Motion Detector Doorbell - sort of

[Solus]

Ok....Someone here often seem to be able to  help one of  us with what we are looking for.  Maybe it will be my turn.

First, the problem I need solved:  I am most often home, but I am hearing impaired and somewhat forgetful...so   If the mail comes or a package is delivered while I am not in the room with the front door, I I will not know it is here...neither the postperson or delivery person ring the bell.  I often forget to check when I return from a trip to the back of the house.

So, what I would like is a wireless motion detector that will set an indicator...a light or sound that stays on till it is reset.  Anyone have an idea for a solution?

[billt]

You might want to look into one of those Ring Doorbells. They have several models that are integrated with your cell phone, and send you alerts.

https://ring.com/

[Big Frank]

Before you buy a Ring doorbell, do a quick search for "Ring's smart doorbell can leave your house vulnerable to hacks" or just look for "IoT hacks" to find about about "smart" home items in general. The whole Internet of Things (IoT) is vulnerable to hacking. Doorbells, security cameras, smart locks, smart appliances, smart toys, pacemakers, insulin pumps, anything connected to WiFi, and most of them have very weak security. Ring said they fixed the problem where you could pull the doorbell off someones house, push the orange button on the back and get their password. Then you could put it back and do whatever you want with anything else connected to their WiFi, like their computer. And they fixed the problem where the doorbells were sending information to a Chinese search engine. And they fixed the problem where anyone who has ever had a code for it could have full access without your knowledge. If you gave the UPS guy a code so he could put your package in the house while you're gone, then changed the code, he could still play around with your WiFi and whatever was connected to it. One guy was being spied on by his ex boyfriend who had the old doorbell code but not the new one, and watched him on video. Probably by wireless security cameras too. I'm sure Ring will fix the next problem too. They're a lot better at it than some other companies.

A couple of guys hacked a Jeep while their willing victim was driving it. They did a few things like blast the stereo and make the windshield wipers come on while spraying the windshield constantly so he couldn't hear or see. Then they killed the engine while he was still on the highway. When he pulled over they killed the brakes and made him go in a ditch. It was just a demonstration but they could do it to several models of Chrysler vehicles anywhere in the world from anywhere else.

[billt]

While all of that may be true. How many times in real world scenarios has it actually happened? What percentage of Jeeps have been "taken over" by hackers? How many Ring doorbell owners have had their homes entered by the same? You are still far better off with one, than you are without. Even the Pentagon gets hacked.

[Pathfinder]

Before you buy a Ring doorbell, do a quick search for "Ring's smart doorbell can leave your house vulnerable to hacks" or just look for "IoT hacks" to find about about "smart" home items in general. The whole Internet of Things (IoT) is vulnerable to hacking.

So vulnerable in fact that the recommendation now is that any IoT device be attached to your network through a dedicated VLAN (virtual local area network) that is isolated through WPA2 (currently the most secure protocol) from your main networks. Don't have it here, but new house will have 5 networks:
1. Main, fastest and most secured, only for my wife and I to use
2. "trusted" for the grownup children
3. "grandkids" with limits and restricts to the internet for what I would hope are obvious reasons
4. guest, also secured, just not so rigorously as the first 2; and
5. IoT, made simpler by the fact that I have only 1 IoT device at the moment, but will be investing in external wireless cameras and possibly a doorbell

This is all set up through the router. I plan to get one with a built-in VPN capability so I can (reasonably) safely use foreign wifis like in hotels with fear of being hacked. I use NordVPN now, but want a full VPN capability from my laptop into my desktop (NordVPN only protects the outbound traffic from the laptop).

[Sponsor]

[Big Frank]

While all of that may be true. How many times in real world scenarios has it actually happened? What percentage of Jeeps have been "taken over" by hackers? How many Ring doorbell owners have had their homes entered by the same? You are still far better off with one, than you are without. Even the Pentagon gets hacked.

No other Jeeps have been taken over by hackers that I know of, but enough people with Ring doorbells have been spied on to make me not want one. A ridiculous number of IoT doorbells and security cameras have been hacked. Two Romanian hackers took over two-thirds of the District of Columbia's outdoor surveillance cameras just before President Trump's inauguration.

In October of 2016 an attack shut down huge parts of the internet including Twitter, the Guardian, Netflix, Reddit, and CNN. It slowed down or fully stopped the internet for nearly the entire East Coast.

The Owlet baby heart monitor is completely unencrypted and doesn’t require any authentication to access. That means that someone can hack into the system if they’re in range and prevent alerts from being sent out to parents. And hackers go from one easy to hack thing to another one on the same WiFi network. The next thing you know they control everything in the house.

An ex-husband cranked up his ex's heat for several days while she was on vacation, driving up the utility bills, then cut the heat off when she got home so it dropped down to 40 degrees in the house. At least two housing blocks in the city of Lappeenranta, Finland were shut down leaving their residents in subzero weather.

In 2016 The FDA confirmed that St. Jude Medical’s implantable cardiac devices have vulnerabilities that could allow a hacker to access a device. Once in, they could deplete the battery or administer incorrect pacing or shocks.

TRENDnet marketed its SecurView cameras for various uses ranging from home security to baby monitoring and claimed they were secure, but they had faulty software that let anyone who obtained a camera’s IP address look through it and sometimes listen as well.

CloudPets toys left the emails and passwords of parents, as well as the message recordings themselves, exposed online to hackers. Anyone within 10 meters with a normal smartphone can just connect to it and send and receive commands and data. Cybercriminals have held the database for ransom at least twice.

The list of hacks on IoT devices goes on and on. There seems to be no end to it.