Someone just bought your smart home. Did they get your data, too? | PCWorld: The new checklist is designed to help consumers make sure they're ready to move, and the NAR will use it to inform its members so they can help their clients.
The first tip on the OTA checklist is to make an inventory of all the connected devices in the house, as well as all the manuals, websites and vendor contacts that go with them. Next, residents should review the privacy and data-sharing policies associated with those devices.
The next step is critical: Getting confirmation from whoever's moving out that they no longer have administrative or user access to any of the devices in the home.
Then the list recommends sending new ownership and contact information to manufacturers; changing usernames, passwords and access codes; and making sure all the devices have up-to-date software.
That last step could save you from a home-security disaster. Hackers who take advantage of a vulnerability on one device could find their way into everything else on the home network. While a house with that kind of security hole may be very connected, it's not a smart home at all.
