CCTV Camera Is a Poem

How To Choose A Camera System

There are many reasons to install a camera system. If you own a business, you may want to be able to identify or avoid theft or keep vandalism from your property. Or you may just want to be able to keep an eye on things without actually being there physically. As a homeowner there are a bunch of other reasons to have a camera system. You may be having trouble with a neighbor, trespassers, vandals, or perhaps you have kids and want to be able to keep an eye on them but you can’t be there every minute of every day.

Whatever your reason for wanting a camera system if you don’t get the right kind of equipment based on your needs, you will just waste your money. So if you are thinking of getting a camera system, you will need to look at your situation in order to get the right system.

Some questions to ask yourself:

1. Is what you want to see indoors or outdoors?

2. How many areas do you want to see at your location?

3. Is there a lot of light available throughout the day and night?

4. Do you want to see a wide area, such as a parking lot, or a specific location, like the front door?

5. Is it important to see the small details or is a general idea good enough?

6. Do you need to see the picture only on sight or is off sight viewing necessary?

7. Do you need record what the camera sees?

8. Do you need to record for a long or short period of time?

Okay, now that you have an idea of what you are trying to view, we can take a closer look at the equipment.

Camera

First let’s look at the camera itself. There a hundreds of cameras to choose from. There are even fake cameras that you can use if you only want to give the illusion of having a system. Of course there are different prices ranging from cheap (poor quality) to the ridiculously expensive but does everything. If you don’t know what to ask for, you could be disappointed in what you get.

Do you want color or black/white? If you need to see the details clearly and you have good lighting throughout the time you need to keep watch, then a color camera is probably going to be the way to go. Color cameras are typically more expensive than black/white and they don’t see very will in the dark.

If you only need to have a general idea of what is going on in the area then you can go with black and white. Don’t misunderstand me, you can get a nice clear picture with a black/white camera but if you are looking to be able to identify someone and not have there be any question, then color is for you. If the lighting in the area is bad then color may not be the best camera for the job. If you only have lighting issues at night then you can get a day/night camera. That will get you a color picture in the daytime and a black/white picture at night.

Lens

Now let’s focus on the lens for a while. The type of lens you want will depend on what you want to see, how far away it is, and how wide of an area you want to see. For most applications you can get a lens that is adjustable to fit just about all your needs. There are some cases where only a very specific lens will work, but those usually only occur in high end jobs. If money is real tight, then you can get a camera that has the lens built in. I would like to caution you here and say that once you get a camera like this, you can’t just go and adjust it to get the picture you originally wanted. So, make sure you get a camera with the right lens.

Quads/Multiplexers

A quad processor will give you the ability to view more than one camera on one screen or one at a time. If you have a system with four cameras you can see all of them on one television screen or if you see something going on one camera you can choose to see only that location. Caution – the recorder you put on a quad will only record what the quad is allowing you to see.

A multiplexer is a step up from that. You can view your cameras any way you want. You can see each camera individually and multi cameras on the screen, in intervals. The playback, allows viewing the cameras in any form you like.

Recording devices

First you must decide how long you want to record. If you have a business and you are closed on the weekends and holidays, you may want to record for at least 72 hours. If it’s for your house and you go out of town for long periods of time you may want to consider a longer recording time. There is a time lapse recorder (very reasonably priced) that can record for 960 hours. That’s 40 days and a whole lot of video to watch if you are looking for something that happened a week ago.

Something that has been on the market for a while and is finally coming down in price to something that is almost reasonable is the Digital Video Recorder (DVR). The DVR comes with so many features it’s a little scary. First the picture quality is improved because you aren’t viewing it from a tape that has been recorded over again and again and again. Second, it has a built in multiplexer that will let you view more than one camera at a time on the same screen. Third, it’s easy to upgrade so that you can view your cameras remotely. So if you want to go on vacation and still keep an eye on things you can. Forth, the video is stored internally and it’s a whole lot easier to view video without having to rewind and fast forward. Plus there is no need for a tape library. There are probably a few more things a DVR can do but these would be the most popular.

Monitors

What do you want to see the picture on? Monitors can vary in size and picture quality depending on your budget and how much space you have. You can view cameras on your existing television or you can view them on your computer screen or over the Internet.

