Can My Smart Garage Door Opener Be Hacked?

Your lives are getting more and more comfortable and easy with everyday advancements in technology. It is enhancing the way of living and working. New inventions are coming in handy to improve your daily life. Smart home devices are intended to provide ease. For instance, you now can control the opening and closing of your garage doors with just one click on your smartphone. Isn't that wonderful? No hustle or effort is required to open and close your garage's big doors manually. Smart home devices are intended to provide ease in your life. Where technology has grown so much, there are some drawbacks as well. You might wonder what if, like other electronic or smart devices, your smart garage door opener gets hacked?

Yes, your garage door openers, no matter basic code openers or smart ones, can be hacked. This can be done by hacking your smart devices or internet connection and using code grabbers, jammers, or signal transmitters.

Smart garage door openers are a real handiness for you. With just one click, you can control your garage door. It becomes more convenient when you can control your garage door with your smart devices, even if you are far away from home. The advancement of smart home devices can sometimes come at a cost. Your smart garage door opener can be hacked. Here is everything you need to know about the safety and security of your smart garage door openers. 

Can My Smart Garage Door Opener be Hacked?

Yes, your smart garage door opener can be hacked. Even the old code garage door openers can be hacked. Code for door opener is sent through radio waves. Hackers use a 'code grabber' device and attach it somewhere near your garage. This device will catch those radio signals containing your code for the garage door opener. They can easily decode that code from this device and break into your garage.  

Similarly, your modern-day smart garage door openers can also be hacked. It can be done by hacking into your WiFi to which your smart door system is connected. Once the hackers get into your WiFi network, they can access all the devices associated with the WiFi, including your smart garage door opener.

You must be wondering whether this is so easy to hack someone's WiFi or network. No, it is not that easy and simple. It requires a great deal of work and tools to hack into a network. One common way to hack a WiFi is the 'Brute Force' attack. The Brute force attack is a method used by hackers in which they send tons of variations of passwords with the help of bots and computers. Several bots and systems work simultaneously to send thousands of inquiries, and one of them gives them access to a network. 

Are Smart Garage Door Openers Safe?

Of course, your smart garage door opener is safe, but only if you have taken proper safety and security measures to keep it secure. Honestly, there are no smart garage door openers that can't be hacked, but you can make it harder for hackers to try to get into your smart network system.

All of the modern-day smart garage door openers use the latest encryption to transmit data. Still, anything associated with a network can be hacked. But the stronger the encryption, the harder it is to hack into the network. So it is better to invest more time in securing the smart door opener by adding proper encryption and safety.

This encryption can include facial recognition, two-way authentication, or some other high-level and updated security protocols. The best feature of a smart garage door opener is its ability to track your garage door remotely. You can control your garage door from an app in your mobile phone, which also notifies you about door activity. You even can review the door activity about when it was opened and for how long it remained open at any time.

Are Rolling Garage Door Openers Safe?

Rolling garage door openers with an electric code opening system have been used for decades now. They were first upgraded to an electrical system in 1995 by the Genie company. They operate on a code generation system, which uses radio waves to transmit the signal. These are controlled with specific codes and only open when the correct code is entered. It is not possible to copy the code, but the hacking of radio waves with the help of a code grabber can be done. 

If you still have a rolling door in your garage that uses the code method, the garage is not very safe for your valuable stuff. Sadly, there are a lot of devices and tools that thieves can use to get their hands on your things in your garage.

How to Prevent My Smart Garage Door Opener From Being Hacked

As long as garage doors are there, there is a possible chance of them getting hacked. This problem remains so for home and business owners. As new ways of encryptions are coming into the market, thieves are also modifying their tools and methods of hacking. There is no guarantee that any device or gadget connected to a network can not be hacked. But keeping up with the updated versions of encryption and security can minimize the chances of hacking. The latest technology for home security can help you keep hackers away from breaking into your garage.

Whether you will get a new smart garage door opener or you have an old one, you must take precautionary measures to protect it from hacking. Updating the safety features is very essential. This may sound weird to you, but hackers can break into your garage door by hacking a smart door opener without being near the premises of your home. It is just because of the new technology installed in your smart garage door opener. No matter how latest your smart door opener’s model is, the risk remains there.

Some homeowners take measures to defend their homes from intruding by thieves by updating their security encryptions. To keep your smart garage door opener from being hacked, don’t rely on just one password but consider following security upgrades. 

·         Two-factor authentications

Your smart garage door opener is connected to your WiFi network. For the security of your smart devices, including a smart garage door opener, don’t just go with a simple password. You must encrypt your smart garage door opener with two-factor authentication, which can provide more safety.

