Cybersecurity at Home

Kristin visits with Steve Garner, University of Kentucky Information Technology Manager with Agriculture Communication Services to talk about cybersecurity at home. Home networks, cars, lighting, appliances, and wearables such as IoT Devices can be reached from the Internet. Be sure and change the default admin username and password. It is better to require a password to join the network, WPA2 wireless encryption. Enable the network firewall on your router. When setting username and passwords, be sure to use complex passwords. Instead of putting all passwords in your phone, consider using a password manager such as Dashlane or LastPass. It is highly recommended to change your password often and to include multi-factor authentication when possible. All devices are running software that needs to be updated regularly. Turn on automatic updates and don’t ignore the prompts to update the software. If possible, have a secondary device that children can use. If you do not have a second device for the children, create them a separate account on the device that they can use instead of yours. Discuss safe computing with your children. Monitor their use of the device and consider implementing things like parental control. If someone suspects a computer or account has been hacked, take immediate action such as disconnecting the computer from the network and changing passwords. For more information contact and follow us on social media. Warren County Cooperative Extension Service https://www.warrencountyextension.com https://www.facebook.com/warrencountyag https://warrencountyagriculture.com https://www.instagram.com/warrencoag