
Unfortunately, the Wyze Cam doesn’t offer this feature. You can set up two-factor authentication for your Nest account and Amazon account. Choose a Camera That Supports Two-Factor AuthenticationĪs we’ve already mentioned several times, two-factor authentication is a key security feature to have with a smart security camera account. It’s worth spending a bit more for a more secure camera. For example, some of these cameras contained hardcoded backdoor passwords that would allow attackers to view live feeds from your camera.

In 2017, many cameras by Chinese manufacturer Foscam were found vulnerable to attack. RELATED: Wyze Camera Review: The Cheapest Home Security System You'll Ever Find It’s worth nothing that you can even use a Wyze camera without connecting it to Wi-Fi, and just record to a microSD card.

For example, Wyze might be fine for keeping an eye on the outside of your house, but you might not want to place it in your living room. Whether you trust a company like Wyze is up to you. And, whenever you initiate a live streaming session, that video feed is provided by a Chinese company named ThroughTek. However, Wyze doesn’t offer any two-factor authentication support. We actually thought the Wyze Cam worked pretty well and it’s certainly an amazing value. For example, the Wyze Cam costs $26, where other manufacturers generally sell their cameras for $100 to $200. RELATED: Are My Smarthome Devices Secure? These big companies should be serious about security and do a good job of securing their services. Other big companies, like Amazon, Netgear, and Honeywell also seem pretty trustworthy. With Nest, you’re basically trusting Google. It’s important that you trust the company involved.įor example, Nest is owned by Alphabet, which also owns Google. Of course, whatever smart camera you choose, it will be uploading its video feed-or at least video clips-to some server somewhere.
IS ATHOME CAMERA SAFE TO USE PASSWORD
As long as you choose a strong password and, ideally, set up two-factor authentication, there’s no way for an attacker to gain easy access. You just plug the camera in, create an online account, and then connect the camera to your account. In other words, there’s no real complicated configuration.
IS ATHOME CAMERA SAFE TO USE UPDATE
You don’t have to manually update them to fix security problems. These types of cameras are automatically updated with the latest firmware, too. That account can sometimes be configured with two-factor authentication for additional security, which means even an attacker that knows your account’s password wouldn’t be able to view your cameras.

Live video feeds and recorded video clips are available through those online accounts. Instead of providing a dumb web interface pre-configured with a default username and password, cameras like these require you use an online account system. These are designed as easy-to-use smarthome devices. Modern security cameras like Alphabet’s Nest Cam (Alphabet is the parent company that owns Google), Amazon’s Cloud Cam, and Netgear’s Arlo, for example, are different than IP cameras. Just be sure you know what you’re doing and set them up properly so people can’t snoop on you. If you’re a hobbyist with the do-it-yourself spirit, you might want to give IP cameras a go. If you’re just an average person looking for some simple security cameras, skip the IP cameras. There even are search engines like SHODAN designed to help people find these exposed camera feeds and other vulnerable Internet of Things devices. This means anyone can watch the feed just by visiting the camera’s IP address online. They leave them configured with the default username and password, and then connect them to the internet. In practice, many people don’t set up these cameras securely.
