# Internet of things

> Everyday objects with sensors and a network connection: thermostats, meters, doorbells.

- Level: Basic
- Topics: Hardware, Networks
- URL: https://tidbit.legios.com.ar/internet-of-things/
- In Spanish: [Internet de las cosas](https://tidbit.legios.com.ar/es/internet-of-things/)

The **Internet of things** (**IoT**) is the name for ordinary objects that carry a small computer, a few sensors and a network connection: a thermostat you control from your phone, a smart electricity meter, a video doorbell, a fitness band, a soil-moisture sensor in a field, a tracker inside a shipping container. Each one measures or does something and reports over the internet.

Most IoT devices are simple. A cheap chip reads a sensor and sends a few numbers every so often, over Wi-Fi, Bluetooth or a mobile network, to a service in the cloud. There the data is stored, shown in an app and used to trigger actions: turn on the heating, send an alert when a freezer warms up, schedule maintenance before a machine breaks. The value is rarely in one device; it is in thousands of them reporting together.

The weak spot is security. Many devices ship with default passwords, rarely get firmware updates and stay plugged in for years, and attackers have taken over large numbers of cameras and routers to build botnets. Good practice is boring but it works: change the default password, keep the firmware updated, and put these devices on a separate network when you can.

## An analogy

Giving objects a voice and a phone line. One plant pot that can say "I'm dry" is not very clever, but a farm full of them can tell you exactly where to water.

## Keep in mind

- Ordinary objects with a sensor, a small chip and a network connection.
- They usually send small readings to a cloud service and an app.
- The value comes from many devices reporting together.
- Default passwords and missing updates make them easy targets.

## Go deeper

- [Internet of things on Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet_of_things)
- [What is the Internet of Things? (IBM)](https://www.ibm.com/think/topics/internet-of-things)
- [What is IoT? (AWS)](https://aws.amazon.com/what-is/iot/)

## Related terms

- [Container](https://tidbit.legios.com.ar/container/): A sealed box with a program and everything it needs to run anywhere.
- [Internet](https://tidbit.legios.com.ar/internet/): A worldwide network of networks that lets any connected device reach any other.
- [Chip](https://tidbit.legios.com.ar/semiconductor-chip/): A sliver of silicon carrying billions of tiny switches that compute and remember.
- [Wi-Fi](https://tidbit.legios.com.ar/wi-fi/): Networking over radio waves: the internet without the cable, within a few rooms.
- [Bluetooth](https://tidbit.legios.com.ar/bluetooth/): Short-range wireless for connecting nearby gadgets: headphones, watches, keyboards.
- [Cloud computing](https://tidbit.legios.com.ar/cloud-computing/): Renting computers over the internet instead of buying your own.
- [Firmware](https://tidbit.legios.com.ar/firmware/): Software built into a device to run its hardware, from routers to washing machines.
- [Router](https://tidbit.legios.com.ar/router/): The box that connects your devices to each other and to the internet.