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Set-up a Ubuntu webcam security system

infectedproject.wordpress.com — Have you ever wanted to spy on what is happing while you are away from your home? Motion is a great piece of open source software that acts as a motion detector. This is a fairly easy guide on how to Motion set-up and running.

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  • polyGone, on 10/11/2007, -0/+24Wow, I was just looking for something like this! The digg organism is genius!
    • myranttoyou, on 10/11/2007, -18/+0Wow, I was waiting 2 minutes for another useless Ubuntu story to hit the front page. Finally! Too bad it didn't have BREAKING or AMAZING in the title. This could be done on any OS.
      • buu700, on 08/26/2008, -2/+7Yes, but more GNU/Linux hype can only be good, right? (I'm an altruist.) As of now, Ubuntu is arguably the most popular distribution and the one that is "standardizing" Linux, ensuring compatibility with most Linux programs being developed with minimal effort. Also, the newcomers to Linux who would otherwise be intimidated by the huge amount of distributions and go back to Windows, or choose a distribution that happens to be not user-friendly and go back to Windows thinking that is what all Linux distributions are like (and then mention to their friends if it ever comes up "Oh yeah I've tried Linux before. Don't waste your time. It makes no sense, and almost the entire thing is text-based"), hear about this "Ubuntu" that is supposed to be so good that Dell and other manufacturers are selling it and it is often compared to even Vista, or search Google for Linux and see that Ubuntu is the first result that isn't about Linux in general. So naturally they go to Wikipedia and ubuntu.com read about how great it is. Then, of course, they're skeptical (as demonstrated nicely by "Jerry Lee Cooper" in his "Linux runs on Windows" post lol). "How could they suddenly make an operating system that supposedly rivals Windows, and then GIVE IT AWAY FOR FREE??? How would they make money? (Spyware/adware perhaps?) This just doesn't add up." So, after learning that Ubuntu is a version of Linux, they go to linux.com (where else would they go?), and the first thing they see is "What is Linux?" - http://www.linux.com/whatislinux/114354. After reading about the history of GNU/Linux and how the quest for a free and open source operating system was started before Windows even existed (and how open source EVEN WORKS/MAKES SENSE), they will become less skeptical, and decide to try out this Ubuntu. Most of them will have a great experience with Ubuntu, because of it's great hardware detection, UI, preconfigured software, speed advantage over Windows on older hardware, etc. (not that any of this is exclusive to Ubuntu), because for the ones who just want to do basic things like browse the web, play music/videos, play a few games (games like solitaire, not like World of Warcraft, although some people have gotten this working in WINE), etc., it "just works," and for the "power users," if there is anything they need help with, they will generally have the sense to look up "Problem X ubuntu" in Google, where, chances are, the first thing they find will be a thread in the Ubuntu Forums by someone who had the same problem or a similar problem, which will most likely help them resolve the problem quickly, as well as give them that sense of accomplishment at having learned to do something in Linux. With manufacturers such as Dell selling computers with Ubuntu preinstalled, Linux is becoming increasingly accessible to consumers, and more and more consumers will make the choice to leave Microsoft when purchasing a new computer after receiving increasing amounts of recommendations from friends and/or websites (or, for less technically inclined people, the News/newspapers/magazines). Anyways, more Ubuntu hype can only be helpful in the downfall of Microsoft, right?
  • benanzo, on 10/11/2007, -0/+22OMG me too! There's been a prowler in my neighborhood and I plan to set motion to snap a picture of him and play a pre-recorded mp3 telling him to "stay the ***** away from my apartment building you perv!" whenever he walks by. Genius.
    • aDJsavedmylife, on 10/11/2007, -0/+3Thing is it will say that to everyone who walks past :(
      • benanzo, on 10/11/2007, -1/+1My window is on the side facing the adjacent building. No one walks through there after midnight but him. But that would be funny to set it during the day and play it on everybody.
  • NikoKun, on 10/11/2007, -1/+41I setup a security camera in my room for while I was at college classes, just as a precaution... (It's a very good idea!)
    And one day, my brother broke into my apartment (which he did not live in) and stole my DVDs and videogames.
    The video came in REAL handy to prove he was stealing things from me, I'd been loosing things like that for years and years...
    So I filed a police report, found the Game/CD pawn store he sold them too, got some of my stuff back... and he spent a month in jail... little bastard.
    • antdude, on 10/11/2007, -1/+4Your brother? What did you two do to cause this conflict?
      • Wrathernaut, on 10/11/2007, -0/+4My guess would be that his brother got into drugs or some other addiction. I may have fought from time to time with my brothers, but theft and pawning was never a form of retribution.
      • NikoKun, on 10/11/2007, -0/+4My brother was just a jerk who didn't like me... gang involvement... rap music... total opposite from me... lol
    • NerveBand, on 10/11/2007, -0/+13Your brother? Wow. What a ***** ***** your brother is.
    • rpgmaker, on 10/11/2007, -1/+3Wow, to your own brother...
      • NikoKun, on 10/11/2007, -0/+3Dont forget what he did to me, I've been loosing DVDs and games since high school, all in all around $800 worth of property... and he wasn't just stealing from me either... he stole things from stores and stuff... Always got off easy... so when I finally caught him, and pressed charges him he finally got some punishment... and learned his lesson... He's a bit more law abiding now... lol

