Enhance Your Video Surveillance With Flexible Computer Features

Video recording has changed a lot over the past few decades, and like many other industries and technologies, computers have become a major game-changer. Modern surveillance cameras are both easier to connect to a computer system and equipped with better ways to avoid computer infiltration, but there are ways to get the best of both worlds. If you want to keep your surveillance closed off from tampering while still getting some nice features, take a look at those features and your security options.

Easier Recording And Organization

Surveillance cameras can be input devices, and if you'd like an easier way to monitor and review footage, storing the video files on a more robust computer system is a good option. Instead of using just a standard surveillance system with a built-in hard drive and limited resources, you can access the video files with a more powerful computer to review or distribute at will.

The standard surveillance camera may not have standard connections that can attach to a computer. The box or control system that comes with the system includes a converter that can change the signal from the camera's end cables to something that the box can understand, and there are adapters available for the computer as well.

Ask a video surveillance professional, such as American Wireless Alarm Inc, for adapters that can work with computer systems. Make sure to consider any specific security warnings that the professional may give, and consider using a secondary camera for computer use.

A Computer Connection Is A Risk, But A Manageable One

If your camera is connected to a computer system, you've created a potential path for hacking. In theory, a person could gain access to your computer and either delete the video files or stop the computer's recording ability. 

There are many security practices that can mitigate this risk. Keeping up strong information security by restricting accounts, such as making sure that no administrative (admin) access is available to security personnel. Admin access is any access level that allows users to make changes to the system, such as install programs (which viruses can use to make changes). You can increase the restriction level by setting video files to read-only, stopping any attempts at removing files.

Information security is important, but the previously mentioned option of having a secondary camera may be a good idea to go along with any other protection policies. For review purposes, you could make your baseline security system an entirely connected to a security recording device, then add computer-connected computers afterwards.

Contact a video surveillance professional to discuss other configurations, enhancements and security concerns.