How locked down is your smart home?
Every camera, speaker and plug on your Wi-Fi is a small computer. It can be guessed into, forgotten about, or quietly share more than you think. Guess how well yours are protected, then check, one step at a time.
What do you have at home?
Tap the devices you have, here or on the house. The router is where everything starts, so it's always on the list. Then tick every step you've already done. Start with the red "Do first" steps.
Don't name your Wi-Fi after your home
Your network name is broadcast to the street, the corridor and every phone that walks past. "Villa 23" or "The Hassan Family" tells a stranger which network belongs to which door, and who uses it.
Neutral ideas (tap one to try it):
Hiding the name doesn't add real security, and your phone then calls out for it everywhere you go.
Devices on the same Wi-Fi can usually see each other. If a cheap plug or camera is taken over, a separate guest or IoT network keeps it away from the laptops and phones where your banking and photos live.
This is general guidance. Check your device's manual or app for the exact menu names. If your internet provider (e& or du) manages your router, ask them about settings you can't change.
Four habits that cover most of it
Change its admin password, keep it updated, and turn off WPS and remote management. Everything else connects through it.
The app account behind a camera, lock or baby monitor is the real key. Give each one its own password and turn on two-step login.
Remote access, UPnP, drop-in calls, voice purchasing, Wi-Fi Direct: each feature you don't need is one less way in.
A bulb can keep your Wi-Fi password, a vacuum keeps a map of your home, and a printer may keep scans. Wipe them and remove them from your account.
Sources: the UK National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) guidance on smart devices and home routers; the US Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) tips on home network security; the CERT vulnerability note VU#723755 on the WPS PIN weakness. Your score is a weighted count of the steps you tick ("Do first" counts 3, "Important" 2, "Good habit" 1). It is a guide, not a security audit. Your ticks stay on this device and nothing you type is uploaded. Only your guess and your score range are counted, anonymously, for the "what others guessed" bars.