Choosing Passwords Tip

June 23rd, 2011 Alex Posted in internet, security Comments Off

Set up 4 to 6 passwords:
one for all the low-security sites,
another for any site that has your credit card number,
another for social networking,
another for email,
another for work,
and the most secure for your banking sites. Sleep better.

Keep them on a piece of paper somewhere safe like your wallet.

These rules are not always possible, but they help reduce the numbers of passwords while staying fairly secure.

via Observations: How to Know if Hackers Have Stolen Your Password.

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Privacy Online

May 16th, 2010 Alex Posted in internet, security, web Comments Off

A few programs:

  • Tor: “enabling Internet anonymity by thwarting network traffic analysis”
  • Privoxy: “It has filtering capabilities for protecting privacy, modifying web page data, managing cookies, controlling access, and selectively removing content such as ads, banners and pop-ups.”
  • Enigmail: “It enables you to write and receive email messages signed and/or encrypted with the OpenPGP standard.”
  • Off-the-Record Messaging (OTR): “cryptographic protocol that provides strong encryption for instant messaging conversations”

An interesting talk on Youtube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kpHWnHxmnXg (Part 1)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QOEMv0S8AcA (Part 2)

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Backup Your Security Camery System Captured Images to a Remote Server

January 9th, 2009 Alex Posted in linux, security, slackware Comments Off

Safer Security Camera System with Motion

Now that you have your motion activated security camera system, you could make if safer by uploading the captured images automatically to a remote server just in case something happens to your computer. I’m using Slackware Linux but the setup should be very similar on other distributions.

  1. Create an executable batch file containing the following (pico ~/batch_file):

    rsync -avz /usr/local/apache2/htdocs/cam1 destinationserver.com:~/

  2. Edit /etc/motion.conf and add/uncomment the following line

    on_event_end /home/user/batch_file

  3. Edit ~/.ssh/config (create the .ssh folder if it doesn’t exist) and add the following lines to it:


    Host destinationserver.com
    HostName destinationserver.com
    IdentityFile ~/.ssh/id_dsa
    User your_user_name

  4. Install and setup keychain so that ssh doesn't ask for your pass-phrase every time it tries to connect. Take a look at this keychain/ssh-agent tutorial

You can use a webcam like the one listed below, which features infrared lights for improved night vision (and it is USB so don't need any special hardware for composite input).

infrared security cameraInfrared Night Vision Security Camera

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Home Camera Security System

March 22nd, 2007 Alex Posted in linux, security, windows Comments Off

Resources for setting up a motion-detection camera security system controlled from your PC using an analog camera.

  1. Tutorials

  2. Software

    • Dorgem (Free)Supports an unlimited number of simultaneous cameras. It has a built-in webserver for still images and can be used as security camera because of its motion detection. (Windows)
    • Motion (Free)Software motion detector for Linux. Guide or Download
    • ZoneMinder (Free)Set of applications which together provides a complete surveillance solution allowing capture, analysis, recording and monitoring of any cctv cameras attached to a Linux based machine. Documentation
      or Download
    • Gspy (Free)Special motion detection algorithms are used to reduce the size of the daily movies by eliminating pictures with similar content as well as the mpeg compression. (Linux)
    • VideoLAN (Free)Video streaming server with extended features (Multi-Platform)
    • DSLR Remote ProAllows remote operation of a Canon EOS 5D, 1D Mark II, 1Ds Mark II, 1D, 1DS, 30D, 20D, 10D, 400D/Digital Rebel XTi/Kiss Digital X , 350D/Digital Rebel XT/Kiss Digital N or 300D/Digital Rebel/Kiss Digital digital SLR via a PC using a FireWire or USB cable.
    • Webcam Camera System

  3. Recommended Cheap Hardware

    Look for a TV Tuner card or USB capture device with composite(RCA) input if you have an analog camera. Get one which uses one of the following chipset (Should be listed in the product’s specifications):

    You should be able to find something for about $20 to $30 on the internet.

  4. My Setup

    • I have a TV Tuner card with cable, composite and s-video inputs which has an SAA7130 chip (Module SAA7134 from Kernel 2.6.X is
      required)

      • I couldn’t get it to work with Zone Minder, but it does work pretty well with Motion. I got it from eBay for $15.

    • I also bought an analog wireless camera with receiver for $30 on eBay (composite output).
    • Motion. It is not a GUI program but it is easily setup from the
      motion.conf file and has many nice features (capture video or pictures on motion detection for example).
    • I use Slackware on a P-III 1Ghz (I get about 5 frame per second while motion is detected)

You could also use a webcam like the one listed below, which features infrared lights for improved night vision (and it is USB so don’t need any special hardware for composite input).

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