How to Protect Smart Devices, Cameras, and IoT from Surveillance: Router Proxy for Your Entire Home

Smart speakers, IP cameras, robot vacuums, smart TVs—each of these devices is constantly "calling home": sending data to the manufacturer, activity logs, sometimes video and audio. Most smart home owners are unaware of the volume of information leaking from their networks every day. A proxy configured at the router level blocks these channels for the entire network at once—without the need to install apps on each device.

Why Smart Devices Are a Security Hole

According to analysts, by 2025 there will be over 15 billion connected IoT devices worldwide. In the average "smart home," there are already between 5 and 20 devices: smart TVs, voice assistants (Yandex Station, Amazon Echo), IP surveillance cameras, smart plugs, robot vacuums, thermostats, doorbells with cameras. And each of them has one common feature—they are constantly connected to the internet.

The problem is that the manufacturers of these devices—especially budget Chinese brands from AliExpress—often do not pay adequate attention to security. Firmware is not updated for years, default passwords are not changed, and connections to the manufacturer's servers are made in plain text or with minimal encryption.

Here are specific threats faced by smart home owners:

• Hacking IP Cameras. There are public search engines (Shodan, ZoomEye) that index unprotected cameras around the world. An attacker can watch the feed from your camera in real-time—completely free.
• Eavesdropping via Smart Speakers. Voice assistants are constantly "listening" for the activation word, meaning the microphone is always active. Data is sent to the manufacturer's servers, where it is stored and analyzed.
• Surveillance via Smart TVs. Modern televisions track what you watch (ACR technology—Automatic Content Recognition) and send this data to advertising networks.
• Using Devices in Botnets. A hacked router or camera can become part of a botnet and be used for DDoS attacks—without your knowledge or consent.
• Geolocation Leaks. Smart devices regularly send data about your real IP address, which can precisely determine the location of your home.

The most unpleasant part: most of these threats cannot be eliminated simply by "installing antivirus"—IoT devices do not support the installation of third-party software. They need to be protected at the network level, that is, at the router.

What Exactly Do Cameras, Speakers, and Smart TVs Leak

To understand why protection is needed, let's break down specifically—what data and where is sent from a typical smart home. This is not paranoia, but documented facts from independent studies.

Special attention should be given to IP cameras and robot vacuums. The map of your apartment created by a Xiaomi robot vacuum is literally a blueprint of your home, indicating all rooms. This data is stored on servers in China. In 2021, researchers from MIT discovered that several models of vacuums were transmitting images from cameras directly to the manufacturer's servers without notifying the user.

Your real home IP address is another issue. It can pinpoint your exact location down to the block, identify the provider, and potentially gain access to other devices on the network. This is where a proxy on the router plays a key role: all devices on the network start accessing the internet through the proxy server's IP, rather than your real home IP.

How a Proxy on the Router Protects the Entire Smart Home

When you set up a proxy on a single device—a laptop or smartphone—only that device is protected. But smart speakers, cameras, or thermostats do not support the installation of a proxy client. The only way to "cover" them with protection is to set up a proxy at the router level. Then all traffic from the home network will automatically pass through the proxy server.

Here’s what a proxy on the router specifically provides for the security of the smart home:

It is important to understand the limitations: a proxy does not encrypt traffic as deeply as a VPN (that is the task for HTTPS and TLS) and does not block malware by itself. But for the task of "hiding the real IP of all smart home devices and complicating surveillance"—it is a working and accessible tool.

Practical scenario: you have a budget Chinese brand IP camera. Without a proxy, it sends requests to the manufacturer's servers from your real home IP. With a proxy on the router—all requests from the camera go through the proxy server's IP. The manufacturer, hacker, or advertising network only sees this IP, not your real address.

Proxy vs VPN for IoT: What to Choose for Your Home Network

This question arises for everyone who starts thinking about smart home security. Both tools hide the real IP, but they work differently and have different strengths. Let's break it down honestly.

For the task of protecting IoT devices and the smart home, a proxy often proves to be preferable for several reasons. First, most home routers (TP-Link, Asus, Keenetic, Mikrotik) support proxy configuration out of the box—without flashing. Second, IoT devices do not require the same depth of encryption as financial transactions—they only need an IP change. Third, a VPN on the router noticeably slows down the internet for the entire network, which is critical for streaming on smart TVs or video calls.

The optimal strategy for most users: a proxy on the router for IoT devices + VPN or proxy on the computer/smartphone for personal tasks. This way, you get protection for the entire network without sacrificing performance.

How to Set Up a Proxy on the Router: Step-by-Step Instructions

Setup depends on the router model. We will cover the three most popular options in Russia: Keenetic, TP-Link, and Asus. For all options, you will need the proxy server details: IP address (or hostname), port, username, and password.

Keenetic (the most convenient option)

Keenetic routers have built-in proxy support and allow you to configure it through a user-friendly web interface. This is one of the best choices for a home network with IoT devices.

1. Open your browser and go to 192.168.1.1 (default router address)
2. Log in to the control panel with your username and password
3. Go to the "Internet" → "Other Connections" section
4. Select "Proxy Server" and click "Add"
5. Enter the proxy details: server address, port, type (HTTP or SOCKS5)
6. If the proxy requires authentication—enter the username and password
7. In the "Access Policy" section, choose which devices to apply the proxy to (you can apply it to the entire network or only to selected devices)
8. Click "Save" and wait for the settings to apply

TP-Link (via proxy server in settings)

1. Open the control panel at 192.168.0.1
2. Go to Advanced → Network → Internet
3. Find the Proxy Server section (not available on all models)
4. Enable the proxy and enter the server address and port
5. Save the settings and restart the router

If your TP-Link does not support proxy out of the box—consider flashing OpenWrt. This is a more advanced option, but it gives you full control over the traffic of the entire network, including configuring the proxy through the redsocks package.

