Remember the days when designing a smart home meant extensive and expensive renovations? Today, creating a smart home is affordable and easy with consumer-friendly products that sometimes take mere minutes to install. The best part? You don’t need an expert — you can install many of these products yourself. Here are five simple gadgets to create a smart home.

5 simple and useful gadgets for your home

Smart thermostat

Imagine adjusting the temperature in your home while at work or on vacation in a land far, far away. You can even configure settings on some thermostats to automatically turn down when you leave and back up when you return.

Smart lighting

Smart bulbs are a great addition to making your home smart. You can install smart bulbs and control them through an app on your phone or tablet. Change the color or program the app to turn your lighting on and off at a specific time every day. If you’re into mood settings, you can also opt for bulbs that can change color to match your mood or activity.

Smart doorbell

Another nifty gadget to consider is a smart doorbell. It not only makes your home smarter but also safer because they come with cameras so you can see who is at your door before opening it. Through your mobile device, you can see what’s happening outside your door, monitor your kids, and keep an eye out for when your package is delivered.

Smart lock

If you’re always losing your keys, a smart lock is an answer to your problem. Unlock your door using a fingerprint, pin, or a quick tap on your smartphone. The smart lock also gives you the power to unlock the door when you are not home to allow a friend or relative to enter and wait for your arrival. Pretty neat, right?

Smart robot cleaner

A vacuum cleaner that does all the work without touching it?  Sign me up! These highly intelligent smart robot cleaners operate autonomously while you sit and relax. In no time, your floor is dust-free and the only finger you lifted was that one tap on your smartphone to turn on the robot cleaner.

Cybersecurity issues related to smart home devices

With all its perks, the disadvantage of smart home devices is the exposure to critical vulnerabilities such as privacy breaches. Hackers are persistent in exploiting these devices, whether it’s listening to your conversations or invading your system to harass and steal personal data. In one scary incident, a cybercriminal hijacked a couple’s home and cranked the heat up on their thermostat. There have been other reported incidents of smart gadgets being hacked.

How to protect your smart home from hackers

Here are three safety procedures you can practice to protect your smart home from hackers.

Create strong password for your WIFI

Protect your WIFI network by using a secure and strong password that won’t be easy to crack. Create a password or passphrase with a combination of letters, numbers, and symbols.

Use a VPN router

In addition to using a password protected WIFI network, go one step further by setting up a VPN router to secure your online activity from prying eyes, especially on websites and platforms that your smart device needs to access.

Enable two-factor authentication

When available, always choose to enable two-factor authentication on your smart gadgets. This security method requires a password and an additional code (usually sent to your phone or generated through an app) to access services.