Two-factor authentication (also known as two-step or dual-factor authentication) is a modern-day security method for devices that are connected to the internet. It provides a verification process to complete with two different authentication processes.

Two-factor authentication is installed for the protection of the credentials of users and all the resources which can be accessed through it. It is a higher level of security than simple one password and authentication methods. The first factor in this authentication is to provide a password or passcode to proceed. The second factor or step of verification requires users to either enter the code they receive on their email or mobile phone or biometric scans like fingerprint or facial.

The two-factor authentication can provide you with added security for your smart garage door opener. If thieves succeed in hacking your password for the garage opener, they still need to verify themselves with the second factor for authentication. A password alone can not open your smart garage door. 

·         Get a strong firewall for your WiFi

As the only way hackers can get their hands on your valuable things in your garage locked by a smart door opener is by hacking your WiFi network. So it would be best if you secure your internet connection strongly. Wireless routers for internet connections come with a primary firewall installed in the. But this firewall is not very effective against the latest methods of hacking.

Firewalls are made to protect the intrusion of external traffic on the internet to your network (prevents gaining access to your smart devices connected to the WiFi). Hackers usually break down your network firewall and get access to your smart garage door opener and other devices.

You should not rely on the in-built firewall of the router because it is just a basic firewall system. Get additional firewall software for your network, especially for your device that is controlling the garage door opener. Software firewalls provide you with an extra layer of security that makes it difficult for hackers to get into your WiFi network.  

·         Change your WiFi name

This is a very simple and basic way of avoiding hackers to get more information about your network provider, network and router type, and your name. Change the name of your WiFi to something totally unrelated to this information so that someone can’t get info from it or even get confused about which WiFi network is yours. 

·         Place your smart garage door opener on a separate WiFi

It becomes very handy when you place your smart garage door opener device on a different WiFi network and don’t make it an open WiFi source. In this way, you can hide the network connected to your smart garage door opener, and it will enhance its security. 

What Are Safest Smart Garage Door Openers?

As you now have got the idea about how important is the security of your smart garage door opener. So, while going to buy and install a smart garage door in your home, as a first thing, you must consider the safety and security features of the product. There are a lot of companies that offer safe and secure smart garage door openers, but here are our top 5 picks among the best and safest smart garage door openers.

1.      Chamberlain B970

The Chamberlain B970 tops the list of the safest smart garage door openers as it features the best and completely silent process for controlling garage doors. It comes with an in-built WiFi and myQ (app for remote control for smart door openers) that makes it perfect for the smooth operation of opening and closing the door. It has compatibility with amazing services, including IFTTT, Key by Amazon, Google assistant, and wink. These features make it a perfect and safest smart door opener.  

It has the following features:

·          Silent and powerful operating system

·          Several smart features

·         Easy to install and user-friendly

·          Excellent remote range, i.e 1500ft.

·         A whopping ¼ horsepower motor.

·         Excellent battery backup.

2.      Craftsman ½ Horsepower

Craftsman ½ horsepower is also one of the most secure and safest smart door openers available in the market. It gives you more of an old-school method, but it has excellent features and quality.  It has a Quick install rail system with all the necessary gears to help you rapid installation. On the other hand, it has fewer in-built smart features in it.

It comes with the following features:

·         Easy to install

·         Energy efficient (only needs 1 watt of power on sleep mode)

·         Handles doors up to 7ft

·         Tri Frequency radio waves

·         Automatic lock system when the door is closed

3.      Skylink ATOMS AT-1611

Skylink ATOMS AT-1611 is an affordable and safe smart garage door opener with outstanding features. It allows you to enjoy the best alarming features about the activities even before they happen. Instead of a basic beeping or red light alert system, it has an excellent LCD system to diagnose problems. For example, F shows the exceeding force and B for blocked door safety. This feature prevents damage from taking place.

It has the following features:

·         Affordable

·         Perfect battery backup

·         Amazing LCD damage alert system

·         Skyline hub (a smart tool that helps you schedule opening and closing of door)

·         In-car remote compatibility

4.        LiftMaster 8500 Elite

LiftMaster 8500 Elite is the best jackshaft smart garage door opener. It is mounted to the wall instead of the ceiling, making it easier to install. It comes with the following features:

·         In-built my app

·         Excellent for sloped ceilings

·         Quite operations

·         Spring lift system

5.        Tailwind iQ3

 

Tailwind iQ3 comes with a unique feature of connecting with your car’s Bluetooth. It is integrated with the Bluetooth of your car and opens automatically when your vehicle comes near the door and closes afterward. It comes with the following features:

·         Alexa and Bluetooth integration

·         Opens and closes automatically

·         Easy to customize smart features

·         IFFT and Google Assistant integration