Wireless Systems

A word about wireless systems. Wireless technology has come a long way. It’s more reliable and the picture quality has improved greatly. I also like the idea that you can easily move the system. There is a system that just came out that has an awesome price. I have no idea how long the system will last, what the range is or if there are some environmental factors that can interfere with the picture. But if you are on a serious budget, this could be the answer for you.

I would like to thank you for reading this report. I hope this report has helped you learn a little more about camera systems. It’s not easy to make an informed decision when you know very little about the subject. I hope now that you have read this report you have gained some insight into what kind of system would work best for you. If your system is driven only by cost, then please don’t expect to get a great quality picture. If your system is driven only by features, then you had better open you wallet a little. I would highly recommend that whatever you are looking for, that you talk to a security consultant and discuss what is available for you in your price range.

Listen I have only scratched the surface when it comes to cameras. There are so many varieties available today it can be a little overwhelming for someone who doesn’t know what they are doing. There are cameras that can Pan-Tilt-Zoom. There are covert cameras that would make James Bond proud. You just have to know what you want and how much you can spend. I’m sure you wouldn’t go shopping for a car or a house and not know what your budget is or have an idea of what you wanted. Take this information and use it wisely.

Author, Amy Howard, has been in the security industry for more than 13 years. She understands the frustrations that people can go through when trying to find a camera system that will fit their needs and not break the bank in the process. She has created a website for people to get more information on camera systems and camera equipment. You can visit her website at http://www.cctvhomeonline.com.

Credit Card Security Serenade

What To Do If You Find Unauthorized Transactions On Your Account

If you find unauthorized transactions on your credit card account, follow the steps below to find out whether you can be reimbursed:

Step 1: Contact your credit card issuer immediately to report the unauthorized transactions.

Step 2: Check your credit card agreement. By law, your agreement must contain a section that explains your maximum liability (usually $50) in the case of lost or stolen credit cards, or the unauthorized use of your credit card account number.

Step 3: Find out if your credit card issuer offers "Zero-Liability" on unauthorized transactions. For example, Visa and MasterCard cardholders are protected beyond the maximum liability found in their credit card agreements. This is done through a public commitment Visa and MasterCard call the "Zero-Liability Policy". If your Visa or MasterCard is lost or stolen, or if someone uses your Visa or MasterCard account number to make transactions you did not authorize, you can usually be reimbursed.

This policy applies to transactions made on the Internet, by phone or at retailers, but may exclude personal identification number (PIN)-based transactions - for example, a cash advance made on your card at an automated banking machine (ABM) - and transactions made on corporate credit cards. Find out from your credit card issuer whether they have such a policy and how it can protect you. Note that these policies are not listed in credit card agreements, since they are public commitments and not legal requirements.

For more consumer tips on how to choose and use the credit card that best suits your needs visit the Financial Consumer Agency of Canada Web site at http://www.fcac-acfc.gc.ca or call toll free 1-866-461-3222.

News Canada provides a wide selection of current, ready-to-use copyright free news stories and ideas for Television, Print, Radio, and the Web.


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Top Internet Scams Ode

The Top 10 Scams for 2001

Excerpt from Internet ScamBusters (tm) The #1 Publication on Internet Fraud

Scams on the Internet are growing -- and with the vast selection, it was hard to only choose ten. We've tried to soften this list with a bit of humor. But please don't let the humor make these scams seem any less serious than they really are.

Some of these scams are very dangerous.

A word of warning, so to speak. These aren't ranked by dollars lost or people scammed. There's nothing scientific about the list. It's just the ten scams that we find the most disturbing.

You'll note that most of these involve spam. There's a reason for that. The mentality of a spammer is exactly the same kind of mindset as a con artist.

As we always say: "If it's spam, it's scam."

Here are the top 10 scams of 2001...

10. Herbal Viagra
This is really a whole category of scams, relating to the sale of medical or "alternative" medical treatments online. Usually using spam to get to the "customer."

If you're lucky, these products will do nothing at all. Some of them are seriously dangerous by themselves. They promise cures for life threatening illnesses, causing those who buy the promise to delay proper medical treatment, sometimes past the point where it would have helped.

Talk to your doctor or pharmacist before buying into any of these nostrums. It'll save you a lot of headaches and heartache later.

Folks, consider this: If you wouldn't trust a spammer to handle your money, why would you take medical advice from them???

9. Internet Investigator
"Be the first kid on your block to know all the dirty secrets your neighbors are hiding! Find out what your prospective mate has hidden in his past! Find the lost city of Atlantis! Find your lost remote!"

