Today there are a huge number of different devices for recording video, ranging from smartphones to professional camcorders. But most Internet users still have a regular webcam, which is connected directly to the computer. Therefore, in today’s article we will tell you which programs for capturing video from a webcam are best to use at home.
How to record video from a webcam?
In order for you to have a more complete understanding of the possible ways to record videos using a standard “webcam”, let’s take a closer look at several of the most popular ones.
First way- capture video using the built-in Windows movie studio (provided that you have the appropriate version of this OS installed) or the familiar Windows Movie Maker. Recording a video in it is very simple, just launch the program, select “Video from webcam”, connect the camera, configure the audio device (external or built-in microphone), click on the “Record” button and save it to your hard drive when finished. The program also provides the ability to edit video footage and publish the resulting file on social and media networks.
Second way- use the software that comes with the camera. Typically, all manufacturers complete their webcams with a simple video editor with the ability to capture images and video signals, which can be used to record video without any problems. Typically, such software is supplied separately on disk or downloaded from the official website of the manufacturer. All that is required in this case from the user is to install the desired program, launch it, and it will detect the camera itself and offer to record a video or take a photo.
Third way- install universal software for capturing video from any connected webcam. There are a lot of options; it will suffice to list the most popular and proven ones: VirtualDub, Screen Capture Studio, WebCamMax, Altarsoft Video Capture, BandiCam and others. All the programs presented allow you not only to record video from a laptop camera, but also make it possible to edit it, apply effects, text and animation. An additional useful feature is to capture the computer screen, for example, from Bandicam or Screen Capture Studio. This is very convenient when you need to both record your comments and demonstrate some work on the computer.
Fourth way- the simplest and most accessible for everyone is the use of online services that allow you to record video from a camera online. There are quite a few sites with similar services; here are a few examples of the most popular: YouTube.com, Skype, Recordr.tv, Webcamera.io, Webcamio.com, etc. The main advantage of such services is their availability and ease of use. You simply go to the site and filming begins. At any time, you can stop it and save the video or publish the video online. A good example of such convenience and functionality is the popular YouTube, which allows you to broadcast online in real time. The main disadvantage of all of the above services is the need for a stable Internet connection, as well as possible problems with the quality of the saved video (some services only support recording in HD resolution and lower).
In any case, today there are plenty of ways to capture video from a regular webcam on a laptop or desktop computer. And each of them has its own pros and cons. All you have to do is choose the one that is most optimal for you and use it as needed.
The most popular video surveillance software that works with all existing cameras. Xeoma runs on any computer and does not even require installation.
The program has a laconic interface and almost limitless possibilities. In addition to the usual motion detector, Xeoma implements recognition of license plates, faces and even emotions. All functions work in the form of modules that can be combined into chains and very finely configured.
In the free version, the number of modules is limited to three, which will be enough for home use and simple scenarios. For more serious tasks, there are three types of licenses, the price of which depends on the number of cameras.
- Platforms: Linux, iOS, Android.
A powerful tool with open source code and an active community, which is suitable for organizing video surveillance of any complexity. After setup, you can watch the video from your computer or smartphone, from any browser.
Zoneminder works with cameras of any type, allowing you to record and analyze images from them. Thanks to advanced settings, for each camera you can set several motion detection zones and their sensitivity. Can send alerts via email or SMS about specified events.
The application is completely free for both home and commercial use.
3.iSpy
- Platforms: Windows, iOS, Android.
iSpy is open source, which provides ample opportunities for upgrading the program and makes detailed configuration very convenient. You can expand the functionality using plugins for license plate recognition, text overlay, and barcode scanning.
You can connect an unlimited number of sources. There is a motion sensor, network broadcasting, notifications. In addition, iSpy supports uploading to YouTube, Dropbox or FTP server.
You can use not only USB and IP cameras as a source, but also a desktop image.
- Platforms:
This multi-platform program boasts a smart motion sensor that can distinguish a person from a car or pet. It can work with IP and web cameras, but in the free version you can only stream video from one source.
Sighthound Video is capable of saving videos to cloud services and has many useful features for those who like the concept.
On the official website you can buy a kit that will ensure the security of, for example, a country house, and the program itself can work with the IFTTT automation service.
- Platforms: Windows, macOS, iOS, Android.
The main advantage of AtHome Video Streamer is its multi-platform functionality. In addition to mobile surveillance applications, the program has full-length versions for Windows and macOS.
It is possible to record on a schedule, save video and send notifications to a smartphone when motion is detected. USB, IP, Smart TV, iOS and Android devices are used as sources.
- Platform: Windows.
EyeLine Video Surveillance can use up to 100 channels simultaneously. Allows you to use both web and IP cameras as sources.
The program is equipped with a motion detector, an archive recording manager and the ability to upload videos to an FTP server. Event notifications can be received via email or SMS.
