How to shop smart for gadgets on Black Friday

Black Friday has been dominating the headlines this week and it has made me question just when to buy the technology gifts that I am planning to buy.  I have been watching the deals and have set up price alerts in order to grab the best deals.  Black Friday of course, refers to the day many retailers will slash prices to secure your Christmas spends.  It is not a reference to the weather which is also currently dark and grey! One area I hadn’t really considered is that with the technology based products I plan to buy is just how safe they are from hacking. Intel security carried out some interesting research on the gadgets we are currently buying.

I have been a recipient of hacking on my blog and it is not a nice feeling.  When I tried to access my blogs to realise that I was locked out and someone else had control I had a huge panic, thankfully for me I have great technical support and it was quickly sorted out for me by my hosts.  However I know I would worry if suddenly my personal devices were hacked.

The most hackable gifts this Christmas are:

1. Smartphones and Tablets
2. Drones and Camera-enabled Devices
3. Children’s Gadgets
4. Smartwatches and Fitness Trackers

Considering just how popular these gifts are we need to take precautions tablets proved to be the most popular gift UK consumers would like to receive this year, with over a quarter (26%) of those surveyed hoping these would be wrapped up under the tree.  Those aged 65+ years old were revealed as the age category most looking forward to receive tablets this Christmas, with 37% hoping for them in comparison to just 23% of 25-34 year olds.  This is great, my own grandad bought himself an ipad earlier in the year and now uses it daily.  It is certainly a great gift for older family members but they certainly don’t need the added worry of hacking. Smartphones proved to be the most popular gift younger generations want to receive, with 31% of respondents aged between 18-24 years old

Tips for protecting yourself this Christmas: People may think they aren’t at risk of hackers breaking into such gadgets like a smartwatch or child’s gadget, but the reality is that hackers can install malware on a computer that the device connects to, getting into a user’s mobile device which houses personal data.

• Bluetooth beware: Smart gadgets are often controlled by a Bluetooth connection via a smartphone. Many devices have a Bluetooth pairing password with a default of 0000 or 1234, allowing attackers to pair with them and take control. When Bluetooth is not needed, switch it off.
• Cover all bases: Many smart gifts are controlled by other devices, be that a smartphone or a tablet. Protecting all these devices means that all doors to hackers are closed. Protect devices by pairing a comprehensive security solution with regular device updates.

Protect your personal data: Making sure operating systems are up to update with the latest versions and not downloading apps from an untrusted source, are other ways you can keep cybercriminals at bay this Christmas. Sometimes it takes a long time for an operating system to be patched for a new vulnerability therefore it is important to install a cross device security service such as McAfee Live Safe

Therefore if you end up buying gadgets on Black Friday or Cyber Monday make sure you are buying responsibly.  The last thing you want is to be remembered for giving a gift that then causes problems later in the year.

Disclosure: This post is in association with Intel security who carried out the research.

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