Monitoring a room, a work, a street or an entrance, at home or in the office, can be done by any person by installing a simple webcam and a microphone on their computer. The problem then is to find the right free program that allows you to manage home-made video surveillance.
In particular, you need software that is not limited in its use, that is simple to use and configure, that activates automatic recording when motion is detected and that can send notifications or alerts.
In fact, in the guide that follows we will show you the best programs to use for free to monitor a room or a work using the webcam and microphone connected to the computer.
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1) AtHome Video Streamer
Among the best applications to monitor a room or an office via the computer we find AtHome Video Streamer, available for free download from the official website.
Using this program we can transform our webcam into a hidden camera and the PC microphone into a directional microphone, recording everything that passes in front of the screen.
Among the most interesting functions of the program we find push notifications, which can be configured every time someone passes in front of the camera or a movement is detected on the computer: we can receive both notifications on the dedicated app and via email, so that we can check immediately what the computer detected, using the AtHome Video Streamer app, available for Android and iPhone.
2) Sighthound Video
Other professional PC surveillance software is Sighthound Video, a commercial program available as a free trial from the official website.
This program provides an advanced recognition system that can recognize faces, objects and animals and take detailed photographs of any object that passes in front of the camera.
After installing it on the PC, just configure the filters of the recognition system, set the webcam for recording and activate the motion detector: every time someone passes in front of the webcam, the program will record and recognize the movement, also taking detailed photos of the subject. or the object in question.
3) iSpy
The best software we can install to monitor with webcam and microphone by recording movements on the computer is iSpy.
iSpy is an open source program that can be installed on one or more computers that has all the features of a professional video surveillance and security software.
iSpy uses the webcam and microphone to detect and record movement in front of the lens or sound detected in a room. Each movement is recorded by the computer and saved not only by taking several photographs but by generating a video that is compressed into an mp4 file. Obviously, the capture of images and videos is activated and stopped automatically depending on the choices.
iSpy can be configured to work on multiple computers at the same time and has a system of alerts and notifications via Email or SMS. It also supports surveillance even using multiple webcams and microphones at the same time and allows you to manage them remotely or even from a mobile phone (iPhone and Android).
Reading the main features of iSpy Monitor we find that it is possible:
- Configure the degree of motion detected in front of the webcam lens
- Record audio from microphone
- Configure the start of any program, the automatic sending of an Email or SMS when a movement or sound is detected or even if it is not detected
- Receive images taken during surveillance via E-mail
- Monitor a room live and in real time even from the internet
The problem with iSpy, undoubtedly the best in its class, is that some time and patience is required for the correct setup of the video surveillance (although it is not difficult to use).
Conclusions
Most of the spy programs that can be installed on the computer are paid and require great computer knowledge to be able to create the trigger necessary to start recording when a movement is detected. With the programs seen above we will have free apps that are rather simple to configure, so that we can transform any computer with a webcam into a spy camera, so that we always know who enters our room or office.
To learn more, we can also read our guides to the best programs for video surveillance and how to turn the webcam into a security camera.
