QUICK BITS
WE ASK INDUSTRY
INSIDERS ONE
QUESTION
What is your
recommendation to
clients seeking the
best home network
security solution?
12 Residential Tech Today | Jan/Feb 2020
For a highly secure residential network solution we turn to an enterprise-grade
solution, Cisco Meraki. The Cisco Meraki Router/Firewall is constantly being
updated with the latest in software patches and security features. For added
protection you can also enable a hardware-based intrusion prevention system
(IPS).
– Chris Smith, Cloud9 Smart, New York City
The Loop works hard to remind clients that they need to update passwords and
personalize their network for themselves. The biggest security gap we’ve seen
are clients that either leave their network devices to the defaults from the
factory or use the same password across all devices, allowing a hacker to gain
access to everything once they get one password.
– Eric Crawford, The Loop, Boise, ID
The “best” is relative and can often be misconstrued for easy to get and easy to use.
However, our recommendation would be to choose a U.S.-based company like
Ubiquiti or Cisco where their primary business is not data mining (like
Amazon or Google). Both of these companies make excellent security solution
products.
– Heather Sidorowicz, Southtown Audio Video, Hamburg, NY
We typically lean toward Pakedge and Luxul for our network needs because they not
only support good network security but also home automation and AV systems.
The second big security need that I personally use as a standard is to separate
the network (VLAN or Pakedge Zones) into two important groups. The first
is the group of all hard-wired and wireless devices that communicate primarily
only within the home. The second group is consumer-type devices that only
communicate with a cloud service on the internet. This ensures that those
devices that may be the easiest to hack do not have access to the devices and
information that are important to the consumer.
– Joe Whitaker, The Thoughtful Home, St. Louis, MO and Dallas, TX
As we utilize and depend
on our residential
networks in more and
more areas of our life,
network security has
become very
important. We
recommend enterprise-level
networking components to improve general
network performance and coverage, as well
as providing proper network security from
“uninvited” sources. These security measures
include provision and implementation of full
featured routers/firewall appliances that can
be configured to block unwanted access,
along with managed Ethernet switches to
provide controlled access and the option of
multiple VLANs.
– Barry Reiner, InnerSpace
Electronics, Mt. Kisco, NY
My recommendation is that clients consult an expert to ensure that they are getting
an appropriate security system for their home. Network security changes on an
hourly basis so working with someone who is passionate about this will result
in the best solution. A good network security system starts with adding a
strong passcode to your Wi-Fi network and using complex passwords. I know
that may seem simple, but it is shocking how often we find luxury homes with
unprotected wireless networks and default passwords still in place.
– Travis Leo, Residential Systems, Littleton, CO
For clients looking for the best network security solution, I would always recommend
enterprise-grade equipment and avoid consumer-grade solutions, especially from
brands that rely on generating revenue from selling user data (i.e. Google and
Amazon). We have been relying on Sophos security appliances for UTM
(unified threat management) and firewall protection, which large enterprise,
financial institutions, and government organizations depend on to protect their
networks.
– Eli Weinkle, NXT AV, Orange County, CA
For our more security conscious clients we have installed fire walls, network
segmentation, and have even had a client ask for a VPN router. But, for most
clients the ISP’s provided modem/router firewall is sufficient security for their
home network and doesn’t add any additional cost to the project.
– Andy Bang, Millennium Sounds, Indianapolis, IN
We always start with
high-quality
networking hardware
from companies like
Luxul or Pakedge.
From there we
recommend using robust
passwords for accessing any
network hardware as well as getting on the
home’s Wi-Fi and then creating a separate
guest Wi-Fi network to give guests internet
access, but not access to your devices.
– John Sciacca, Custom Theater and
Audio, Myrtle Beach, SC