Safeguard the joy: 10 tips for securing your shiny new device

This article provides holiday-season guidance for securing newly purchased smart devices, outlining common risks like default passwords, lack of 2FA, weak privacy settings, unpatched firmware, insecure Bluetooth pairing, geolocation exposure, and missing encryption, and recommending steps such as using strong unique passwords, enabling 2FA, updating software with auto-updates, disabling risky defaults (remote management, UPnP, unauthorized pairing), backing up data, installing reputable security software, avoiding jailbreaks, using official app stores, and isolating smart-home devices on a separate Wi‑Fi network.