        We didn't intend for him to spend 30 days in jail, but the prosecutor was an *****... Course technically my brother did break into an empty house and stole stuff...

        On a side note, he even stole stuff from my parents during this same incident...
        • jawbreaker4fs, on 10/11/2007, -0/+1That's still pretty dick, man.
    • shortidancer, on 10/11/2007, -0/+1Sounds like my brother. Except he does it while I'm standing there
    • phenolholic, on 10/11/2007, -2/+1wow. this is one ***** up family tree. i should say shrub. was he using the money and buying crack/meth? most people in the stolen dvd/game trade are rabid crack/meth smokers.
  • jer2eydevil88, on 10/11/2007, -0/+7Anyone know of outdoor nightvision motion sensor cameras that have Linux Drivers and offer a decent resolution?

    -- Yeah its a lot of features but they make a big difference.
    • epohs, on 10/11/2007, -0/+3I'm looking for a good linux friendly webcam too. A list would be greatly appreciated.
    • theuser15, on 10/11/2007, -0/+1I use a camera like this: http://www.ktnc.co.kr/product_02_06.asp , then you can connect it to a TV capture card that is supported by Linux and you're good to go. It works pretty well at night, and it helped me to catch a local burglar who broke into a neighbor's house: http://www.lavrsen.dk/twiki/bin/view/Motion/BurglarCaughtWithMotion . Good luck!
    • dagar, on 10/11/2007, -0/+3Its easier to get a cheap infrared camera from ebay (I have a wireless one that was $20) and use a capture card (another $15 or so on ebay). Overall you'll get much better support than some random usb camera. Those capture cards with bttv chips (virtually all of them) work better in linux than they do in windows.
    • generalloy, on 10/11/2007, -0/+1http://mxhaard.free.fr/spca5xx.html

      Look for any cams on that list
    • greenmt, on 10/11/2007, -0/+3Getting back to the geek roots of digg. I'd like to see a feature/tab (tech advice) up near the top for threads like this. Something like buy web cam XYZ and it works w/ ZYX software. Or I couldn't get it to work w/ ABC, anyone know about it?
  • myranttoyou, on 10/11/2007, -8/+2*yawn* Any web cam or network cam from anyone i.e. linksys will do this.

    It's been out forever, and they now do higher resolution movies and can even email you. Or you can view the cam remotely.
    • myranttoyou, on 10/11/2007, -7/+1And without any command lines!!!!
      • LingNoi, on 10/11/2007, -0/+4Yeah but how much does it cost compared to a little work on your end?
  • xSeg, on 10/11/2007, -0/+3nice article. I wasn't even thinking of doing this but I think I will now!
  • aseidl, on 10/11/2007, -1/+6For something a little more powerful, look into ZoneMinder (www.zoneminder.com).
  • pathway, on 10/11/2007, -0/+7While Motion looks interesting, I use the other "security camera" linux software: Zoneminder. Check it out: www.zoneminder.org

    I'll have to read more about Motion to see what it capabilities are compared to ZM.

    --Pathway
  • pHr34kY, on 10/11/2007, -0/+5I did that on my server about a month ago. Then due to a short cable on my webcam, I can only monitor people who open the closet that my server resides in :(

    The original intention was to point it at the front lawn and catch the pirck that stole 30,000 litres of water over the last quarter.

    Anyway, motion is quite configurable, and it seems to 'just work'.
  • nusuni, on 10/11/2007, -9/+1Enough with the damn iPhone and Ubuntu stories!
  • phantomAI, on 10/11/2007, -0/+2which webcam is recommended?
  • nepawoods, on 10/11/2007, -0/+2How many cameras (same make and model, preferably cheap USB ones) can I hook up to a single machine? If I can get past the "just one" limitation with this, it's useful.
  • buu700, on 08/26/2008, -5/+2"Wow, I was waiting 2 minutes for another useless Ubuntu story to hit the front page. Finally! Too bad it didn't have BREAKING or AMAZING in the title. This could be done on any OS."

