Ring video doorbell technology, Nest Hello and similar surveillance cameras have been the most popular home improvement devices since the garage-door opener came out. The cameras are typically built into buzzers and notify you over the phone if someone’s at your door. It keeps footage on the internet. Ours has helped us be alerted to deliveries and see porch pirates taking our packages.
Ring was found to be allowing its Ukraine team to annotate and view certain videos from users last month. The organization mentions that it just looks at videos shared publicly and the ones that Ring owners consent to be watched. One California household’s Nest camera had a hacker assume command and broadcast false audio messages about a missile attack last week. The hacker was also able to look in on them—all because they used an easy password. This is how to stay safe with you security cameras low voltage technology.
1. Avoid pointing the camera at your neighbors.
The Ring’s initial premise brought to light by inventor Jamie Siminoff on “Shark Tank” was how a doorbell camera simply makes the most sense in terms of privacy. This is where people present themselves to be inspected.
You’ll want to direct the camera just on your own home. Saving a digital record of all the times your neighbor gets back home is essentially the behavior of a stalker. When the doorbell’s placed somewhere awkward, you could try using wedges in order to make the camera face your door. Certain cameras allow you to designate recording zones to restrict recordings only to actions that are vital for your home.
2. Seldom share footage.
There’s a bunch of people who love to post videos of “shady-looking characters” on Ring’s Neighbors social app or Nextdoor.com. Ring has decided to sign up police forces as partners—a modern spin on the neighborhood crime watch idea. It’s good to hold back with this unless you’re truly an expert in what counts as “suspect”. Sharing videos using these resources can certainly help fight crime, but it can also serve a detrimental role. Keep your eye out for actual crimes.
