Are you worried about your thermostat being hacked? I Had this conversation with one of our customers on the new HVAC Guide website and she was asking me some questions about her thermostat, how secure it is, and I wanted to do a video on this topic because I think that some of these things might put you at ease, might a some of your concerns, but some of these things might actually help you consider being more secure with your actions. And so essentially her question was, what do I do Is it possible for hackers to hack my thermostat? Is it possible for them to steal my identity? Is it possible for them to put viruses into my equipment whenever you have anything connected to the network? What are the risks here was basically her overall question. hopefully she sees this by the time this video comes out. That conversation will probably be a month or two old, but let's dive into this.

firstly. I Just want to say that I have had some conversations with some manufacturers making some of the cloud devices, making some of the Wi-Fi enabled devices, and some of the software that's out there and I will tell you that this is something that they take seriously. Uh, at least the folks that I have talked to. This is something they consider from time to time they want to make sure that it hopefully never happens Now I will say this: this is probably not going to be what you want to hear, but I will say this: I would say just about anything is possible to be hacked and we've seen that we've seen large Federal things be hacked by hackers.

We've seen government installations and utility companies and electrical grids and all all these different things right? I mean you just Google some of the things that have happened and things that hackers have gone after and unfortunately it's just the world we live in that just about anything is possibly at risk I mean even things that's as highly classified and secure as our own government secrets. The Pentagon and all those things. There have been times where things have been leaked or things have been not as secure as they should be, right? and so there is that risk I mean that that is just a real thing and I just want to point that out. My question to her was with all of these things that hackers could hack, Do you really think that they would want to hack your thermostat? You know? Do you really think that that's a real thing that they have the motivation to do and and unfortunately for her after our conversation I had with her cuz I was mostly trying to you know, set her mind at ease with all of this.

but I went and Googled it and unfortunately it has happened that there has been multiple times where folks have had hackers hack their thermostats or their home security camera system. All of that stuff and so I think just you knowing that is good to know that you. need to be making sure that not only is the the company themselves trying to make sure that everything is secure but you need to make sure that you're doing things to be secure. Your password should not be 1, two 3, 4 or password right? It needs to be a little more secure than that and we're going to go through a few tips in just a moment of things that you can do to make your systems and your accounts more secure.

we're going to go through those in just a moment. But the other thing this person that I was talking to on our website her question was I know the device is Wii enabled. It has the capability of being able to be controlled through WiFi but can I still use the device and not connected to Wi-Fi And I would say in most cases the answer to that question is yes with most thermostats, that is possible, right? I Think where it gets murky with that sort of stuff is when you know some of these mini splits these Wi-Fi modules that can be installed in there. Things like that To use the functionality of that device it has to be connected to Wi-Fi right? But even in that case, the unit itself, the mini split can still operate even if that module is not connected to Wi-Fi So in almost every scenario that I can think of all these Wi-Fi enabled devices that Can control your heating and air system.

They still can operate without being connected to Wi-Fi Now let's talk about the tips or things that you can do to keep your system more secure. Keep your account, your thermostat, whatever more secure. The first thing I'll say is when you're filling out your account, or if you're setting up your app or whatever device you're using, they'll usually have some sort of software or app, or register an account on their website. Whatever that looks like.

I Would caution you against using a lot of your personal information. see if you can register the account and get everything set up without putting all your information in there. Use a fake name. I mean I Don't think there's any harm in that.

I have an alias if you will when I'm setting up certain things. For example, I haven't played video games in years, but years ago when I would play a video game, I would put a fake name in there, right? It's sort of like when you're setting up a username for a particular website. you're not going to always use your name if that makes sense. So see if that's an option when you're setting all this up.

Maybe use an alias, maybe leave the address and the phone number blank if possible, and just see if you can just set everything up without using any of your personal information. That way, if someone does hack all of this, they don't have any of your information and you'll know that if they start calling you. let's say they hack your cameras and they're trying to talk to you. That's some of the stories I was reading.

That's some of the things that these hackers have done. and then they start talking you and they say names that you're Alias name. it's not your real name, you'll know right away. they don't really have anything and you can just remove the device and and just throw it away if you have to and set up a new account or something.

but that's the first thing. see if you can just not use any of your personal information. In all this, you certainly want to avoid identity theft and things like that. Next, I would say you should be using very strong passwords and changing your password periodically.

and in addition to that I I Don't know a ton about internet stuff, but keeping your network credentials fresh and secure as well. Try to use a password that's unique to that device, so don't use the same password that you use for other things. Enable some sort of authentication with these devices if possible. Maybe have several layers of security, twostep logins, and things like that.

Those are all things that you can set up that will hopefully keep your device more secure. Just because they learn your password doesn't mean they can also control your cell phone and allow them to get in there right? Maybe set up a whole separate email just for this sort of stuff. So that way if they were to somehow get your personal email then they wouldn't be able to put that into the device and try to guess the password in some way. You're using a totally separate email anyway and it doesn't matter.

And the last thing I'll say is just because you have all these smart devices in your home possibly doesn't mean you have to use the same account for all of that stuff. In fact, I can tell you that in my home I have a couple different devices, I've got a security system and I've got some Wi-Fi enabled thermostats and other devices in my home and they're not all the same brand either. I'm not saying you have to use different brand stuff, but that might help. You know if you're not using the same app or the same system for everything.

my water heater is Wi-Fi enabled now I'll be honest with you I never have connected it. It doesn't matter to me that it's Wi-Fi enabled, but it's a totally different brand from the thermostats that I use to control my heating and air equipment. It's just a thought might help. and even if they are the same brand and are the same app, maybe you can set it up to where they both have their own account or something.

So even if they were to hack something, they haven't hacked everything. So let me know your thoughts. Is this something you've considered? Have you ever been hacked? or is this something that you know you worry about? Love to hear about that comment down below. If you like this video I Think you'll like this one too.

It's where I Talk about how these newer heat pump inverter systems are not necessarily the answer to some of the biggest problems. Thanks for watching! Hit that subscribe button. We'll see you next time.