IP camera

LoveCoke

http://www.pixmania.ie/ie/uk/12620798/art/power-star/nip-02-motorised-wireless.html

I wonder what you guys think of the the above. Is an IP camera a security risk?

CreepingDeath

LoveCoke wrote: »

http://www.pixmania.ie/ie/uk/12620798/art/power-star/nip-02-motorised-wireless.html

I wonder what you guys think of the the above. Is an IP camera a security risk?

It's a FosCam clone... €59.90 excluding a min delivery of €8.99 from PixMania.

But a similar/identical spec/looking one on DealExtreme is $49.70 (note dollars = roughly €38 with free shipping )

But DealExtreme usually take at good 6 weeks to delivery, with painfully slow shipping.

DealExtreme Link

It depends on what you mean by security risk.
If you want to access the camera over the internet, then you'll open ports in your routers firewall to let you connect to it.
Now you can make that port anything, typically 4000 - 65535, so it's not obviously without a port scan that you've an internet camera running.

They are protected by a simple password system, letting you have administrator passwords and guest users.
But if you set up the camera to use to connect to your router wirelessly, or set up the camera to e-mail you when it detects motion, then the administration pages of the camera have your wireless network key and your e-mail account & password.
So it depends on how paranoid you are....

Set a huge random password for the administration and user passwords, and don't user your main e-mail account and you should be okay I imagine.

LoveCoke

CreepingDeath wrote: »

It's a FosCam clone... €59.90 excluding a min delivery of €8.99 from PixMania.

But a similar/identical spec/looking one on DealExtreme is $49.70 (note dollars = roughly €38 with free shipping )

But DealExtreme usually take at good 6 weeks to delivery, with painfully slow shipping.

DealExtreme Link

It depends on what you mean by security risk.
If you want to access the camera over the internet, then you'll open ports in your routers firewall to let you connect to it.
Now you can make that port anything, typically 4000 - 65535, so it's not obviously without a port scan that you've an internet camera running.

They are protected by a simple password system, letting you have administrator passwords and guest users.
But if you set up the camera to use to connect to your router wirelessly, or set up the camera to e-mail you when it detects motion, then the administration pages of the camera have your wireless network key and your e-mail account & password.
So it depends on how paranoid you are....

Set a huge random password for the administration and user passwords, and don't user your main e-mail account and you should be okay I imagine.

Thanks
Does that happen when you use a web cam and a software program like yawcam to send an email on motion detection? And what do you mean the administration pages of the camera? Who has access to that?

Also getting that from deal extreme would import duty ? Also i see it is only for indoor, would there be a similar outdoor one

It's a FosCam clone...

would it be considered good specs?it got mostly good reviews on deal extreme

CreepingDeath

LoveCoke wrote: »

Thanks
Does that happen when you use a web cam and a software program like yawcam to send an email on motion detection?

No, it wouldn't have an issue there, but then you need a dedicated PC to run YawCam.

My foscam will detect motion and send 5 pictures over 5 seconds when it detects motion to my e-mail address.
To do that, it needed me to type in my e-mail address and password.

I bought a new FI9820W FosCam which was a complete disaster, but I made sure I blanked out all my network and e-mail credentials before sending it back.

LoveCoke wrote: »

And what do you mean the administration pages of the camera? Who has access to that?

If it's like my FosCam, then you have different passwords for the webcam administrator and normal users who just have access to view the video.
So you're typically protected.

But if someone was to try brute forcing the password of the administrator page, I'm not sure if the camera locks down after X bad attempts.
So a strong password is essential.

LoveCoke wrote: »

Also getting that from deal extreme would import duty ?

Yeah, I forgot about import duty.
You may or may not get caught for that... I've got loads of things from DealExtreme... maybe a dozen orders, but only one got stopped for import duty once.

LoveCoke wrote: »

Also i see it is only for indoor, would there be a similar outdoor one

Your original link was for an indoor one.
Pan & tilt outdoor cameras tend to be pricey "dome" type ones.

LoveCoke wrote: »

would it be considered good specs?it got mostly good reviews on deal extreme

640x480 is an "average" resolution, not great.
If you're using it say in an upstairs window to view a garden/drive then you won't be able to make out faces if you want a security record.

But higher end high definition ones will be at least €100.

LoveCoke

CreepingDeath wrote: »

No, it wouldn't have an issue there, but then you need a dedicated PC to run YawCam.

My foscam will detect motion and send 5 pictures over 5 seconds when it detects motion to my e-mail address.
To do that, it needed me to type in my e-mail address and password.

I bought a new FI9820W FosCam which was a complete disaster, but I made sure I blanked out all my network and e-mail credentials before sending it back.



If it's like my FosCam, then you have different passwords for the webcam administrator and normal users who just have access to view the video.
So you're typically protected.

