Worried about unsavory individuals lurking around your office or home and jacking your computer gear? Have no fear! With the help of your Windows PC, webcam, some free software, and
this handy tutorial from Simplehelp, you can set up a reasonably sophisticated DIY security system. The core of the tutorial is
Dorgem, an open source utility that captures images from your webcam and can save images based on "storage events," e.g. every 30 seconds or every time it detects motion. Since having photos of your intruder on your computer isn't very useful after the computer is gone, Dorgem has the ability to send the files to an external server via FTP or HTTP, or hand the files off to another program. The tutorial also covers more advanced techniques, like setting up multiple webcams and hiding your webcam from sight.
Tags: camera, dorgem, free, freeware, motion, opensource, security, theft, video, webcam
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Comments
9
Subscribe to commentsmidwestmusicSep 28th 2006 2:30PM
That sounds like a seriously complicated webcam, but it's a great idea none the less.
masterSep 28th 2006 2:53PM
Great! I'll try it as soon as I get a webcam - in a month or so )
RossSep 28th 2006 3:05PM
Thx downloadsquad folks :) I'm frantically working on the OS X and Linux versions of the same tutorial..
Cheers,
Ross
Gardiner WestboundSep 28th 2006 3:49PM
Logitech webcams come with a similar program.
MaxSep 28th 2006 5:34PM
I wanted this program for half a year! I just forgot to search for it :)
ScOObyDooSep 28th 2006 5:59PM
I use Active Webcam from Pysoft (not related to them), I'm running 8 webcams all at the same time, all on screen with motion detection on 4 of them. It'll record for me and email me snapshots of motion. Not free, but when I was testing them it was the best I could find.
ThomasSep 28th 2006 9:11PM
If you're trying to do it on Linux, the hardest part is getting the drivers for your webcam. Once you have that you can use programs like "camstream" or "camE" to take and store the pictures at any interval. Then you can bundle that with an app called "motion" to save video when the camera detects movement. I just did this last weekend on my Fedora box.
OMACSep 29th 2006 10:48AM
Creative webcams also have this feature, you can email the pics as they happen or post it to a website. You can even have it play a sound when motion is detected.
Sean HattawayOct 3rd 2006 12:01PM
This is very helpful. This'll do a lot when we add this to our security systems, especially at home.