ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (WHAT THE TECH?) — If you think it’s creepy to have a peeping Tom looking through your windows, it’s nothing like hackers peeking through your security cameras.
And you would never know.
A livestream of this person’s backyard is online for anyone to see, this camera from the front door, and someone’s bedroom. The homeowners don’t know that someone has hacked into their WiFi router and is sharing their security camera footage or even a live feed.
Without sharing the links, there are websites with live camera feeds from around the world.
How does it happen?
Most of the time, it’s when a homeowner takes a WiFi router out of the box and connects it to their home network – without changing the username and password it came with.
Anyone who knows what they’re doing can find those default usernames and passwords online from the manufacturer’s websites. Using the login information, they log into those home networks. Anything connected to those networks the hacker can see and even control.
Earlier this year, the FBI urged Americans to check their router’s login information to make sure it isn’t using the default username and password.
If you haven’t done so, download your router’s app. Change the username and password. Install any updates. Set a reminder to reset the router every couple of months.
Unplug it and plug it back in.
That will install any security updates you may have missed with your router. Also, it will likely speed up your home WiFi connection.
If your security camera or any smart device moves, makes a noise or blinks a light, contact the police because someone may have hacked it and might be watching you.
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