{"id":73480,"date":"2016-11-23T11:55:15","date_gmt":"2016-11-23T19:55:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/securingtomorrow.mcafee.com\/?p=73480"},"modified":"2025-08-26T22:05:46","modified_gmt":"2025-08-27T05:05:46","slug":"hackable-christmas-gifts-2016-prepared","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.mcafee.com\/blogs\/family-safety\/hackable-christmas-gifts-2016-prepared\/","title":{"rendered":"The Most Hackable Christmas Gifts of 2016 \u2013 Are You Prepared?"},"content":{"rendered":"

I\u2019ve decided that 2016 will be a calm and collected Christmas in our house. I\u2019m saying NO to last minute panic and craziness. No-one is allowed to be frazzled. Nothing can go wrong. Christmas Day will be full of smiles not stress!! I realise that this is probably completely unachievable but I\u2019m aiming for the stars \u2013 and I\u2019ll probably land somewhere on the moon!<\/p>\n

The most essential tool to a stress-free festive time is online shopping \u2013 a true gift from \u2018The Gods\u2019. Not only does it save vast amounts of time but also money. Recent research<\/a> conducted by McAfee<\/a> shows that nearly 40% of us Aussies will in fact buy most, if not all our Christmas gifts online this year. So, thumbs up to us!<\/p>\n

But what are we going to buy? Well, no surprise really \u2013 technology is top of our Christmas lists Down Under. In fact, 65% of those surveyed said they will be buying a smartphone, either for themselves or for another. The second most popular tech purchase is a laptop (41%), followed by smart TVs (33%), fitness trackers (25%) and then home devices such as Bluetooth speakers and door locks\u00a0(23%).<\/p>\n

And of course, everyone wants to use their new toys ASAP! Who can wait? In fact, we\u2019re all impatient with 80% of Aussies saying they will start using their new shiny device the day they receive it.<\/p>\n

But folks, here is where Christmas could come unstuck and stress could sneak in. The research also shows that less than half of us (46%) don\u2019t know how to secure our devices. Eeekkk! And this is why cybercriminals love Christmas \u2013 they wait for moments like these when we have let our guard down so they can gather our personal data and expose us to malware, identity theft or even take over the devices to launch a Distributed Denial of Service Attack<\/a> (aka meltdown) on a website. I know it sounds dramatic but it is entirely possible.<\/p>\n

To keep you ahead in the game, McAfee has compiled a list of the \u2018Most Hackable Christmas Gifts\u2019 for 2016. In compiling this list, McAfee considered a range of factors including accessibility, communication security and target value. So, if you are in direct contact with Santa then please take note.<\/p>\n

This year\u2019s Most Hackable Christmas Gifts:<\/strong><\/h2>\n
    \n
  1. Laptops and\u00a0PCs<\/li>\n
  2. Smartphones and Tablets<\/li>\n
  3. Media Streaming Devices<\/li>\n
  4. Smart Home Automation Devices and Apps<\/li>\n
  5. Drones<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    So, what to do? Well, you could try suggesting alternative gifts: socks, undies, board games. I can hear my boys groaning\u2026 Or, you could follow these few simple steps to protect your new devices and avoid tech stress this Christmas:<\/p>\n