    Yes, but more GNU/Linux hype can only be good, right? (I'm an altruist.) As of now, Ubuntu is arguably the most popular distribution and the one that is "standardizing" Linux, ensuring compatibility with most Linux programs being developed with minimal effort. Also, the newcomers to Linux who would otherwise be intimidated by the huge amount of distributions and go back to Windows, or choose a distribution that happens to be not user-friendly and go back to Windows thinking that is what all Linux distributions are like (and then mention to their friends if it ever comes up "Oh yeah I've tried Linux before. Don't waste your time. It makes no sense, and almost the entire thing is text-based"), hear about this "Ubuntu" that is supposed to be so good that Dell and other manufacturers are selling it and it is often compared to even Vista, or search Google for Linux and see that Ubuntu is the first result that isn't about Linux in general. So naturally they go to Wikipedia and ubuntu.com read about how great it is. Then, of course, they're skeptical (as demonstrated nicely by "Jerry Lee Cooper" in his "Linux runs on Windows" post lol). "How could they suddenly make an operating system that supposedly rivals Windows, and then GIVE IT AWAY FOR FREE??? How would they make money? (Spyware/adware perhaps?) This just doesn't add up." So, after learning that Ubuntu is a version of Linux, they go to linux.com (where else would they go?), and the first thing they see is "What is Linux?" - http://www.linux.com/whatislinux/114354. After reading about the history of GNU/Linux and how the quest for a free and open source operating system was started before Windows even existed (and how open source EVEN WORKS/MAKES SENSE), they will become less skeptical, and decide to try out this Ubuntu. Most of them will have a great experience with Ubuntu, because of it's great hardware detection, UI, preconfigured software, speed advantage over Windows on older hardware, etc. (not that any of this is exclusive to Ubuntu), because for the ones who just want to do basic things like browse the web, play music/videos, play a few games (games like solitaire, not like World of Warcraft, although some people have gotten this working in WINE), etc., it "just works," and for the "power users," if there is anything they need help with, they will generally have the sense to look up "Problem X ubuntu" in Google, where, chances are, the first thing they find will be a thread in the Ubuntu Forums by someone who had the same problem or a similar problem, which will most likely help them resolve the problem quickly, as well as give them that sense of accomplishment at having learned to do something in Linux. With manufacturers such as Dell selling computers with Ubuntu preinstalled, Linux is becoming increasingly accessible to consumers, and more and more consumers will make the choice to leave Microsoft when purchasing a new computer after receiving increasing amounts of recommendations from friends and/or websites (or, for less technically inclined people, the News/newspapers/magazines). Anyways, more Ubuntu hype can only be helpful in the downfall of Microsoft, right?
    • Malachai, on 10/11/2007, -1/+2Right!


      Now what did you say?
    • Malachai, on 10/11/2007, -1/+1Right!


      Now what did you say?
    • Malachai, on 10/11/2007, -1/+1Blast. A duplicate post makes a lame jab at someone even lamer.

      I guess I have to figure out the comment system if I want to make smart-aleck remarks.
      • buu700, on 08/26/2008, -0/+1Why bother to comment on a post if you didn't even read it? First of all, I didn't take a "jab" at anybody. I was arguing why all this Ubuntu hype can only be good for GNU/Linux in general. Second of all, I only made a duplicate post because to see the original one, you had to view the replies to a post, show a buried comment, and then look at the replies to that buried comment, which I doubt most people would do (I bet about 90% of the people who read your comment didn't even know what you were talking about when you mentioned a duplicate post), and I wanted people [who were getting annoyed by all these Ubuntu articles making it to the front page] to be able to see my post, because it was a really good argument (I assume people only dugg me down here because they saw that it was a duplicate post, although the original post got dugg up :-)).

        EDIT: After rereading your comments, I think your third one was probably referring to your own duplicate post and "lame jab at someone," not mine lol. (I get the joke now... that WAS a really long post I made...)
  • vvaduva, on 10/11/2007, -6/+1what makes this a "ubuntu" install? Why not "A guide to install Motion on your system?"

