Our household is heavily weighted toward the Mac. We have an iMac on the desktop and a couple of MacBooks.
The iMac is running most of the time, whether we’re at home or at work or just out.
If you’ve ever wanted to know what was going on back home here’s a quick way to setup a security spy cam app on your Mac so you can spy on yourself (even when you’re not at home). All it takes is your Mac, a built-in iSight camera (or most USB plugin cameras), and EvoCam. In this day and age of rampant security paranoia it surprises me that there are so few spy cam app options for Mac users.
Install EvoCam and your Mac becomes a security camera which can record video from the Mac’s camera. The video can be a live video stream which you can view remotely. Not only can EvoCam be a home security camera, but it also records video from attached network cameras.
Simply use the built-in iSight camera, or plugin a compatible USB or FireWire camera to record video from your Mac.
Preferences are extensive and can be confusing. There’s a built-in web server, and FTP server to upload videos, and an email server to send videos. There’s also an option to install network camera video streams which EvoCam can capture.
The EvoCam app’s settings are more straightforward. Select the audio and video input. Choose specific actions associated with Streaming or Recording video from the camera.
You get options to allow access to specific users, and a one-click Start Recording button.
The recorded video can have a time stamp and you get control over color, placement, fonts, and font size. And EvoCam supports multiple recording documents, and options to save movies to a specific location, recording lengths, and a recording schedule.
New Items include options to turn the video camera into a motion sensor, complete with additional controls, upload and email options, and much more.
The controls can also be a bit confusing so exercise some patience. In the end EvoCam turns your Mac into a home security system. Aimed at your front door it’s an easy way to see who’s coming and going, and who’s doing what at home. It could make a good nannycam, too.
The list of additional supported USB and FireWire cameras is extensive, but all you need to get started is your Mac’s built-in iSight camera.
Evocam is still going to cause the green light on the camera to come on, right? Not really sure if it’s a good spy/nannycam in that case. You’re letting someone know that the camera is on.