4 ms·

By the way, how are privacy-minded HNers monitoring their homes? Going with Ring (or similar) or more traditional alarm services?

by pizza 8y ago

guscost 8y ago
I put up a SimpliSafe system at my house, and it's pretty nice overall. There's a security camera included, but it has a physical shutter that opens with an audible "click" whenever the feed is on. I'm a bit too lazy to be "privacy-minded" but it's a nice touch.
StavrosK 8y ago
I got a Xiaomi Dafang camera and flashed it with OSS firmware, and all such devices in my network have no access to the internet or to other devices. I connect to them from the outside through an authenticated HTTP proxy (or WireGuard).
nickthegreek 8y ago
I used to just use a bunch of Foscam's but I recently moved to Canary for the auto arming and push notifications. Here is their security page. https://canary.is/security/ https://canary.is/security/
ASalazarMX 8y ago
A Dahua DVR with wired cameras. Dahua has a free and painless P2P connection service that lets you view the DVR from the Internet without exposing a port in your router. I'm not entirely at ease with using a cloud service, but I'm way less comfortable with directly exposing the DVR's access directly to the Internet.
Mister_Snuggles 8y ago
I use Blue Iris and a variety of cheap cameras that I've acquired over the years. Remote access is done via an IPSec VPN. I also use Home Assistant and various other devices to monitor other things in the house - temperature (since freezing water pipes is a concern), water level in the sump, etc. I don't do anything with alerting yet, but there are many ways to solve this. Having a next door neighbour who's retired and really good at spotting when things are out of the ordinary helps too.
beat 8y ago
Two large, loud dogs. edit: Before I get a bunch of downvote nonsense, this is a serious answer. Dogs (especially big ones that bark when excited) are terrific home protection. No intruder is going to risk a tussle with a couple of big dogs hell-bent on protecting their home. Plus they're totally good with people they already know and trust arriving, even if we aren't there. All a camera will do is record the fact that you're being robbed.
- mikestew 8y ago
  I believe that has been advice in lieu of security systems for decades. That metal front gate opens, the giant head of that pit bull/mastiff mix pops up with a "woof", and no one has to know that a piece of cheese would allow you slip right past him. I didn't get him for "protection", the dog needed a home and no one else was taking him. But his size and looks do have their perks. Didn't Myth Busters do a show on how a piece of steak will get you past all but specifically-trained guard dogs? The only danger one would face with our dogs is getting knocked down while they try and get the steak.
  - beat 8y ago
    Sure, if someone is really determined to get past guard dogs, they can. But a casual burglar isn't going to bother. One of mine is 95 pounds of black lab/german shepherd mutt with a massive baritone bark, but he's totally harmless, except for maybe knocking you over. The other one is 35 pounds and so cute that people assume he's a she, but he's actually bitten at least three different people while overprotecting the house and yard, and I have no doubt he'd die fighting. (And the new next door neighbor learned what he already knew, which was to not stick your hand over the fence to pet the barking dog who doesn't know you and is very concerned that you're in the yard of his friends, even when that dog is small and cute.)
    - rhizome 8y ago
      What proportion of burglaries are committed by "casual" perpetrators? Steak is cheap.
    - 8y ago
deaps 8y ago
I have an RCA doorbell camera. It stores locally on the included card (can upgrade this if you want). Then I can watch the videos through my phone (which connects to the camera to read the internal storage). On the app itself, there is room for 4 total cameras. I've considered adding another camera (RCA has a few non-doorbell ones also). My main concern wasn't security (this is outside my house) anyway, but it was that I didn't want another monthly charge for something.
tptacek 8y ago
We've got some Nest outdoor cameras on our front door, back yard, and alley-facing garage.
mulmen 8y ago
The same way people have for centuries. There’s a lock on the door. More generally I protect myself (including my privacy) by not living in a constant state of fear.