    You ubuntu fanboys are really starting to get on my nerves...I marked this as inaccurate. Self-serving jackasses...
  • JiggNJive, on 10/11/2007, -0/+2Great guide, thanks! :)
  • cantormath, on 10/11/2007, -0/+1Awesome.
  • phenolholic, on 10/11/2007, -0/+3use zoneminder. best software for security/cctv camera, bar none.
  • weebit, on 10/11/2007, -0/+1Sweet!
  • DeadlySin, on 10/11/2007, -0/+2A similar and easier (I suppose) way to do this is use Dorgem (free).
  • zabouth, on 10/11/2007, -0/+5If you run windows just install a peace of software called catspy its free http://www.catspy.de/
  • andshewas, on 10/11/2007, -1/+5What's with all these Ubuntu haters? What's to hate? Some of us actually use Ubuntu and love tips and tricks. Get over it - it's not a fad.
    • GiggleStick, on 10/11/2007, -0/+4It might be because people just put Ubuntu in the title to get diggs, when 97 times out of 100, it' something that applies to any version of Linux.
    • weizbox, on 10/11/2007, -0/+1agree@GiggleStick

      I don't think it has anything to do with the distro itself, its a fine distro. I think its more so the digg community that makes sure to use it in titles to to gain popularity.

      Almost 50% of the popular Linux/Unix articles have Ubuntu in the title, even if they are the same articles over and over again (like how Dell sells computers with Ubuntu, gee-wizz!), or if they are about something that can be done in any distro (such as this article).

      It's clearly not all digg either, the bloggers are putting it in their titles as well to get more hits... and to be honest it just seems to cheapen Ubuntu that much more to see how easily led around the Ubuntu fanboys can be.

      • andshewas, on 10/11/2007, -0/+1I'm just not sure I understand why someone would care if they had more diggs. I mean, do you get points or something? Because if there's points...well, I get it.
  • Jonny0stars, on 10/11/2007, -2/+3Set-up a LINUX webcam security system, why must everything be Ubuntu its good but its slowly replacing "Linux" as a word
    • weizbox, on 10/11/2007, -0/+2Hey now, Mr.Shuttleworth didn't dump 10mil into getting his distro popular for nothing. =P
  • xlivevilx, on 10/11/2007, -0/+1i want to do this and rig up an automatic flikr upload with email....long story short have it in my dorm room, and it takes a picture of everyone entering and leaving the room

    or possibly even send the first one,and i reply with "auth" or "unauth" or something like that. if its my roommate it stops taking pictures of him,but if its anyone else, and hence unauthorized it would start a streaming video to my phone, and save it on the server


    the other ideas this sparked in me is something with this setup,but im able to text an email from my phone and receive the corresponding image from whatever webcam i have set up that i requested it from

    and back on the first part,if there not authorized it can set off sirens or ill call the dorms phone or soemthing
    this is sweet,theres so much potential for variants that this could be sweet
    • BoneheadFarker, on 10/11/2007, -0/+0Learn a little Perl scripting, and this should be easy enough. If you've already got the camera system setup, you've done the hard part. Sending an email of the pics will be trivial.
  • cjenks, on 10/11/2007, -0/+0Extensive documentation and discussion of motion is available here:

    http://www.lavrsen.dk/twiki/bin/view/Motion/WebHome

    Although USB webcams are cheap and convenient to set up, their main limitation is the short (~15 foot max) cable that tethers them to your computer. There are ways to extend the range, but they tend to cost as much as going to standard CCTV cameras. After extensive experimentation, what I've settled on is a single Bt878-chip four-channel video capture card (~$25, ebay), 50 - 100 foot "Siamese" RG59 video/audio/power cable (~$20 each on ebay, 1 per camera), and four non-bottom-of-the-line CCTV cameras ($80 each on ebay, such as the "1/3" CCD Pinhole Spy Surveillance Hidden Color Camera" by Panvigor). Many people swear by the four Bt878-chip capture card, but it costs as much as four single chip multiplexing cards, and I can't get myself to pay it. Anyway, attaching the above to your Linux box will cost about $425 and will give four video channels that you can record to your hard drive and access from the web. I set up a three camera system for my wife's classroom last Fall and we recorded the whole school year on a single 300 GB hard drive.
  • zackerouac, on 10/11/2007, -1/+1i will not use this for evil...i will not use this for evil...i will not use this for evil...i will not use this for evil...i will not use this for evil...i will not use this for evil...i will not use this for evil...i will not use this for evil...i will not use this for evil...i will not use this for evil...
  • brettalton, on 12/24/2007, -0/+1In addition to zoneminder being in the repositories, so is gspca.

    sudo aptitude install gspca-source

    http://packages.ubuntu.com/gutsy/graphics/gspca-so ...
    https://launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/gspca
  • newbiehoong, on 01/03/2008, -0/+0i wan ask how to develop a webcam spy system?cause now i doing my diploma project,pls teach me,tq
  • amishjim, on 09/06/2008, -0/+1The house my roomies are renovating has been broken into twice. I have a Compaq with RCA A/V front inputs anyone know of a solution that would work with those? I'm running Linux Mint 5 and have a nightvision security cam with RCA outs. I would love to set this up for them over there. thanks. .
  •  

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