EyeLine Video Surveillance is a great option for those who need a simple and effective video surveillance system. The program has a two-week trial period and offers several subscription options with advanced functionality.
- Platforms: Windows, iOS, Android.
A ready-made solution from Milestone that combines ease of use and a lot of useful features. XProtect Essential+ is suitable for point of sale and home use.
The program supports up to eight IP, USB and web cameras, can record motion in the frame, and also allows you to configure individual detection zones with greater accuracy. You can view streams from an unlimited number of computers and mobile devices.
XProtect Essential+ does not require activation, and the free version is limited only by the number of cameras. If necessary, it can easily be scaled to a paid version while maintaining all settings.
An unknown hacker has been organizing an Internet show for several days in a row, spying on people using web cameras. This is not the first time that users have been spied on through their own computers and smartphones - many criminals and Western intelligence agencies have done this. Lenta.ru found out whether it is possible to protect a webcam from hacking.
Amateur peep
On Tuesday, April 26, an anonymous member of the “Dvach” imageboard created a forum thread where he announced an unusual Internet show. He promised that he would broadcast on YouTube within a couple of hours and follow random netizens live. Moreover, they can unexpectedly launch various applications on victims’ computers, turn on porn, and post their data online.
To keep viewers from getting bored, the self-proclaimed showman announced “full interactivity” - viewers will be able to send him their requests in the chat, which he will immediately fulfill. After some time, a link to the Synchtube service appeared in the recording, where, in addition to the built-in video broadcast from YouTube, a chat was organized and a donation collection was organized. To guarantee the fulfillment of their requests, users were asked to send the hacker a symbolic sum of two or three rubles for “project development.”
At the very beginning of the broadcast, it became clear that the attacker was operating through the LuminosityLink system. It is typically used by network administrators to manage computer networks remotely. However, there are many pirated versions of the program on the Internet that can be configured to spy on users, infect them with viruses and organize DDoS attacks. The corresponding instructions can be easily found on YouTube.
In more than two hours of broadcast, the hacker managed to connect to several dozen computers. Usually he watched for a couple of minutes what the victim was doing, and then suddenly displayed various videos or photographs on the person’s screen. Thus, a young couple from Russia was forced to watch gay porn, and a Ukrainian policeman was forced to watch a bloody mixed martial arts fight.
The next day, the hacker mastered another form of entertainment: playing music on VKontakte. I managed to wake up one of the users with it. The attacker tried in every possible way to anger people, because this is what the viewers of the show expected. Usually the victims immediately began scanning their computer for viruses, but the showman simply added antiviruses to the list of prohibited programs.
Viewers reacted especially violently to several users who turned off the Internet out of fear, and to a young man who decided to call the police. They also laughed at the person who entered into correspondence with the hacker, thinking that he was conducting a dialogue with the support service of the Internet provider. Before this, the author of the broadcast displayed information about skin diseases on his screen for ten minutes.
The most curious thing is that the attacker is extremely difficult to identify. Dvach has long been famous for its guaranteed anonymity for all users, and the hacker himself probably uses VPN and other services to mask his IP address. The network, however, suggested that the broadcasts were organized by the famous YouTube observer of various hacker programs, Dmitry Shalashov, since the voice was similar.
Website for cameras
The Dvacha hacker is far from the only attacker spying on people through web cameras. In 2014, the BBC reported on a Russian site that made it possible to monitor webcam broadcasts around the world. More than two and a half thousand channels from the USA, two thousand from France and one and a half thousand from the Netherlands were available on the resource.
The webcams of Russian users also appeared on this portal. Threat Post discovered about 70 working cameras from Moscow, Korolev, Krasnodar and other cities.
BBC journalists then contacted the owner of the resource. He stated that he had nothing to do with Russia and refused to admit that he was a hacker. According to him, he gained access to all broadcasts after entering a simple password to the cameras, which the users themselves did not change from the standard one. At the same time, the Networkworld website calculated that about 73 thousand webcams in 256 countries were protected by default password.
There really was no hacking going on. Users who did not change factory settings and passwords essentially gave attackers access to their webcams.
It was only a matter of time before an aggregator of unsecured webcams appeared. The portal's creators did not have to look for software vulnerabilities or launch a phishing site to steal passwords. Unsecured cameras were discovered using a simple search query.
After widespread publicity, the site was taken down. Wireless camera maker Foscam said at the time that it had changed its software following the incident, and its cameras now force users to set complex passwords, preventing them from working with standard factory security settings.
Snowden's truth
Former US National Security Agency employee Edward Snowden also spoke about the use of webcams for surveillance. In his revealing materials, he said that American and British intelligence services are tapping phones, monitoring correspondence on social networks and instant messengers, monetary transactions and ticket purchases. In addition, the NSA has access to millions of webcams and can monitor users through them. It became clear that absolutely unhackable technologies do not exist.
