Home surveillance and security

[leadcounsel]

Mods, before you delete this as 'off topic,' I suggest this relates to home safety, tactics, and personal and property security, safeguarding our loved ones and our guns, improving situational awareness!

This is currently on sale through 3/30/14 for $400 (normally $500).

Thinking of adding this 8 camera with DVR system to my security system. Great way to beef up security, and couple with your gun safes, lighting, situational awareness, dogs, etc.

Anyone have any experience with installation or use of this Q-See system?

Specific questions regarding ease of installation, quality and durability and whether this connects to Television rather than a monitor...

http://www.costco.com/.product.100096882.html

Or can someone recommend a ~$500 system that is significantly better?

Thanks.

[Woodslab]

Which ever system you get ... Will be nice to see your camera on your smart phone. I think they are great.

[btmj]

I will never have cameras in my home which are linked to an external network... a network which is outside of my total control. A web link to a camera is hackable by bad guys, and with a warrant, it could be used by the government to spy on you without your knowledge.

Close circuit video... maybe yes... video which is managed by a security company over the web? No way.

JIm

[leadcounsel]

It comes with 8 cameras. All or most will be exterior.

I may do 1 camera on the inside of each door, and I see no security threat for external hackers if someone is going to hack... again, we're talking about the level of hacking ability that would not waste time/effort with my measly value...

[skizzums]

if someone is taking the time to hack my system, they could much easier check the driveway/garage to see if they are any cars there

as for the govt/pd being able to hack in, well I never thought about that, im not a criminal ATM, but who knows what laws will be passed in the future

maybe the solution is cctv, or if you want the wireless deal, maybe just for entrance/exits and feed on your valuables to possibly ID intruder after a break in

wouldn't feel comfortable to online feed of my private life or my children, I can see ways that could be taken advantage of.

[STEINER]

After having our car stolen, parked in front of the house, we put in a stand-alone four camera system. It is not connected to an outside agency.
The quality of the night infrared is important. It can be real dark and the
video monitor shows the view like day light.
I think the best way to protect your family and your valuables from theft or
invasion is rought iron window and door guards.
They are not bullet proof but whomever decides to target your house for entry is going to have to make a lot of noise trying to remove the guards.

If you decide on installing them yourself, check you local codes for the
egress requirements.

[Daffy]

I went with Foscam IP cameras and BlueIris software. Very satisfied with my choice. Had cctv before this, too many better things about the IP route.

All my cams are wired (you can saturate 2.4 in your home) total cost of equip was under $500 sans the computer that was there and will always be.

[Garycw]

Looks like a good deal. You'll need camera power supply simease coax, connectors and a ups power supply. You'll also need to set up IP address port forwarding.
I use a EverFocus system with Sony Hyperhad day/night cameras

[OuTcAsT]

I went with Foscam IP cameras and BlueIris software.

+1 on the Blue Iris software, I have it as well, D-Link also makes some great IP cameras that are about 100.00 each ( the PTZ cameras are a bit more expensive ) No DVR Required, records to your computer and, has connectivity to your smart phone/ tablet as well.

[wabashman]

While the link tells me it's out of stock and I cannot view it, I imagine it's very similar to my Night Owl set up I have (as I looked at the Q-See system when I purchased mine). It's extremely easy to install. Is pretty much plug and play and the only 'hard' things you will come across is routing the wires to where you want the cameras.

At least this was my issue. I placed the DVR box on the second floor of the house and had all the wires go from there into the attic, then down the chimney chase into the garage attic and then dispersed them around the porch. Doing this I had to use a couple of the cable extension kits. Setting up the DVR unit itself was really easy, just follow the install sheet that comes with the kit.

With regards to the remote viewing, I cannot comment as I have no internet at my residence.

[Daffy]

I'd go into the differences between a DVR setup versus a setup as I described above but really it comes down to a couple of facts.

1. DVR stuff works ok, you not need to be terribly tech savvy to install it and have it running.

Downside to it is functionality and specific hardware dependence.

2. IP Cams and software if you choose to use it(not needed) can be somewhat more challenging to wire/configure.

Functionality of the cameras is way beyond the cctv ones and the cost margin is close to the same.

Here's a late night visitor from my back yard. Note the time... Pitch black out.

[Pyzon]

You know, anything you do to decrease your vulnerability from the bads will help, to include cameras and the like. When the threads show up on this and other forums questioning "What is the best gun for home defense (for my 80 year old mom, my wife, this and that person...)I always seem to chime in about hardening your perimeter, with better door and window locks, motion detecting lights POINTING OUT INTO YOUR YARD-NOT TOWARDS THE HOUSE AND YOUR EYES, and making up a family SOP regarding things like answering the door with a stranger outside or what to do when the bump in the night occurs. And getting to know your neighbors and what their HD interests and abilities might be is good, so that a neighborhood security perimeter can also be established. Make the dirtballs choose somebody down the block that is easy pickings is what I am saying. But like mentioned here, I have concerns about the security of a web based camera monitoring system that can be cracked. Does it not feed off of your hopefully encrypted network ? Just askin'....

