DIY : CCTV For Home (Part ONE)

Getting The Items Ready

Many people thinks that buying CCTV system is expensive and waste for only home environment. it is not true. from what i was thinking is, CCTV system is a must to prevent any crime on your property whether property theft, accident, and etc.

Today, i gonna tell you that under 200 bucks can get u CCTV system to your house. The item that we need is will be put in below list:

1. ANY IP camera. Come in 2 choices whether to used Wifi or Cable.
2. A SERVER. Can used old pc. the one which collecting dust around the corner. Must Have OS at least XP
3. ANY Router. the connection between server and IP camera. need to port forwarding the CCTV port.
4. ANY RJ45 Cable. Connection between Router to SERVER.
5. An Internet Connection. This one is OPTIONAL.

Overview

Camera

For this experiment, i choose Dlink DCS-920 IP Camera for home surveillance system. This camera come in 2 option whether to use Wifi or cable in a box. so its handy when to configure to Server or Router. This camera also have motion detection region or this system called Smart Recording. Smart Recording reduce your hard disk consumption because it only record when there are movements detect on the camera including shadows. To configure this thing is not very hard. Just it need to be configure using Cable first before you can use the Wifi. The pixel of this camera is up to 640 X 480 HQVGA which means the pixel are crystal clear in range 10m ~ 30m.

Router 

Probably you should buy router that come with Wifi Antenna. I said so because we need to design SmartHome Surveillance system. So less cable means more secure. Thief doesn't know where you put your server is, what cable should they cut. The hardest part for none-IT people in this is every router comes with different menu when come to port forwarding. for example, for Dlink DIR-600, the port forwarding fall under Advanced Menu. I personally don't know what other Router port forwarding categories is.

Server

Many people think if wanna server, u need to buy it. Why not you build one? Okay, take old pc that you don't use anymore. Clean it up. After cleaning it, please install at least Windows XP. Then, if you used Dlink IP Camera, they should provide you with CD Installation. Install the CD content and don't forget to configure IP for the camera and server at this server! many people done mistake that he/she thinks the CD is for camera's driver but it is not. The CD is Installation Program For The Server. After installing and configuring it, it become a server. This part is done.

Cable RJ45

Why we used cable? because the connection from pc to router need to be establish using LAN Cable or we called it RJ45. You also can convert the cable by installing the USB Wifi Dongle at server. its the same thing.

Just remember. Only Camera is using Wifi. because we need it to be secure.

Internet Connection

This is an optional where you can view your CCTV Live Streaming from internet to your house. If you want to do it, first you need to sign up at dyndns.com and register your server public IP. Then from there, you will need to setup your server to be able to play live streaming. I will explain in part 2 later.

So guys, are you with me? if you not understand any part of this section, please kindly inform me by leaving your comment or email me..

Part 2 in near future...

10 Fast and Free Security Enhancements

Before you spend a dime on security, there are many precautions you can take that will protect you against the most common threats.

1. Check Windows Update and Office Update regularly (_http://office.microsoft.com/productupdates); have your Office CD ready. Windows Me, 2000, and XP users can configure automatic updates. Click on the Automatic Updates tab in the System control panel and choose the appropriate options.

2. Install a personal firewall. Both SyGate (_www.sygate.com) and ZoneAlarm (_www.zonelabs.com) offer free versions.




3. Install a free spyware blocker. Our Editors' Choice ("Spyware," April 22) was SpyBot Search & Destroy (_http://security.kolla.de). SpyBot is also paranoid and ruthless in hunting out tracking cookies.

4. Block pop-up spam messages in Windows NT, 2000, or XP by disabling the Windows Messenger service (this is unrelated to the instant messaging program). Open Control Panel | Administrative Tools | Services and you'll see Messenger. Right-click and go to Properties. Set Start-up Type to Disabled and press the Stop button. Bye-bye, spam pop-ups! Any good firewall will also stop them.

5. Use strong passwords and change them periodically. Passwords should have at least seven characters; use letters and numbers and have at least one symbol. A decent example would be f8izKro@l. This will make it much harder for anyone to gain access to your accounts.

6. If you're using Outlook or Outlook Express, use the current version or one with the Outlook Security Update installed. The update and current versions patch numerous vulnerabilities.

7. Buy antivirus software and keep it up to date. If you're not willing to pay, try Grisoft AVG Free Edition (Grisoft Inc., w*w.grisoft.com). And doublecheck your AV with the free, online-only scanners available at w*w.pandasoftware.com/activescan and _http://housecall.trendmicro.com.

8. If you have a wireless network, turn on the security features: Use MAC filtering, turn off SSID broadcast, and even use WEP with the biggest key you can get. For more, check out our wireless section or see the expanded coverage in Your Unwired World in our next issue.

9. Join a respectable e-mail security list, such as the one found at our own Security Supersite at _http://security.ziffdavis.com, so that you learn about emerging threats quickly and can take proper precautions.

10. Be skeptical of things on the Internet. Don't assume that e-mail "From:" a particular person is actually from that person until you have further reason to believe it's that person. Don't assume that an attachment is what it says it is. Don't give out your password to anyone, even if that person claims to be from "support."