Snowden presented details of how intelligence agencies monitored video chats in February 2014. According to published materials, a special program called Optic Nerve, capable of recognizing human faces, was used for this purpose. It was originally created to fight crime, and with its help it was planned to search for terrorists, but in the end it turned into a tool for mass surveillance.
Optic Nerve was developed by British intelligence. According to Snowden, every five seconds the program automatically took screenshots from randomly selected video chats and stored them in a special database. Among these images there were often shots of an erotic nature. Optic Nerve launched in 2008, and within six months the intelligence agency had captured images of 1.8 million network users.
For surveillance, British intelligence used only video chats from Yahoo! Inc, and shared the data exclusively with their American colleagues. In Yahoo! Inc. they knew nothing about it.
To each according to his work
However, hackers are not always able to evade responsibility. For example, in 2013, a case was opened in the United States against 19-year-old Jared James Abrahams. The young man gained illegal access to girls’ computers and took explicit pictures of them using web cameras. He then threatened his victims to publish these materials if they did not send him more erotic photos.
Abrahams also tried his former classmate Cassidy Wolf, winner of the 2013 Miss Teen USA title. The girl refused to comply with Abrahams' demands. He made good on his threat and posted pictures taken from his webcam online. As a result, he
How to check whether the camera is tracking the user or not?
Hello, today we will talk about how to check whether the webcam of your laptop or computer is currently working, and the camera is now monitoring your movements, or can you calmly pick your nose?
The fact that any mobile device is now equipped with a camera is damn convenient. Have you ever thought that the camera can take pictures without your permission? After all, by its very existence it is aimed at the one who settled in front of the monitor. That is, you.
Let's move on. If the camera is built-in, then the blinking LED next to it often “gives away” the operation process. The same “eye” is located on a device mounted on a desktop PC monitor. Well... well, if so, and you suddenly noticed it. What if not, and the camera is watching you right now? She can do this without blinking...
Immediately about the unpleasant.
There are a lot of options when a hacker can turn on a camera from a distance. This is usually done using two options:
- Trojan program, and it will be assembled not only for the purpose of broadcasting the image from the camera. After all, the picture itself has no meaning. Sometimes turning on the camera and subsequent recording occurs in conjunction with another, huge number of programs that allow, among other things, to disable most Windows security features. A typical and most basic example of such a Trojan is .
- who doesn't know (aka meter), I advise you to get to know him, at least superficially. And if in the first point the hacker’s dexterity can come to naught thanks to a good anti-virus package, then there is no panacea for this - the anti-virus does not isolate the open session of the meter. And among the running services, recording screenshots from the screen or webcam may be running there. Read the article at the link.
Is the camera watching? Quick option.
Let's check...
But first, I will ask you to download a very good program called Process Explorer. It is very useful for those who are interested in the nature of certain processes that occur in Windows, allowing you to track programs running on the system. With its help, it is easy to identify viruses and other crap that successfully disguises itself as popular processes. Program Process Explorer will appear in my articles more than once, it’s high time you got it. It is in English, does not require installation, a simple executable file.
But let’s go back to “our sheep” and check who the camera is watching.
Download the Process Explorer program from the Microsoft website in a zip archive
To check the details of your device (or any device!), you will need its full name. The device manager in Windows will give it out with giblets. Computer(through Start) – right mouse Properties – device Manager.
Now find the imaging devices. Expand the item. And right click Properties. Copy the device name in the tab Device Description:
Now let's launch Process Explorer. It reminds me of Windows Task Manager. On the left in the toolbar, find the binoculars icon. Click on it and paste what you copied. Click Search
If something has already alerted you, kill the process using the two buttons above, starting with Kill . See what happens to the performance of the camera and the camera program. If nothing happens, the option is to think about the fact that someone else knows what your face looks like in front of the monitor. And consider the fact that the camera is watching you as a proven fact.
- To correctly identify your camera among other computer and laptop devices, you will need its full name in the list of equipment. No one can tell you this better than Windows Manager. Click WIN + R, dial the command
Copy the name from the tab Intelligence under the item Device Description and enter it in the open search box Process Explorer(CTRL + F). You know what to do next. Check and make sure.
How to prevent it?
I’ll tell you a secret - a well-hidden Trojan will hide the “process” so that no one will notice it. Therefore, make sure that the infection does not get into your computer. If there is no good antivirus package, your computer is open to surveillance. And it will solve most problems. Bypass antivirus protection, and sometimes even at the level Defender-but not everyone is a “hacker” from Windows 10. There are few professionals who will encroach on your camera. And without an antivirus there is absolutely nothing to do on the Internet. The problem sometimes is that hackers often have very specific titles and positions.
There is an option - turn it off. And turn it on only for the duration of the session. Is there a built-in camera? It is probably possible to turn off the camera from there. Dance from the word camera in CMOS settings. Take advantage of this. If you use it often, the next option is suitable.