How to Set Up a Webcam and Securely Transfer Surveillance Footage without the Cloud
Trust is a wonderful thing, but it’s not an easy or an automatic thing these days – especially in your home or business. Sometimes you need a little extra security to ease your worries – and to promote growth. You might not immediately connect security and growth, but they’re linked in many strategic ways.
Let’s consider a business example. Let’s say your organization is experiencing prohibitive amounts of product loss. Your investigation hasn’t turned up any significant problems in inventory or distribution, and the timing is funny. The losses began all of a sudden, and you suspect the problem is workforce related. What do you do?
You could hire a security company to come in and do a full work up on your office, but that would require a financial investment you might not want to make. Plus, if you did that, it would inform your probable thief that the “take what you want” game is over, and they’ll stop – but you won’t know who they are. That means you’ll still have an untrustworthy character on your payroll.
A webcam security monitoring system could help you ID the problem, and it doesn’t have to cost a lot or take long to deploy. All you need are a few laptops – at least two positioned wherever you suspect there is a problem – and an internet connection so you can download some software.
It’s like installing a nanny cam for the office. Or, one of those home security systems, that essentially install a webcam for your front door to psyche out would-be burglars. You’ve probably seen the commercials. A suspicious character comes to the front door of a nice-looking house and starts to poke around. Out of thin air an authoritative voice asks: “Can I help you?” The suspicious character does one of two things: runs away or starts to talk. If it’s the latter, the home owner responds by talking through his – or her – phone as though he was sitting at ease in his favorite recliner at home.
There are easily a dozen other applications where a webcam security monitoring system would come in handy for personal or professional use. But most people discount this kind of technology as a viable security measure because of the cost.
But you don’t have to invest thousands of dollars in a high-tech security system to keep an eye on your home or business. Most companies already have extra laptops around that have cameras installed. The only other thing you really need is a good internet connection to download iSpy, or some other surveillance software, and Binfer.
Here’s what you do:
Phase 1
- Install Binfer on two computers, and log in on both computers.
- Download iSpy camera software on the computer that will be the camera monitor, and follow the steps to install it.
- Launch it.
- Add local camera. Hit okay.
- Select Recording and disable. Hit no recording.
- Go to images. Click local saving enabled.
- Set minimum delay to five seconds.
- Hit finish.
- Once the camera shows up, right click and hit show files.
- Open the grabs directory.
- Select and copy the file path to this location
Phase 2
- Go to Binfer.
- Click on New (upper right hand corner)
- Select Sync
- Fill in the information required.
- For Name, type the name “Webcam” or whatever you like.
- Click on Folder, paste the folder location from step 11 and hit select folder
- Under Devices, select/click the receiving device.
- Click + symbol (top right beside grey vertical menu box) to add sync rule. Refer to our tutorial on how to create a new sync rule if you need help.
The best thing about your newly built webcam security monitoring system is because you’re syncing data through Binfer, it’s completely private. None of it depends on cloud uploads, so there is no data stored on servers somewhere outside your control. You will always know where your data is.
You can use Binfer to create a sync rule that transfers your surveillance data to the central location of your choice, and you’ll have access to all of the images captured in a report that logs and refreshes itself in real time. You can track who has access to your surveillance data, and you have a central place from which to analyze it – and take action if necessary.
It’s important to note that typical camera footage storage problems don’t apply. With Binfer you don’t need some complicated FTP set up, and you’re not limited to a specific time period because you only have so much storage capacity. Without diving too deep into our technical magic, your data is easily accessible and secure because Binfer doesn’t store any of it on the cloud or any other server.
On a macro level, this isn’t about setting up surveillance cameras to invade anyone’s privacy. For instance, you’re not storing data with the intention of selling it to a third-party without their permission. It’s about securing your home or company assets, potentially ensuring your employees or your family’s safety.
When it comes to security at home or at the office, everything counts. You need to know what’s going on so you can plan, improve, grow, and thrive. This simple webcam monitoring hack using private, secure data file transfer software can help you with that.
Here’s a summary of some of the ways you can use this webcam surveillance system and Binfer’s file transfer software and non-cloud based storage solution to protect your home or business:
- Nanny cam
- Home security
- Office surveillance
- Work or staff monitoring
- Theft protection
Here’s a video to walk you through the process. We basically hit the main steps for you visually.