Ring Cameras

12-17-19:  Ring Cameras

Now they are watching you - privacy invasions that impact every member of the family.

The New York Times reported on Mon. Dec. 16, 2019, that hackers had breached “Ring” home security cameras.

If you, your family or any of your friends use a Ring home security camera, all of you need to read the article contained in the link above, and take steps to avoid becoming a victim. In defending its product, Ring.com maintained that their device is quite secure as long as a very strong and unique password is used along with two factor authentication that they have available for the asking.

So, you say you don’t have a Ring Home Security System and need not be concerned. Wrong! The underlying issue here is the that NOW, MORE THAN EVER you MUST use very strong passwords that are completely unique (NEVER use the same password for more than one account). If two factor authentication is available on any account you have - USE IT!

Here are our recommendations for password creation:

1. 10 to 12 characters in length (minimum); the longer the better
2. Do Not use actual words
3. Do use a combination of numerals, upper and lower case alpha characters as well as at least one (more is better) special character, such as: !, @, #, $, %, &, *, ?.
4. This is an example of a strong password: e5R3a7$M3&1@#B
5. This IS NOT A STRONG PASSWORD: password1234
6. Use Two Factor Authentication whenever it is available.
   
   

How do you manage all of these complex and unique passwords? Review the VCC presentation given in November of 2019 by John Campbell & Peter Cronas titled: “Cloud Based Password Management, and a Safe Alternative to the Cloud”. Here is the link.