Get smart(er): Look for the new Matter or Thread standards when you buy smart-home tech. These give you spy-worthy security. Just keep an eye out for one of those words on the box or online product listing.
Top hidden dangers of your smart home (and how to stay safe)
Our homes are filled with smart tech these days: You may love the convenience of spotting packages from video doorbells or asking Siri how many fluid ounces are in a cup (it’s eight!). But in return for convenience, you have to make some trades, including your contact information.
And if things go wrong, privacy quickly goes out the window. But let’s look beyond scary headlines and check what you can do to keep your home smart and safe.
At-risk smart devices get hacked more easily
Poor security may allow determined hackers to access smart devices within range and spy on your data or check out your activity history.
Hackers lurking in nearby cars aren’t very common, but with smart devices controlling things like our door locks and garage doors, you’ll want to prevent any external connections.
Staying safe: Always use an encrypted Wi-Fi network with a strong password, which stops most hackers better than a brick wall. Keep your devices and their corresponding apps regularly updated.
Also, watch for terms like “Matter” and “Thread,” which are newer protocols decked out with the latest encryption and security connections.
Voice assistants hold onto your voice recordings (all of them)
Here’s the big one: Voice assistants like Alexa, Google Assistant and Siri can respond to voice commands and readily control your smart devices with the right connections.
But those apps record and keep whatever you say after the wake word for further analysis. Yep, that includes conversations it may hear for at least a few seconds. This practice helps make voice assistants more accurate, but it gives a lot of people privacy shivers.
Staying safe: Common smart assistants offer handy settings that allow you to choose when voice recordings are deleted and if they’re saved or used at all.
Ensure your assistant is appropriately forgetful with a simple setting check and provide updates (see below for a guide to see just how easy it is with apps like Alexa).
How to mute an email thread so it stops showing up in your Gmail inbox
So you want to stop seeing someone’s emails in your inbox but don’t want to block them. Maybe a coworker is hounding you, and you’d rather get to their emails later so you can focus on more pressing issues. In that case, you should know how to mute people in Gmail.
👍 Thumbs-up: Scientists invented a robotic thumb that attaches to your hand opposite your natural thumb. With two thumbs on one hand, you can open bottles, peel a banana and even thread a needle — all one-handed. Guess how you control it? By wiggling your toe. Seriously, you gotta see this.
Lost the thread: Neuralink says its brain chip has already malfunctioned in its first human patient. Some of the “threads” — hair-thin electrodes meant to monitor his brain activity — stopped working. Neuralink tweaked the chip’s algorithm and now says its performance is “better than ever.” I hope this is true and not PR BS.