Android/Windows: Home monitoring systems can be expensive if you have to buy all new hardware. Why bother, when your old phone has a perfectly good camera in it? Perch can use that camera, plus a lot more.

iOS: There are lots of ways to turn your old iPhone into a basic security camera. Free app Manything includes IFTTT recipes so you can automate various actions once it detects motion.

There are concerns that thousands of private webcams around the world could be streaming live images to anybody who wishes to view them -- without their owner knowing -- thanks to a Russian website providing a convenient list of every camera that can be accessed.

Most of us are good about actively changing the passwords we use on a regular basis, but if you have an IP webcam that's constantly connected to the internet, it's important to take its security into account too. Make sure you're using a strong password, and you change it regularly. One web site is live streaming from 73,000 cameras worldwide to prove it, so if you haven't, change yours now.

Windows: Webcams offer a window into your home, and they have been known to be targets for malware. If you have a built-in camera, here's how to disable it and protect yourself.

Want to look more presentable during video calls? One important factor is to frame your face correctly.

The best webcams are the ones that are affordable, easy to set up, offer great video quality and don't make you look like a blurry mess when you wave at the screen. There are plenty that fit that description, but here are five of the best choices.

iOS/Windows/Mac: Whether your webcam is broken or you just don't have one, you can still video chat with the aid of your iDevice. A clever app called iWebcam repurposes your mobile's camera for the job.

You don't need expensive software or a new camera to keep an eye on things at home. Whether you're looking after your dog or trying to catch burglars in the act, you can put together a home security system with a regular webcam and your PC.

If you spend any time on video at your desk, either video-chatting with friends or recording work you may be doing so you can show other people, you know it can be difficult to get a camera in position while you work with your hands. This quick hack gives you a jig perfect for a web cam or a phone to keep it still and in one place while you're recording.

This DIY project takes an old webcam and converts it into a motion sensitive CCTV camera, complete with email and Growl/Prowl push notifications.

Dear Lifehacker, I've set up a security camera that peers over the fence into the carport, taking & storing a picture every minute, as well as snapping a picture every time movement is detected in the area. During the day, it records us coming & going, as well as the occasional appearance by a postman or delivery person. A couple of days ago, one of our cars was opened and things were stolen, of no commercial value, but highly frustrating to have to replace.

newVideoPlayer( {"type":"video","player":"http://www.youtube.com/v/ltHe3xAgjN4&hl=en&fs=1&hd=1","customParams": ,"width":570,"height":360,"ratio":0.615,"flashData":"","embedName":null,"objectId":null,"noEmbed":false,"source":"youtube","wrap":true,"agegate":false} );

We've featured numerous home surveillance apps, as well as some details on how to make a pretty hardcore surveillance system. If you're looking for something simpler, though, how-to weblog Tinkernut shows us how to do it in just a few steps.

Windows only: Face recognition software Blink lets you log in to Windows through your webcam-enabled computer. It also grabs a shot of everyone who successfully logs in, by face or by keyboard, so you know who's been up to what.

Webcams are optimised for things like video conferencing, not close focus. If you're trying to use your webcam to record things close up — awesome stop-motion Lego combat, electronics tutorials, etc — you can hack the focus with cheap reading glasses.

Windows: Desktop Eye is a small sidebar gadget that puts security camera monitoring in an unobstrusive widget and saves you from running a bulky separate application that may not always be in focus where you can see it.

Vitamin D, the Windows/Mac remote webcam monitoring software that we liked for customisable accuracy, and which one reader used to nab proof of a derelict dog walker, has hit a 1.0 release and announced its pricing.

Ed. note: We publish tips every day with hopes at least a few will find a useful place in our readers' lives, and occasionally we hear back about how things turned out. Here's how today's tip tester used previously mentioned Vitamin D.

If you've been thinking about setting up a web surveillance camera but were put off by the expense or hassle, Vitamin D makes it easy to turn your web or networked camera into an easy-to-use monitoring tool.