By the way, how are privacy-minded HNers monitoring their homes? Going with Ring (or similar) or more traditional alarm services?

by pizza 8y ago

By the way, how are privacy-minded HNers monitoring their homes? Going with Ring (or similar) or more traditional alarm services?

guscost 8y ago

I put up a SimpliSafe system at my house, and it's pretty nice overall. There's a security camera included, but it has a physical shutter that opens with an audible "click" whenever the feed is on. I'm a bit too lazy to be "privacy-minded" but it's a nice touch.

StavrosK 8y ago

I got a Xiaomi Dafang camera and flashed it with OSS firmware, and all such devices in my network have no access to the internet or to other devices. I connect to them from the outside through an authenticated HTTP proxy (or WireGuard).

nickthegreek 8y ago

I used to just use a bunch of Foscam's but I recently moved to Canary for the auto arming and push notifications. Here is their security page. https://canary.is/security/ https://canary.is/security/

ASalazarMX 8y ago

A Dahua DVR with wired cameras. Dahua has a free and painless P2P connection service that lets you view the DVR from the Internet without exposing a port in your router. I'm not entirely at ease with using a cloud service, but I'm way less comfortable with directly exposing the DVR's access directly to the Internet.

Mister_Snuggles 8y ago

I use Blue Iris and a variety of cheap cameras that I've acquired over the years. Remote access is done via an IPSec VPN. I also use Home Assistant and various other devices to monitor other things in the house - temperature (since freezing water pipes is a concern), water level in the sump, etc. I don't do anything with alerting yet, but there are many ways to solve this. Having a next door neighbour who's retired and really good at spotting when things are out of the ordinary helps too.

beat 8y ago

Two large, loud dogs. edit: Before I get a bunch of downvote nonsense, this is a serious answer. Dogs (especially big ones that bark when excited) are terrific home protection. No intruder is going to risk a tussle with a couple of big dogs hell-bent on protecting their home. Plus they're totally good with people they already know and trust arriving, even if we aren't there. All a camera will do is record the fact that you're being robbed.

mikestew 8y ago
I believe that has been advice in lieu of security systems for decades. That metal front gate opens, the giant head of that pit bull/mastiff mix pops up with a "woof", and no one has to know that a piece of cheese would allow you slip right past him. I didn't get him for "protection", the dog needed a home and no one else was taking him. But his size and looks do have their perks. Didn't Myth Busters do a show on how a piece of steak will get you past all but specifically-trained guard dogs? The only danger one would face with our dogs is getting knocked down while they try and get the steak.
- beat 8y ago
  Sure, if someone is really determined to get past guard dogs, they can. But a casual burglar isn't going to bother. One of mine is 95 pounds of black lab/german shepherd mutt with a massive baritone bark, but he's totally harmless, except for maybe knocking you over. The other one is 35 pounds and so cute that people assume he's a she, but he's actually bitten at least three different people while overprotecting the house and yard, and I have no doubt he'd die fighting. (And the new next door neighbor learned what he already knew, which was to not stick your hand over the fence to pet the barking dog who doesn't know you and is very concerned that you're in the yard of his friends, even when that dog is small and cute.)
  - rhizome 8y ago
    What proportion of burglaries are committed by "casual" perpetrators? Steak is cheap.
  - 8y ago

deaps 8y ago

I have an RCA doorbell camera. It stores locally on the included card (can upgrade this if you want). Then I can watch the videos through my phone (which connects to the camera to read the internal storage). On the app itself, there is room for 4 total cameras. I've considered adding another camera (RCA has a few non-doorbell ones also). My main concern wasn't security (this is outside my house) anyway, but it was that I didn't want another monthly charge for something.

tptacek 8y ago

We've got some Nest outdoor cameras on our front door, back yard, and alley-facing garage.

mulmen 8y ago

The same way people have for centuries. There’s a lock on the door. More generally I protect myself (including my privacy) by not living in a constant state of fear.