But if someone was to try brute forcing the password of the administrator page, I'm not sure if the camera locks down after X bad attempts.
So a strong password is essential.



Yeah, I forgot about import duty.
You may or may not get caught for that... I've got loads of things from DealExtreme... maybe a dozen orders, but only one got stopped for import duty once.



Your original link was for an indoor one.
Pan & tilt outdoor cameras tend to be pricey "dome" type ones.



640x480 is an "average" resolution, not great.
If you're using it say in an upstairs window to view a garden/drive then you won't be able to make out faces if you want a security record.

But higher end high definition ones will be at least €100.

My foscam will detect motion and send 5 pictures over 5 seconds when it detects motion to my e-mail address.
To do that, it needed me to type in my e-mail address and password.

I can't remember if it was yawcam or another software i used with a webcam and I had to type an email address and password. is that subject to the administration pages of the camera have[ing] your wireless network key

Your original link was for an indoor one.

sorry. It would do indoor looking out window except for night when the Ir would be reflected

Why do you need a dedicated pc for yawcam?

Thanks for the info;);)

CreepingDeath

LoveCoke wrote: »

I can't remember if it was yawcam or another software i used with a webcam and I had to type an email address and password. is that subject to the administration pages of the camera have[ing] your wireless network key

No.
Both webcams, your link and mine can have a network cable plugged directly into them.

But... they also can be wireless.
So you only need a power cable for them, which is handy if you want to move them around the house.
If you choose to use it wirelessly, then you have to give the camera your network SSID and password.
If fairness, that's low risk, as someone would have to be within your wireless router range to use it if they got it.
So, maybe you can write that off as paranoid.

LoveCoke wrote: »

sorry. It would do indoor looking out window except for night when the Ir would be reflected

Yeah, you need to disable the IR leds at night alright.
Even then, I just get "reasonable" images at night through a window, of my driveway, because we've a streetlamp across the road.

LoveCoke wrote: »

Why do you need a dedicated pc for yawcam?

Thanks for the info;);)

Well there's two use cases.
1. If you want Yawcam to run all night and record your webcam footage.
Then you'll need some program running and recording.
2. If you just want to casually view live footage.
Then the IP camera can be viewed via a web page, or a smart phone app.

I use the Android app "IP Cam Viewer" and actually paid for the full version it's that good. One of the very few paid apps I have.

I'm messing around with plug computers and the Raspberry Pi, to write my own software to record the footage from webcams and IP cameras.
It's work in progress, but plug computers/Raspberry Pi are low cost & low power mini-computers which can be left on all day.

There are Linux applications like ZoneMinder which are nice free systems which provide recording, motion detection etc...

LoveCoke

CreepingDeath wrote: »

No.
Both webcams, your link and mine can have a network cable plugged directly into them.

But... they also can be wireless.
So you only need a power cable for them, which is handy if you want to move them around the house.
If you choose to use it wirelessly, then you have to give the camera your network SSID and password.
If fairness, that's low risk, as someone would have to be within your wireless router range to use it if they got it.
So, maybe you can write that off as paranoid.



Yeah, you need to disable the IR leds at night alright.
Even then, I just get "reasonable" images at night through a window, of my driveway, because we've a streetlamp across the road.



Well there's two use cases.
1. If you want Yawcam to run all night and record your webcam footage.
Then you'll need some program running and recording.
2. If you just want to casually view live footage.
Then the IP camera can be viewed via a web page, or a smart phone app.

I use the Android app "IP Cam Viewer" and actually paid for the full version it's that good. One of the very few paid apps I have.

I'm messing around with plug computers and the Raspberry Pi, to write my own software to record the footage from webcams and IP cameras.
It's work in progress, but plug computers/Raspberry Pi are low cost & low power mini-computers which can be left on all day.

There are Linux applications like ZoneMinder which are nice free systems which provide recording, motion detection etc...

If you choose to use it wirelessly, then you have to give the camera your network SSID and password.

Do you have to do that with a printer? My printer appears in my router. I cannot recall if i gave it SSID and password

Thanks

CreepingDeath

LoveCoke wrote: »

Do you have to do that with a printer? My printer appears in my router. I cannot recall if i gave it SSID and password

Thanks

If your printer is connected directly via a network cable you don't need it.
If your printer is connected wirelessly, you would've have to set it to to connect to your network, that includes selecting the SSID and password.

LoveCoke

CreepingDeath wrote: »

If your printer is connected directly via a network cable you don't need it.
If your printer is connected wirelessly, you would've have to set it to to connect to your network, that includes selecting the SSID and password.

But aren't all the things connected wirelessly protected by the router being WPA2?

my printer is wireless but i do not recall selecting SSID and password