Are you safe in the Internet of Things?

[Commentary] The Internet of Things, the popular name for the technology by which devices are connected and controlled over the Internet, is big, and it is only getting bigger. So where are you vulnerable? A better question might be where are you not vulnerable? So how can you protect yourself in this brave new world of the Internet of Things?

1. Don't store personal identifying information on any device. Don't even use your real name.
2. Use a unique and complex password for all of your devices so that if one is hacked, all of your devices are not jeopardized.
3. Read the fine print and find out what information is gathered and stored by your devices as well as how that information is used by the manufacturer.
4. Your smartphone is the entrance way to your car's connectivity. Keep your smartphone protected with a strong and unique password as well as anti-virus and anti-malware security software.
5. Change the default usernames and passwords on all of your home network devices.
6. Use and update anti-virus and anti-malware software on your home computer network.

As scary as the Internet of Things may appear, with better efforts to provide security and privacy by companies making these devices and by all of us taking better precautions, the Internet of Things can be made much safer.

[Steve Weisman is a lawyer and professor at Bentley University]