Here is how it works.The surveillance software can be installed on one or multiple computer systems, which can be added to groups for better controlling. It is then possible to access the captures made by the systems over a local network or the Internet. Even better, iSpy offers options to view access and control the cameras and microphones over cell phones.

The monitoring software has several requirements that need to be installed or configured before it can be used. It for instance requires that the Windows Media Video 9 VCM codec is installed on the system to record video with the application. It furthermore asks the user to run a local server on the computer to access the cameras, saved videos and audio locally. An alternative is to create a free account at the iSpy developer site which is needed to access contents over the web. There is also an intranet server version that is available commercially aiming at schools, campuses, corporations or private residences.

It is then possible to add cameras and microphones that will be used for the monitoring.

iSpy Features

• Install iSpy Server and publish your webcam to other instances of iSpy, over your network and to the web
• Connect and monitor as many cameras and microphones as you like. Import and export object lists to share with colleagues.
• Customize movement detection areas on your cameras
• Detect, highlight, track and record movement
• Detect and record sound
• Run any program or send an email or SMS alert when movement or sound is detected / is not detected
• Receive email movement alerts with attached frame grab images from your webcams
• Periodically receive image grabs via email from your webcams
• Connect to any device, even webcams attached to other computers with JPEG, MJPEG, IP Cam, webcam and AVI file support
• Watch live and recorded media over the web (through this website and over your local network) and also via mobile devices
• Access and control iSpy remotely
• Schedule sound and video capturing to start and stop automatically
• Time-lapse record from any camera
• Motion track and count moving objects
• Connect multiple instances of iSpy and iSpy server running on different computers to this website and view all aggregated media online
• Create groups, invite friends and share access to your webcams and microphones

As you can see, iSpy offers a lot. It takes some time to configure the surveillance software correctly. Core features are the ability to monitor video and audio locally and remotely, the notification options, automatic sound and movement detection and the ability to use cell phones to access the controls and recorded video / audio.

ISpy offers a lot for a free software. Users who want to test the surveillance and monitoring software can download it from the project homepage over at Developer In A Box. The software requires the Microsoft .Net Framework 2.0, and will run on 32-bit and 64-bit editions of Windows XP, Windows Vista and Windows 7.

Ugolog is one of these services that can turn a webcam into a basic home video surveillance system. It has its limitations obviously as this is usually limited to single room surveillance unless multiple webcams are connected to the computer systems of the home. One of the major advantages of Ugolog besides offering a free version is that it requires no software installation. The full service is started and controlled on a web interface.

The limitations of the free service are a maximum utilization of two webcams, 500 snapshots and 5 minutes of video per day. Those are fairly acceptable values for a video surveillance system. Interestingly enough the premium plans are freely usable during beta phase with the state of the art plan allowing to add unlimited cameras with 15K snapshots and 4 hours of recording. These plans will eventually turn into subscriptions.

Everything is controlled on the web interface of the service which is only available to registered users. Users can access previous recordings, watch a full day in fast access mode or record videos or snapshots. The main advantage of Ugolog is that it is operating system and web browser independent and that its only requirement is a webcam that is connected to a computer system. Grabmotion is a similar software that can be used to monitor a room.