тенниса
WTA

Чесноков оценил шансы Александровой в борьбе за выход в финал турнира WTA в Майами



Спорт в России и мире
Москва

Актера Свиридова госпитализировали из-за инфицирования после операции в Москве



All sports news today





Sports in Russia today

Москва

Блиц-матч по шахматам между двумя командами провели в павильоне «Спорт для каждого»


Новости России

Game News

Шапки женские на Wildberries — скидки от 398 руб. (на новые оттенки)


Russian.city


Москва

МЧС предупредило о рисках подтоплений в 47 регионах России


Губернаторы России
PR time

Концерт "Crush string quartet "с программой «Мировые рок - хиты»


МЧС: в Ульяновской области горит птицефабрика на площади 4 тыс. кв. метров

Шапки женские на Wildberries — скидки от 398 руб. (на новые оттенки)

ЦСКА объявил о расторжении контракта с вратарем Федотовым

Шапки женские вязаные на Wildberries, 2024 — новый цвет от 392 руб. (модель 466)


Вывод Песни, Альбома, Клипа в ТОП Музыкальных Чартов!

Семен Слепаков решил избавиться от последнего бизнеса в России

Shaman направит деньги от концерта в Ессентуках пострадавшим в "Крокусе"

Певица Диана Арбенина опубликовала редкое фото матери


Теннисист Медведев вышел в полуфинал турнира в Майами, обыграв Харри

Виктория Азаренко вышла в полуфинал турнира WTA-1000 в Майами

Российская теннисистка Калинская покинула WTA-1000 из-за проблем со здоровьем

Рыбакина о том, что не играла в Индиан-Уэллс из-за болезни: «К сожалению, восстановление заняло много времени»



МЧС предупредило о рисках подтоплений в 47 регионах России

Выпуск ЦФА на платформе «Атомайз» поможет снизить нагрузку на экологию

Эксперты КА «Главный Советник» приняли участие в форуме «Тренды и антитренды корпоративного видео сегодня»

Рынок вторичной недвижимости Крыма: цены растут, а спрос?


Новые цены на жилье утвердили в России

ДИРЕКТОР БРХК ВЛАДИМИР КОЖЕВНИКОВ ПРОВЁЛ "КЛАССНУЮ ВСТРЕЧУ" ДВИЖЕНИЯ ПЕРВЫХ

Федеральный девелопер: ЦФА позволят легко и просто накопить квадратные метры и "обернуть" их в квартиру

США включили ряд российских блокчейн-платформ в список SDN


Ким Чен Ын - наш: Россия заблокировала в СБ ООН резолюцию США о работе комитета по КНДР

Итоги мини-конференции «Инвест-дизайн»

Россия заблокировала в Совбезе ООН резолюцию США о работе комитета по КНДР

Андрей Бочкарев: ФОК «Акварис» готов более чем наполовину



Путин в России и мире






Персональные новости Russian.city
Шапка

Шапки женские вязаные на Wildberries, 2024 — новый цвет от 392 руб. (модель 466)



News Every Day

I was diagnosed with cancer aged 39… you are never too rich, too famous or too young, says Dr Philippa Kaye




Friends of Today24

Музыкальные новости

Персональные новости