Asus (via Merlin or standard firmware)

1. Access the control panel at 192.168.1.1
2. Go to WAN → Internet Connection
3. Scroll down to the Proxy Server section
4. Enable the option and enter the proxy IP address, port, and credentials
5. Click Apply

For Asus routers with Merlin firmware (an extended version of the official firmware), additional features are available: configuring split tunneling, where some devices go through the proxy, and some directly. This is ideal for the scenario of "IoT through proxy, computers directly."

Which Type of Proxy is Suitable for Protecting the Smart Home

Not all proxies are equally suitable for protecting a home network. Let's break down three main types and their applicability for IoT tasks.

Residential Proxies

Residential proxies are IP addresses of real home users. From the perspective of IoT device manufacturers' servers, your requests look like regular home internet traffic. This is the cleanest option in terms of anonymity.

Advantages for the smart home: minimal risk of blocking by cloud services of smart devices (some services block requests from data center IPs), high trust from servers, the ability to choose the proxy's geolocation (for example, set a Russian IP for services to work correctly).

Mobile Proxies

Mobile proxies use IP addresses from mobile operators (MTS, Beeline, MegaFon, etc.). This is one of the most "trusted" types of IP in terms of bot protection systems—mobile IPs rarely end up on blocklists.

For protecting the smart home, mobile proxies are a good choice if you want maximum "invisibility" of traffic. However, they have a peculiarity: one mobile IP can be used by thousands of real users simultaneously (through the operator's NAT), which sometimes triggers CAPTCHAs on some websites.

Datacenter Proxies

Datacenter proxies are the fastest and most affordable option. The IP addresses belong to server farms, not real users. For IoT protection, they are quite suitable if speed and connection stability are more important than maximum anonymity.

An important nuance: some cloud services of smart devices (especially American and European) may block or limit requests from datacenter IPs. If your smart devices stop working after connecting a proxy—try switching to residential IPs.

For the task of protecting the smart home from surveillance, the optimal choice is residential proxies. They provide maximum "invisibility" to the servers of IoT device manufacturers while not disrupting the operation of cloud services for smart gadgets.

Additional Security Measures for Your Home Network

A proxy on the router is an important but not the only tool for protecting the smart home. For comprehensive security, we recommend combining it with other measures. Here is a practical checklist that takes 30-60 minutes to implement.

1. Create a Separate Wi-Fi Network for IoT Devices

Most modern routers (Keenetic, Asus, TP-Link) allow you to create a "guest" or additional Wi-Fi network. Connect all smart devices to this network, while computers and smartphones connect to the main one. This is called network segmentation.

Why is this necessary: if an attacker hacks your IP camera (through a vulnerability in the firmware), they will end up in an isolated segment of the network and will not be able to access your computer, NAS, or other important devices. Segmentation is a basic principle of network security that even large corporations apply.

2. Change Default Passwords on All Devices

This may sound trivial, but statistics show that over 60% of IoT device hacks occur due to default passwords (admin/admin, 123456, etc.). Access the settings of each smart device through its app or web interface and set a unique complex password.

3. Regularly Update Firmware

Manufacturers periodically release security updates for their devices. Enable automatic firmware updates where possible. For devices without auto-update—check for new versions every 2-3 months through the official app.

4. Set Up DNS Filtering

DNS filtering allows you to block requests to known tracking servers and advertising trackers at the network level. Popular solutions include: AdGuard Home (free, installed on the router or Raspberry Pi), NextDNS (cloud service with a user-friendly interface), Pi-hole (classic solution for technically savvy users).

In combination with a proxy on the router, DNS filtering provides double protection: the proxy hides the real IP, and the DNS filter blocks requests to known tracking servers before a connection is established.

5. Disable UPnP on the Router

UPnP (Universal Plug and Play) is a protocol that allows devices on the network to automatically open ports on the router. This is convenient for gaming consoles and torrent clients, but it creates a serious vulnerability: malware or a hacked IoT device can use UPnP to gain access to your network from the internet. Disable UPnP in the router settings—in the "NAT" or "Security" section.

6. Monitor Device Traffic

Modern routers (especially Keenetic and Asus) show traffic statistics for each device. Periodically check: if your robot vacuum is transmitting 500 MB of data per day—that's a reason to investigate where such a volume is going. For more detailed monitoring, you can use the GlassWire app or set up Wireshark on a computer connected to the router.

Conclusion

A smart home offers convenience but also presents a new attack vector on your privacy. IP cameras, voice assistants, robot vacuums, and smart TVs constantly transmit data to the internet, revealing your real IP address, geolocation, and behavior patterns. Protecting them with traditional methods (antivirus, browser settings) is impossible—network-level protection is required.

A proxy on the router elegantly solves this problem: one setup protects all devices on the network, hides the real IP, and complicates surveillance from manufacturers and advertising networks. In combination with network segmentation, DNS filtering, and disabling UPnP, you achieve a reliable multi-layer security perimeter.

For protecting the smart home, we recommend using residential proxies—they have IP addresses of real home users, are minimally blocked by cloud services of IoT devices, and provide a high level of anonymity for your entire home network.