Anyone have a Ring Doorbell?

[Chris Padilla]

Just curious about your experiences with it. I am considering one.

[Mike Henderson]

I wasn't aware of that product (https://ring.com/). How is it powered? Battery? Or do you have to bring AC to it?

Mike

[Michael Weber]

One model requires existing doorbell wiring. The other uses a battery or existing wiring.

[Mike Ontko]

Smart product. Not sure I'd want to chat with Jehovah Witness visitors while I'm away on business or vacation, and I don't think that having it would prevent a package carrier from leaving a missed delivery sticker instead of my package. But the idea of being able to monitor and have some degree of control over things in my house while I'm away is comforting. There are similar products that let you monitor and control lighting, heating/cooling, and other systems in the house via web and cellular connections. It's like we're already living in the Jetson's age!

[glenn bradley]

Unfortunately, I have yet to find any product in this line of offerings (lights, thermostat, door locks, etc.) that is not poorly secured (http://www.cnet.com/news/rings-smart-doorbell-can-leave-your-house-vulnerable-to-hacks/). In the rush to market or push to price-point, basic data security is all but ignored. The products hit the market and are bought by involuntary beta testers only to discover major flaws in design and execution. Once the flaws are made public the manufacturer claims an immediate response and a "fix" for any problems. I'll see if I can dig up the article that found that the top 5 product lines ALL failed the basic security requirements for even the lowliest wireless devices. . . .

The neighborhood kids will have a blast turning your heater on in August or all your lights on while you're on vacation http://www.sawmillcreek.org/images/smilies/biggrin.gifhttp://www.sawmillcreek.org/images/smilies/biggrin.gifhttp://www.sawmillcreek.org/images/smilies/biggrin.gif

[Chris Padilla]

Hackers break into these types of things all the time. Even the gov't had 100M stolen out of their central bank in Bangladesh recently (http://nypost.com/2016/03/07/bangladesh-bank-says-hackers-stole-100m-from-its-new-york-fed-account/) (they recovered 19M) so even your "money" (bits and bytes in a computer until it is exchanged for something tangible) in a bank is not all that secure! Security in our networks is HUGE business and one of the number one concerns of the company I work for.

[Jim Becker]

...Security in our networks is HUGE business and one of the number one concerns of the company I work for.
Exactly the same for the company I work for...as it should be. Huge risks "out there" and smarter crackers every day...

[Frank Hagan]

We looked into Ring for my mother, who lives alone. There is a monthly service fee with it, and you have to use a smart phone if I recall correctly. We ended up going lower tech and using the Vtech system: http://www.vtechphones.com/products/product_detail/2341?gclid=CLSg-Jaw3csCFQeTfgododAKVw

It works without being connected to the net for seeing who is at the door (unattended viewing is not an issue for my mom). I wired it with the doorbell wire and also a 24v adapter they supply so she can turn on the video at any time and see if anything is on the porch. The video quality is acceptable, but you have to position the doorbell so the area isn't backlit.

For my home I have an inexpensive security DVR that is accessible through the net; it is a chore to set up ports and try to secure it.