How to Use a Web Cam to Monitor My House When I Am Away

The Web cam should be angled towards a window, door or center of the room.

The average Web Cam records video, but not all are capable of monitoring your home. For that, you need an IP Web Cam that is compatible with motion detecting software. This activates the camera only after it detects motion, such as when an intruder breaks a window. The biggest challenge of using a Web Cam as a security monitor, is placing it somewhere that is undetectable.

Things You'll Need

• IP web cam
• Computer or laptop
• Monitoring software

Instructions

1. Use Watchdog to record video surveillance, and send the video to the Internet for live viewing. It is capable of recording for long periods of time, and can be set up to record only when movement is detected. An alarm will sound and an email alerts you to the presence of an intruder.

2. Install the Web Cam Monitor to detect both the motion and noise. Alerts can be customized to notify you with an alarm, email or text. You can use a regular Web cam and computer to record the video for later viewing, or use an IP camera with a router to stream the captures online. More than one camera can be used to monitor a larger home.

3. Use Watcher plus RemoteView for a complete monitoring solution. Watch it is needed for basic surveillance, and RemoteView provides real time online broadcasting. It captures motion and compresses the video into short clips. It can alert you by email, ftp upload or telephone.

Tips & Warnings

• The exact setup will vary depending on your camera, PC and type of software used.

References

• California State University; What to Do with Your Old PC; Hubert Huynh; July 2006