Smart home security tips for personal and cyber protection
CBSN
Smart home technology is more popular than ever. The U.S. smart home market is expected to be worth nearly $50 billion by 2026, according to Mordor Intelligence. Smart light bulbs, assistants, and thermostats can make life more convenient and save on energy bills, although the upfront costs can be more than quadruple their non-web-connected counterparts. Installing and maintaining smart security systems can also save consumers money by cutting up to 13% from homeowners insurance premiums, according to NerdWallet.
Smart home security systems are designed to be easy to set up right out of the box, even if you're not a tech expert.
"There are many companies, many products, and it really has been a race to make them very easy for the average consumer to pick them up, go home, plug them in, and have them connected," says Jason Hiner, editor-in-chief of ZDNet.

The peace and tranquility of Muir Woods, just north of San Francisco – home to 500+ acres of old-growth redwoods – make it just about the last place you'd expect to find a fight brewing. "The fact that they're taking down whole groups of signs about climate change and our nation's history is disappointing, and embarrassing," said retired U.S. Park Ranger Lucy Scott In:

We share our planet with maybe 10 million species of plants, animals, birds, fish, fungi and bugs. And to help identify them, millions of people are using a free phone app. "Currently we have about six million people using the platform every month," said Scott Loarie, the executive director of iNaturalist, a nonprofit.

At ski resorts across the West this winter, viral images showed chairlifts idling over brown terrain in places normally renowned for their frosty appeal. Iconic mountain towns like Aspen, Colorado, and Park City, Utah, were seen with shockingly bare slopes, as the region endured a historic snow drought that experts warn could bring water shortages and wildfires in the months ahead. In:










