Notes » security

Choosing Passwords Tip

Alex — Thu, 23 Jun 2011 21:03:13 +0000

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.

Privacy Online

Alex — Mon, 17 May 2010 03:20:49 +0000

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)

Backup Your Security Camery System Captured Images to a Remote Server

Alex — Sat, 10 Jan 2009 02:05:57 +0000

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.

Create an executable batch file containing the following (pico ~/batch_file):
rsync -avz /usr/local/apache2/htdocs/cam1 destinationserver.com:~/
Edit /etc/motion.conf and add/uncomment the following line
on_event_end /home/user/batch_file
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



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 Night Vision Security Camera



Home Camera Security System
Alex — Thu, 22 Mar 2007 23:14:42 +0000
Resources for setting up a motion-detection camera security system controlled from your PC using an analog camera.


Tutorials

Using your PC and a Webcam as a security camera
MythTV and a Security Camera
Setting up SAA713X in Linux



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



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):

ZoneMinder Supported Hardware
Gspy Supported Hardware
Motion Supported Hardware

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

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).