Turn An Old Web Cam Into A Household Spy Camera
If you have an old web cam laying around, you can turn it into a functional spy cam with only a bit of hardware handiwork.
At Ugolog, a company specialising in simple video monitoring using web cams, they have a tutorial on how to hide a web cam inside an old power transformer. The tutorial requires no tools beyond the basic toolbox staples, like a drill and pliers. The end result is surprisingly polished, and the technique could easily be adapted to help you hide a camera in nearly anything. The best objects for hiding the web cam, of course, are objects that already have a cord attached—a stuffed unicorn with a black cord trailing out, we’d guess, is more suspicious to a nervous thief or interloper than an alarm clock. For more pictures and a step by step guide, check out the link below. Thanks Alexander!
- Next Post: iCloud Takes Your Computing To The Web »
- « Previous Post: SEAMonster Resizes Your Images With Pixel Microsurgery
Comments (AU Comments | US Comments)
Even before reading the article I'm slapping my head - everyone has a million powerbricks laying around, who would tell that one of them is looking back. Genius.
I have an old webcam. Plus they are piss cheap on ebay. I don't know who'd want to break int my house and steal stuff though.
Jordan10la
@Jordan10la: One could use this for more nefarious purposes...
spiralout987
I wonder if there is a way to do this wirelessly. A 20' usb cord that happens to run into the back of your computer might look a little suspicious.
gforster
This is brilliant. Spying girls was never easier.
BarbeQueQ
@BarbeQueQ:
what are you implying :P
Thats purdy cool.
DAMN. I just lost the game.
Witherslick
I was about to say "what happens when they steal the computer with the incriminating video" but then I realized that ugolog saves it online...sweet!
Cam Jamieson
"If you have an old web cam laying around,"
*LYING
dmccall
im totally doing this!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!11
now this is pretty nifty!
SumnerSandwich
@Witherslick: Aargh...curses. So did I.
ekap328
Now if only I could get inside a girl's house to put a couple of these babies in the wall.
Then you'd be filming the wall, genius...
@Witherslick:
Let me help:
[xkcd.com]
You're welcome.
@Darthvinder: how about trying this: get so used to playing the game that you can talk about it without thinking about it, only the words to describe it. It takes awhile, but definitely worth it if many people at your workplace play the game. You still lose from time to time, but not so often.
cathos
@Jordan10la: Maybe the same person that broke into my car and stole nothing out of it.
lol @ keithpilot
Toxsyn
@Witherslick: Aaaargh, I had been winning for months.
I wonder how many "man I'm going to put this in said girls /house/apartment/ dorm/any other place where women are" post
SarojEscatruck
@Li Zhang:
That's creepy and very Maury Povich show waiting to happen. Lol
I use my webcam for this very thing. I don't have to turn it into anything, it comes with a motion detector and starts recording at any movement. I only have it in my room where I keep every very important and expensive item.
I recently set up a webcam in my home with this great program for linux called Monitor. It allows me to view the webcam stream from any computer, and some phones, with internet access while also saving videos whenever motion is detected and uploading them to an offsite ftp server I have. I never considered hiding the webcam itself though, I might use this.
ergasiophobiac
Dudes, I put one inside my HDTV where one of the speakers are. With all the wires coming out of the back who's to tell. Or maybe I'll add one inside my gaming computer pointing out the clear side. The inside has so much crap in it, unless you were looking for it, you can't tell. He he.
KeeneBattus
wow... its great!!!!
rj25robosa
yawcam is the best [free] software from my experience
EffieNanget
@EffieNanget: I use it on three of the cams I have at my website. The only problem I have is the FTP portion, which will stop uploading if a butterfly flaps his wings in Taipai.
@DesignHobo: I just flipped to maury last week and was dissapointed. I thought he was more upstanding and positive as opposed to making money off the trash that wants to be on TV no matter what they do.
I have two or three old webcams, and I have always wanted to set them up to watch what kind of shenanigans my pets are getting into while we are away from home.
@kikolani: PERVERT!
(Just kidding.)
USBhack
um... what happens if someone plugs it in? a 120v arc a few mm from your circuit board?
snarkyFish
@undefined:
I wanna catch the raccoon that keeps tipping my garbage over. Wireless with a range of 30 or so feet... anyone have suggestions?
debu
@ergasiophobiac: link please? (To Monitor, not your cam lol)