• by Chuck Martin , Staff Writer, December 10, 2015

Many things of The Internet of Things are quickly getting into the hands of consumers.

We’re talking about a lot of connected devices being bought now as holiday gifts.

More than 50 million smart gadgets will be sold during this holiday season, based on a new global estimate.

And that doesn’t even include smartphones, according to the estimate by the Online Trust Alliance, an industry non-profit focused on advancing best practices in consumer security and privacy.

The forecast is based on sales data from Black Friday through Cyber Monday from various sources, including a major TV manufacturer and several very large retailers, according to Craig Spiezle, executive director of OTA, who suggested the number of smart objects sold may end up being even higher.

Smart objects include fitness trackers, baby monitors, smart dolls like Barbie and, leading the way, smart TVs.

Televisions hold two of the top three spots in today’s IBM Watson Trend, which tracks and analyzes online conversations about holiday purchasing. Following the Apple Watch, Samsung and Sony TVs are the most talked about of all products in all categories.

Another forecast out today pegs Internet of Things spending globally at $699 billion this year. The consumer IoT market will be the third largest spending category in four years, according to IDC, which projects overall spending to hit $1.3 trillion by that time.

With more than 50 million devices soon to be connected to the Internet, OTA issued some guidelines on how those devices should be managed. Here are some of the tips on the checklist:

• Verify device is updated and regularly patched directly from the manufacturer
• Turn off and unplug device if gone for  extended period of time
• Disable or protect remote access to the device
• Document all the smart devices and applications used
• Create user profiles with unique settings for children
• Disable any camera and microphone when not actively or intentionally using them

Basically, smart objects will have to be handled smartly since the devices will be part of a massive network, with all of the implications that go along with that.