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Thu, 17 Feb 2005 Webcam catches Burglar Ben in the act

Macworld staff

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Following news of how a house burglar was caught in the act after webcam images of him were sent to the house owner via email, Mac owners may wish to set up their computers to spy on their belongings for them.

The BBC reports that 19-years-old Benjamin Park of Cambridge was caught red handed when the computer in the house he was raiding recorded his every move and sent it to the inbox of his victim, Duncan Grisby.

Det Sgt Alan Page, head of Cambridgeshire Police Burglary Squad told the BBC: "The webcam was set up in his computer and began filming once it registered motion. It captured every movement Park made.

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"At one point he stared into the computer as if it might be making a noise or something to make him suspicious. He then stole the computer but it didn't matter because Mr Grisby had set it up so that as it was recording it was sending the images to an email address."

iSpy

Mac users wishing to protect their belongings in the same way can use Ben Bird's SecuritySpy 1.0.3 software. This multi-camera video surveillance software offers a timelapse capture feature unlinked to motion detection. A timestamp clock is added to each frame and a pre-capture buffer feature captures video before the time of motion.

Captured images are uploaded to remote computers and web sites via FTP and an email notification is sent with images attached. A built-in Web server enables viewing of images and video over networks and the Internet.

SecuritySpy can be downloaded and used free of charge for a 30 days. Pricing for single camera use is £32, up to 4 simultaneous cameras is £64; and unlimited simultaneous cameras for £127.

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