Ask Slashdot: A Cheap, DIY Home Security and Surveillance System?

scubamage writes "Six weeks ago, my home was broken into while my fiance and I were at work. Two laptops were stolen, an iPad, a power brick, a safe (complete with several years worth of taxes, my birth certificate, and old copies of my driver's license), a digital SLR, and several other costly items. We are now dealing with an attorney because the homeowner's insurance is fighting us on a number of items and we're not backing down. It has been a nightmare. However, we've now noticed that someone has been visiting our house during the day. There has been garbage left sitting on our back porch table, so its unlikely to have blown there. We've also seen footprints in our garden that are not there in the morning. Our neighborhood is essentially empty during the day, and we want to know who is on our property while we're not. If we're really lucky, reporting it to the police could recover some of our property. My fiance has asked me to assemble a home security system that is motion activated, and both notifies us of an entry, as well as records video or rapid HD stillframes when sensing motion. The goal is to do this cheaply and more effectively than going with a private security company like ADT (who, consequently, our police department told us to ignore due to the incredibly high rate of false alarms). We've already gotten the dog and the gun, so we have those bases covered. What suggestions do you have on setting up home security systems, and what have you done to build one in the past?"

Comments

Reputation

[Stargoat]

You have the gun, and you have the dog. All you really need now is a reputation.

Re:Reputation

[idontgno]

Well, they have the gun and the dog. That way, when the crims steal the gun, they can shoot the dog on the way out.

Seriously. For simple unattended-property burglary, a gun is just an attractive target. And most dogs will just wag their tails all friendly-like at the burglar as they come and go.

Re:Reputation

[sco08y]

Assuming you live in Florida, start by chasing down passers-by with your car and shooting them with your gun. Given TV interviews afterwards in which you claim that you were simply defending yourself.

It might take some kind of vast racial conspiracy in order to make sure the police release you without charges. You'll have to get together with all the other Hispanic Democrats to pull this off.

If you do it right, though, you should be able to get enraged mobs of idiots to attack some random elderly couple whose son happens to have the same middle name as you!

Re:Reputation

[CAIMLAS]

The reputation you want is "do not fuck with us or you will reap the whirlwind."

Physical security takes many forms; the dog, gun, and security cameras all serve various parts of the whole picture.

As for your current situation: you were scouted out and target over a period of days, weeks, or months. You were probably hit by fairly brazen professionals. You will probably not be hit again for a number of reasons:

* you are now more alert due to having been victimized
* you are now more likely to be better prepared
* they were thorough and you have nothing of value in the house which they wanted. Presumably, it was not a quick snatch and grab due to the safe being gone, too.
* you are more likely to alert your neighbors to be alert

Alert your neighbors, if you have any. Having a strong community is the best defense against these things. Our neighborhood has a nosey codger who is quite vigilant about things like this: if someone doesn't look like they're supposed to be there, he confronts them. People home with no vehicles in the drive is usually a pretty good indication if there's no garage.

I would also suggest not leaving unsecured arms in the house if you are not normally home. If they know you're not home and have firearms, you are more likely to be robbed by serious criminals (and then have to deal with all the paperwork, headache, and guilt of stolen firearms). On the other hand, stolen firearms are fairly easy to track unless they're intended for use in other crimes.

The most likely thing is that you won't be violated again in this fashion for some time, though it pays to be vigilant in security of mind. As for the topic at hand: newegg has occasional deals in the under-$500 range (saw an 8 camera unit for about $350 recently) for decent home security systems which do what you request. They use mini-BNC and the like, I believe.

Gun -- ?

[evil_aaronm]

Guns aren't any use if they're a) not handy, and b) not understood. Could also backfire if the bad guy takes it away from you. Or steals it from you while you're gone during the day.

Don't get me wrong: I have a number of guns in my house. But that alone doesn't make me feel safe in the event of a break-in. I hope you catch the cock-sucker, but be careful that you don't become another "statistic" in the process.

Re:Been there, done that.. Here's your plan.

[brokenin2]

I repeat:
Finally, set up an rsync script or other mirror software to get those files off site
in case they actually try to steal your server.

If you have triggers set up right, you'll have the video of the person walking right
up to your server to steal it.

Re:Don't be a tightwad

[schitso]

Right, because some in-and-out trained chimps are who you should trust with your home security.

Get something like a Honeywell Lynx Plus. It's wireless, easy to install, and easy to set up. You don't even need it monitored--the sound of the panel blaring would send any burglar packing. As for CCTV, you can get some dead cheap camera/DVR deals on Newegg, but don't expect awesome quality or lifespan.

Re:IP Cameras

[Darth_brooks]

Trendnet has a good supply of cameras as well. They're cheap, but I can say from experience the 110w, 121w, and 312w all do a perfectly decent job. They're not the best thing in the world, but they just work. Trendnet's "monitoring software" is crap however.

640 x 480 cameras don't get good faces. Even megapixel shots from any more than a couple feet away aren't that great. A better bet is to cover vehicle approaches. No one is going to steal your TV on foot, no one is going to loot ten minutes worth of your stuff on foot, and cops have a much better chance of spotting "Two white males 1998 red ford ranger with a dent on the left side of the bed" than they have of spotting "black male with a mustache and an earring in his left ear wearing a blue shirt." The guy in the shirt will have a chance to change shirts before the cops even show up at your door. The guys in the truck are going to use that truck in another break in.

In my experience, the two guys doing home invasions (one guy goes in, one guy keeps the car running and sits on lookout.) will hit a neighborhood a few times before things get hot. If you can ID the car, cops will have a *MUCH* better chance at nabbing the perps. I passed a couple frames I managed to get of a car that was involved at a break in near my home to the county sheriff. The cops were thrilled to have that more than a description, as it gave them a much narrower focus.