Protect your home with a PC without spending much money

Network cameras
While the methods we’ve covered so far all have their merits they all share a common problem: your PC has to be switched on all the time for them to work.

If the PC isn’t on, or crashes while you’re away from home, your security system will be rendered useless. It’s not so bad if you only plan to use the monitoring system every so often, but if you want reliable round-the-clock security, having to make sure your PC is always up and running isn’t ideal, and you’ll also be forking out extra in electricity costs.

An alternative is to cut your PC out of the equation and instead opt for what’s called a network camera (sometimes referred to as an IP camera).

Network cameras look similar to a standard webcam but connect directly to your home network so they don’t need to be physically attached to a PC. This means there’s no need to have a computer switched on and you can view live footage from the network camera via any computer with an internet connection.

If the network camera supports what’s known as RTSP (real-time streaming protocol), you’ll also be able to view live footage via compatible mobile phones; if you choose to do this, though, make sure you know what your mobile phone network charges for data transfers.

There’s a wide range of network cameras to choose from, with the cheapest available for under £100; for example, Hawking’s Net-Vision HNC290G is only £55.99 from Ebuyer. However, the cheaper ones don’t support wireless networking and, if you opt for one of these, you’ll have to trail an Ethernet cable from the camera to your router or use some form of Homeplug networking.

Once set up, the vast majority of network cameras will send an email or text message alert whenever movement is detected. Most models can then upload footage to an FTP server or attach images to the alert email that’s sent out.

Spend a little more and you’ll find models with pan and tilt lenses, allowing you to monitor a wide area by remotely moving the lens ­ the pan and tilt Trendnet TV-IP410W is a good model and costs £207 from the Trendnet website. For extra coverage, models such as the Axis 212 PTZ (£499 from Axis) have a fish-eye lens.

There are also cameras that enable you to continue viewing even in pitch-black conditions using infra-red light. The (Y-Cam Knight (£149 from Y-Cam) is a good example and, in general, the more infra-red LEDs a night-vision camera has, the better it will be at filming in the dark. It’s worth pointing out that due to their infra-red sensitivity, such cameras aren’t so good at reproducing colours during the day.

As well as being great at alerting you to intruders, network cameras can be used for a variety of other tasks. Place one above your front door, for example, and you’ll be able to screen callers to your house. There are plenty of waterproof outdoor network cameras available and, if you buy one with built-in microphone and speaker, you can have a two-way conversation with the caller.

Potential problems
If you decide to invest in a network camera, it’s best to be aware that the setup process isn’t always quite as easy as the manufacturers would have you believe. If you want to be able to view live footage away from home, which you most likely will, you’ll need to know your router’s IP address so you can log in to the camera. However, since most ISPs provide what’s called a dynamic IP address, the IP address of your router will frequently change without warning.

However, most routers include a dynamic DNS feature that lets you sign up to a dynamic DNS service (www.dyndns.com is a popular example) that will in turn provide you with a URL (web address,) such as myhome.dyndns.com.

Whenever your router’s IP address changes it will notify the dynamic DNS service. This means that after typing in your URL, you’ll always be directed to your home network even if the IP address has changed.

Another issue is that of port forwarding. Any attempt to access your home network via the internet will usually be blocked by your router’s firewall, so you need to instruct it to allow external connections directed at the network camera.

If both the network camera and router are UPnP-compatible, this may be handled automatically, but you should find full instructions in your network camera’s manual. You can read more about the port-forwarding process here. And Port Forward provides free guides on forwarding ports.