Security cameras in your home - yay or nay?

[Sun_Kim-Ai]

My father's last idea, since my wife and me have moved into a new, more suitable residence, was to send technicians during our moving-in to install security cameras outside and at the entrance, and also alarms. He's got the idea to put the whole family under a new security system - my sister and her husband, my other sister as well, his own home alongside my aunt and so on... that will be kept under remote check by vigilance hired by him. We all had to give our personal numbers to the agency, received a manual with codewords and directives in case we are taken hostages (seriously...) and at least in my case a patrol drives up to my gate two times per night to check that everything is alrigth. Sounds cool on paper, but in practice I'm not that happy about people keeping schedules of the going-ins and going-outs of my wife and I.
What about you? Would you like to have cameras in your own home and be under constant ''surveillance''?

[Lost_in_the_Woods]

I have 5 cameras and 2 DVR's.
The answer is it depends on what you are trying to protect against and how.

I liked being able to check on the house when I wasn't home, but I disconnected the DVR's from the internet when someone got into an NSA account and was able to view over 250,000 home security camera systems. They are all backdoored, from the factory. If they have WiFi cards or you hook them up to your modem the NSA can watch them any time they want.

Even without them connected to the internet, its easy for someone with backdoor access to pick your lock, do whatever they are going to do, and then wipe/splice the footage. I know someone came in my house and deleted important evidence off my pc the other day while I was having surgery, but the cameras don't show it. My cat was her, she was terrified when I got home, but she can't talk.

You've seen what they do to the president's lawyer... don't think they don't do worse to people who aren't famous. A commercially available security system isn't going to help protect you from that. I don't know about the subscription-based ones where someone is supposed to monitor them but I doubt that would make any difference. If it's the government you're worried about, digital cameras won't catch a thing.

BUT, for anything else they can make a huge difference. Just having a camera will deter most petty criminals even if you don't check it. They are great for finding your keys and remembering if you fed the cat or not... And there aren't a lot of downsides.

So far as being spied on,
The average hacker will have a hard time spying on you if you set them up properly on a secure network with good passwords, but if you leave the default config anyone can easily look it up and log right in. That's only a problem if you don't do your part to set them up properly.

But the NSA will have access to anything with an uplink regardless of the security settings. It really comes down to what, or who, you are worried about. The NSA can open your phone's camera, mic, gps, messages, and probably track your car if it's less than 10 years old. So if they are interested in you, they know your schedule already. At&T has a database of every cell phone's location history that goes back to 2008. The camera on your door probably wouldn't make much difference to them either way.

A good security system will do a lot to protect you from regular criminals, but if it's the government you're worried about it's probably a waste of time and money. If anything, having a camera that they can edit to show nothing helps them and just makes it easier for them to call you crazy and delusional. Don't take my word for it, listen to what Snowden talks about seeing and doing when he was one of them. He de-solders the mic's and cameras in his phones and physically removes them because that's the only way to stop the NSA having access.

But for the average criminal, cameras make a huge difference. Most people won't commit crimes on camera, and the ones who do are usually dumb enough to show a face and a license plate.

Add the personal convenience of being able to see who's at your door without getting up, and maybe even talk back and forth if you get the fancy ones... never forgetting if you fed the cat or not, being able to go back and see just where you left your phone or the TV remote,... there are a lot of benefits. Just be aware that digital security cameras aren't any good against the people who can already watch you through your cell phone and block texts from coming through.

I thought I had a problem with my neighbor, and the cameras solved that. Even a dumb thief will bring your stuff back if you send him the video of him taking it. But for me, it turned out he's the least of my worries. All the cameras did was clue me in that whoever comes in my house has more access to edit the footage than I do myself.

[horatiohornblower]

Is your dad a politician, celebrity or mob boss? Then I could see all the protection. Otherwise it sounds like gross overkill.

You talk about gated property. I can't imagine you're in a bad neighborhood.

[Sun_Kim-Ai]

He's President of the family company while his sister Is CEO, while I'm also a politician. He's got this idea of "family-wide" security mostly because he saw that one of his friend had a similar system for his family, plus he thinks we could be targeted because of my political career.

[dustybiker]

I have cameras, hard wired and wifi. But then I’ve had good reason for them, mostly in the past now. It’s your call. Just keep the footage private to your wife and yourself.

[Sun_Kim-Ai]

I understand, I hope things are more safe for you now. If I can ask, you have access to your cameras?
The problem here is that we don't - the security agency my father hired told us we won't be allowed to check the feed unless something happens - I'd have understood if it was the feed of my other relatives' residences, but I'd have hoped I could have access to that of my home.

[dustybiker]

Wow. I would not be happy with that set-up, at all.
No. Get your own system. It’s not at all that difficult. Nest cameras are easy for beginners. I was at the police station once and brought up live feed for them on my phone.

[Sun_Kim-Ai]

@dustybiker you are right. I have been arguing all day with the guy from the agency that I want to have access to the feed of the cameras of my residence. I've told my father as well - he wants a family-wide security that's fine, but we should have access to the feed of our homes.

[dustybiker]

Absolutely agree. Why won't they let you access your own feed? What is the reason the company gives?

[Sun_Kim-Ai]

They said it's for security reasons - after arguing with them all day, they told me I have to go and compile some more paperwork, and then they'll provide me with their app to check the feed of my cameras, alongside the password and access credentials. It was simple, and yet they have been quite obstructive about it. I literally stopped arguing with them not even an hour ago.

[dustybiker]

I wouldn’t want *them* to have access. Such a creepy breach of privacy. Anyone could work for them. I would cancel. Get your own system.

[Lyndsielee666]

I have a camera in my front yard because I have kids and we don’t live in a good city. 🤷‍♀️

[Sun_Kim-Ai]

I understand, I hope nothing bad happened!

[Lyndsielee666]

Nothing yet. I almost have three pitbulls so no one fucks with us thankfully 😂

[Lyndsielee666]

Also**

[AmandaYVR]

Wow. No way would I want that. I like privacy. It's paramount to me.

[Sun_Kim-Ai]

I don't like It either. At first I thought It was cool, now not so much.

[AmandaYVR]

Unless you're Tony Montana (drug king, 'Scarface') I'd skip it.

[Sun_Kim-Ai]

Exactly, I don't see the point of it. Best thing is that he decided that because he saw a friend of his (CEO of a popular meat brand) did it. That was his main reason. Up until now only he and my aunt had some security.

[exitseven]

Sounds like overkill to me. I might put a doorbell camera up but I I know somebody that has a alarm company that wired the house and they still have had break ins. The thieves just work fast and are gone before the cops show up.

[Jamie05rhs]

Security systems are a good thing to have. Because there are so many criminals running around loose these days.

However, I do understand how you feel about it.

[TrueConfection]

No. I like my privacy.

[Agape93]

Nope