Some things:
The fewer devices connected to the internet the better.
Some things are necessary: your computer, your phone. These things have been being attacked for a long time and the defense game is good (not perfect) with these.
Some things are fairly new: Smart speakers. They have been designed with a low attackability footprint.
Some other fairly new things haven't been designed this way: smart fridges, etc.
other things have had connectivity pasted on:
Printers are a prime example. They have an unpatched apache browser baked in.
These make it nice and easy to set up, but they should not be allowed to accept connections from outside your home.
Please consult your device manuals and make sure you limit your home's internet footprint to only what you need.
^^ sorry this should have been apache SERVER baked in
got interrupted 1/2 way through a toot and lost my train of thought.
@teengee - wifi vs. cable isn't the issue here (although good for you going through the effort to cable up everything, it helps in other ways)
The big thing is that things like the printer are disallowed at the router level from accepting incoming connections.
TV's are a whole different ball game, as they need some internet connectivity, but aren't all that secure. I personally don't connect my TVs directly, but use a smaller device (in my case, chromecast) to get streaming shows.
@0x56
I think I can block the printer type devices.
How can I tell if devices are susceptible to nefarious actors? Please don't tell me you already hacked my TV and are looking at through my computer camera.
@teengee - that's the think, you can't tell if a device is susceptible.
But a rule of thumb is the more powerful the processor, the more input devices, the more an attacker can leverage it.
Another rule of thumb is the more mature a device is, the more it's defense is understood.
@0x56
You started me down this rabbit hole. Thanks for bearing with me.
If I prevent my TV, satellite receiver, & surround sound from accepting outside connections will I loose functionality?
TV is connected to a computer via HDMI. Only use internet for Pandora.
Why does the satellite receiver need a connection?
Thanks.
@teengee - undoubtedly you'll lose functionality. Last I remember, (and this is going back almost a decade) receivers were connected to store/playback shows you "recorded" on it, as well as updating channel listings. You may want to google around to see if your particular receiver has any ports that should be blocked.
@0x56 @teengee
Great advice here, IC. I also have everything wired with BT/WiFi disabled that can be.
Newer routers often have a section for enabling client isolation for wireless devices, so each device can only connect to the internet, but not to other devices on the same LAN. The downside to enabling this is that you can't do any local media streaming or file sharing.
Aggressive filtering through a firewall or proxy is another popular solution. My Pi-hole blocks 30-50% of requests here.
@0x56
Our Wi-Fi is off. Every device (TV, surround sound, Satellite receiver, printer) in our home network is cabled through routers connected to our cable modem. Do I need to worry about them accepting outside connections?