[Dragline45]

I will never have cameras in my home which are linked to an external network... a network which is outside of my total control. A web link to a camera is hackable by bad guys

+1 to this. Last year a major security company had the information for their security cameras leaked. As a result people were able to watch live feed off security cameras in thousands of peoples homes. This went on for months before they fixed it. It didn't even involve hacking to get into the cameras, it was as simple as finding the leaked document on the web and copying and pasting the URL into your web browser. Doing so would give you the live feed of said persons security cameras. Eventually people figured out you could just switch around the combination of numbers and letters in the URL and it would give you access to a different persons security cameras.

[thump_rrr]

Cameras are great when used as part of a complete home security strategy.

Advanced setup features such as MAC filtering can be used to prevent strangers from viewing your camera feeds.

Interior camera feeds can be wired only to activate when the alarm system is armed in the away setting.

I don't need my cameras monitoring me while I am home.

[Garycw]

My cameras to be viewed online need to go to the appropriate website or app then enter a secure user name and password. Otherwise it's not pulled up online. While at home they're used in conjunction with OPTEX wireless 2000 sensors that emit different tone patterns for different areas around the house and lane. At night perimeter and some interior sensors are activated into main alarm system.

[TXAZ]

Get on the supercircuits.com daily deal list. You can get a better deal from their periodic packages than the costco offer, but you will have to wait and watch.

[Daffy]

But like mentioned here, I have concerns about the security of a web based camera monitoring system that can be cracked. Does it not feed off of your hopefully encrypted network ? Just askin'....


Could mine be compromised?? Yeah probably, it would take a bunch of effort though.

Username is not set to "guest" or "me" or even a dictionary searchable term. Basically 2 very difficult passwords for both the username and password.

Since the software running the cameras is port sensitive and I have that port open through my router(port forwarding), port scans could be done on my public IP Address to see what ports are open and the "hacking" at it could commence.

Having done some of this kind of thing in a past life hasn't hurt on knowing better security habits of my own network.

Ok now lets say my system is compromised... Enjoy the view of my driveway and yard.. Only view is possible no adjustments to software or cameras can be done from the web... (Software settings) Oh and I get notified within the software of your IP address, better not be correct to where you live, after I change username/password, you might be in for some bad juju....

I've had this system up for ~ 1 year, never seen any ip address' listed from web access that weren't me.

[OuTcAsT]

I've had this system up for ~ 1 year, never seen any ip address' listed from web access that weren't me.

Same here, been using it for almost 2 years, never had an outside IP that was able to hack my cameras, I check the log daily.

[chris in va]

Be sure and get an HD camera if you can afford it. We had issues with a next door neighbor and a trailer theft so I got a Swann two camera system. The included cameras are supposed to be one level down from HD but night operation is very grainy and vague. The online app is kinda cool though.

[Garycw]

Something in the 700 TVL resolution or better is fine. It's important to get the day/ night cameras for night viewing or just go straight B&W cameras.
I have a cpl of these on porches and use the larger sony HyperHad with bigger lens & sun shields for larger areas

http://www.active-vision.com/acc-v10...me-camera.html

[Yankee Doodle]

I don't mean this to be a joke. I settled for a 95 lb. Akita with an attitude.
Barks loud enough to wake the dead. (except for the poor SOB that breaks in)
Fall back system is a monitored alarm.

[Garycw]

Yankee I've got a 10lb Maltese with a attitude that also runs survailence very well too. I also had a car stolen from my fenced front yard with tow truck which was guarded by a 110lb German Shepard. While I was sleeping

[sliverslinger]

A lot of good fuel for thought..right now I just have motion sensors that trigger lights and an alarm in the house....and a pair of service shepherds for backup. My house sits up on a hill in the woods so I have a pretty good vantage point. (In the winter) Maybe I can get some help from the techs.down at the agency to help me out with some sort of high end encryption...man ...smart phones are still gonna be the vulnerability

[Yankee Doodle]

Gary
To be totally honest, I really don't give too much of a damn if something is stolen from outside my home. That's what homeowners insurance is for. What I concern myself with, is the possibility of some dirtbag getting into the house. Should this happen, he will be in a fight for his life againt a highly trained Akita. That should keep him busy until the law arrives. Average response time around here is less than 10 minutes. They will need an EMS unit with them.
If I, or a family member is at home, the mutt may prove to be the least of his troubles. I have absolutely no desire to have to resort to deadly force, but if it's my family or you, it's you.
I have not had a problem as yet, but being paranoid does not mean that they are not out to get you.

[Aer656y9]

Although web based security systems are not as "secure" as CC systems, the whole purpose behind it is so that the scumbags cannot destroy your equipment. There have been lots of cases where the ****heads get in and realize you have a system in place, they track down all the wires and smash the system to pieces. If you are not backing the video up to something outside of the CC system, then it is lost forever. Even if you back it up to some kind of harddrive, there is still a very good chance they will find it and break it. What usually happens is the perps break in and start doing **** before they realize you have a security system. That is when they are pretty much forced to find all the components and trash your system.

My system uploads the data to an online file storage site. This way, they can destroy my entire system, but I will still have footage of them. So long as they are not wearing masks or something, I will have pretty clear pictures of them. Not to mention, I have a camera right at the receiver, so when they track down the box to destroy it, they have no choice but to look right at the camera.

I have a similar system from costco as well. It is a very good system for the price. I have cameras inside and outside. In total I have about 16 cameras setup. I have found that security systems like ADT do very little to help you out. They might serve as a deterrent but nowadays, there are so many ways past it that good crooks are not bothered by them anymore. Cameras will at least help me identify possible culprits.