This one is more an annoyance than a real problem. It serves as a great example of the pure hype that you should watch out for in online advertising.

Filled with promises of secret knowledge that's not available to anyone else, it delivers nothing more than a list of places you can pay to search for information. It's the perfect example of a pitch that's not quite a scam -- but clearly misleads in its promise.

Ask yourself this: If this stuff was as easy as the ads make it out to be, wouldn't you see these "secret techniques" in magazines and on TV?

8. Pump and Dump
You've probably gotten these. The subject line or first part of the email says that this is "Highly confidential information."

This scam is based on touting "advance information" on specific stocks in an attempt to drive up the price past its true worth, so the promoters can sell at the higher price.

They pump it up, and then dump it. Hence the name.

This is generally illegal. And certainly a bad way to get investment advice...

Ask yourself: If it's so confidential, why are they spamming it to millions of people?

7. Credit Scams
There are all sorts of these that prey on the desires of people to repair or establish credit.

The worst are the alleged credit repair services. They promise to help you to remove accurate but negative information from your credit record, or to show you how to get a federal Employer ID Number, usually in very questionable fashion.

Not only do these techniques not work, they can get you in deep trouble for committing fraud.

You're not going to fix your credit while you're in jail.

As far as easy credit, guaranteed approval credit cards, and home equity loans that don't require equity in your home... forget it.

This one should be obvious: Cheap money? From a BANK???

6. Auction Antics
You can get a lot of terrific deals through online auctions, but you need to be careful. Before buying anything that seems too cheap, or that shouldn't be on an auction site at all, ask questions.

Look at the seller's feedback rating and comments. You'll get a lot of clues from that. Check the retail price of the merchandise. If it's new merchandise, you can probably expect to pay 1/2 to 2/3 of retail, even at auction.

Remember the old story of the fellow who raffled off a brand new Lincoln at a small town carnival? Tickets were $1 each, and everyone figured they had a good chance.

He sold a lot of tickets, and, as promised, he delivered a brand new Lincoln... penny.

For more on auction fraud, you can check out the issue of Internet ScamBusters called "Online Auctions: Deals or Steals" at: http://www.scambusters.org/Scambusters43.html

5. Chain Letters
"Add your name to position X, move the name in position Y to position Z, send 200 copies of this letter to your closest personal friends, and very soon you'll have no personal friends left!"

Don't believe the claims about legitimacy, folks. These things are illegal, immoral, and probably fattening.

4. Viruses
Get a good anti-virus program, keep it updated, and keep it running.

Huh? What are viruses doing in the ranks of scams?

They're actually among the more clever of scams, if you think about it. Deceptive subject lines, hidden code that causes you to spread them to your friends, and almost always appealing to the most common desires.

3. Nigerian Fee Scam
This is an oldie, and a real baddie.

The basic line goes like this:

"I represent some high mucky muck who wants to get a lot of suspicious money out of my country, and we need help from you to do it. We'll pay you stupid amounts of cash to be a front person."

The system escalates until you've got money sunk into the scam, and they want you to visit the country in question in person. There have been people who played along with this and never made it home alive.

Originally this was focused through Nigeria, but with recent events, you may hear about Taliban leaders wanting help, or people from other war-torn countries.

Don't respond to these people in any way. People die falling for this one.

For more on this scam, check out: http://www.scambusters.org/NigerianFee.html

2. Identity Theft
This is a VERY serious problem. We covered this in our last issue of Internet ScamBusters. If you haven't read it, do so now at: http://www.scambusters.org/Scambusters47.html

1. WTC Scams
The spams relating to the World Trade Center began within an hour of the attacks. They range from appeals for aid to the victims, usually sent through the spammers' web sites, to fake news items concerning reported attacks.

There's nothing funny to be said about these.

Don't pass them along, and don't contribute through any site that doesn't belong to a recognizable charity, such as the Red Cross or the United Way.

You can read more about these scams at: http://www.scambusters.org/Scambusters46.html

When you consider doing any sort of business online, look over this list and see if the appeal sounds like one or more of these scams. If so, check it out carefully before sending money.

Most online businesses are run by honest folks and are quite safe. Just use a little common sense and caution, and you should be fine.

Audri and Jim Lanford, Avoid getting scammed on the Internet. Sign up for a free subscription to Internet ScamBusters, the #1 publication on Internet fraud, http://www.scambusters.org.



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