Baby Monitor Hack ( hacked ) ?

This is about this best and easiest to understand article I have read on this subject. I want to thank the guys at  FargoTek Computer/Network/Security Solutions for putting this together. You can find them at http://www.fargotek.com/  They are a great group of guys and we highly recommend them. You can find them also on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/FargoTek

 Baby Monitor Hack ( hacked ) ?

Didja Hear? Parents in Ohio were jolted awake when all of a sudden a strange voice began screaming through their child’s baby monitor. Adam and Heather Schreck were both sleeping in their home when they heard a man yelling at their daughter. Heather picked up her cell phone to check the wireless video monitor in Emma’s room and was startled when she realized the camera was panning the room without their assistance.

A couple in Texas had a similar experience in August 2013. Mark and Lauren Gilbert heard strange noises coming from their two-year-old daughter’s room. When they went to Allyson’s room to check on her they found that their child’s monitor had been overtaken by a hacker; a strange voice was yelling profanities at their baby.

Just as with the Schreck family, the monitor turned in their direction and the intruder started cursing at them before Marc could rush over and unplug the monitor. The couple said the hacker accessed their wireless network, even though it was password-protected. The hacker was able to address the child directly because he had seen her name on a wall decoration which was above her bed.

Please keep in mind that a hacker with a 'cantenna' can access your wireless network from a very long way off. Just because your notebook doesn't get a signal on the porch doesn't mean someone else can't access or monitor your network from a mile away, meaning that even though you don't think anyone in your neighborhood would break into your network, someone far away might.
Here are 5 steps to help secure your network, I mentioned most of them on air today.

1.Enable encryption on your access point. Using 128-bit encryption or higher makes your Wireless Network more secure. WEP and WPA are entirely different encryption schemes. WEP has been proven insecure and can be cracked in a few minutes using free utilities that can be downloaded from the Internet. Using at least WPA is recommended, because it is much more secure, but is sometimes a bit harder to set up correctly than WEP is, and isn't completely secure.[1][2] Some older access points or wireless cards do not support WPA2. If you have one of these, it is recommended that you purchase a newer one that supports WPA2, depending on how important you consider your security.

2. Set the router access password. Anybody who gains access to the router configuration settings can disable the security you have set up. If you forget the password, most routers have a hardware reset that will restore all of the settings to factory defaults. The best option is to use a random sequence of the maximum length of characters - you only have to type that once, so it is not a big thing. When you connect to the router via LAN cable while setting it up, you can copy and paste the password onto the router and onto your local setting, so you never need to type it again.

3. Enable MAC Address filtering on your Access Point or router. A MAC (not to be confused with the computer model 'Mac') address is a code unique to every wireless networking card in existence. MAC Address filtering will register the hardware MAC Address of your networked devices, and only allow devices with known MAC Addresses to connect to your network. However, hackers can clone MAC addresses and still enter your network, so MAC address filtering should not be used in place of proper WPA2 encryption.

4. Disable remote login. The first router worm brute forces its way into the router in this manner. Most default usernames are set to Admin. It isn't hard for a virus/worm to crack the password if the username is known. The good thing is that routers normally have this disabled by default. Be sure to confirm that it is disabled when you first set up your router and periodically thereafter. If you need to update your router setting remotely, only set up access for the time you are going to be connected.

5. Disable wireless administrating. Finally, change the setting that allows administrating the router through a wireless connection to 'off' (meaning that you need to connect with a LAN cable for administration). This disables any wireless hacking into the router.

Thanks to smaller, cheaper processors, speedier wireless connections and the explosion of smartphones and tablets, it's becoming easier and more affordable to digitally link just about any object eg, -- sports equipment, watches, light bulbs, washing machines, thermostats, cameras, refrigerators , ect… Like a PC, the devices have operating systems and processors. And when they are connected to the Internet, hackers can break in and seize control.
Think about this, By 2050, analysts project, there will be 50 billion Internet-connected devices, or five such gadgets for every man, woman and child on the planet. Protect yourself by protecting your network..