Smart Home & Camera Review

Smart home devices are built to be easy to set up, which generally means built to trust the network they land on. A video doorbell with a known firmware flaw sitting on the same flat network as the laptop with your tax returns is a genuinely bad arrangement, and it is the default arrangement in most homes.

We inventory what is actually connected — which regularly turns up devices nobody remembered — then separate them from the equipment that matters, so a compromised camera stays a compromised camera rather than a route to everything else.

Cameras get particular attention, because they carry a second problem that has nothing to do with hacking: where they point, who can see the footage, how long it is kept, and which of that is being uploaded to somebody else's servers. We will tell you honestly which of your devices can work without sending video off-site, and which cannot.

Prices reflect the time these engagements normally take. Where a service is priced by size, pick the tier matching whichever part of the description is larger for you — a small house with a great many devices belongs in the higher tier. If what we find on the day goes beyond the tier you picked, we will tell you before starting and agree any additional time with you first. We never bill for extra time you have not agreed to.

How it works

1. Find everything

   A full inventory of what is on the network, including the devices that were set up once and forgotten.

2. Separate and secure

   Connected devices moved onto their own network segment, with credentials, firmware and remote access dealt with device by device.

3. Cameras and privacy

   Coverage, blind spots, who can view footage, how long it is retained, and what is leaving your house — reviewed with you and adjusted to what you are comfortable with.

Often added to this

When we confirm the details by email, mention any of these — or we will suggest one if it fits — and it goes on the same invoice as the main work.

• Extra time

  $150/hour

  When what we find goes past what was booked. Always agreed with you before it starts, never billed afterwards as a surprise.

• Backups that have been tested

  $225

  A backup for the machines that matter, and a restore of something real to prove it works. A backup nobody has restored from is a hope, not a backup.

• Router or firewall replacement

  $150 plus hardware

  When what you have cannot be made safe. We recommend one, you buy it, we install and configure it while we are there.

• Follow-up check

  $150

  A remote session a month or two later to confirm what was set up is still in place, updates are landing, and nothing new has crept in.

The full list of add-ons