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Covert Camera Apps to be aware of

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Have you ever tried to take a picture or video of someone with your phone without them knowing? Sometimes it’s possible, but sometimes it’s not. Well, maybe you knew it was coming: “Ghost apps” are available that let you take images and videos without the target’s knowledge. You can then hide the images and videos in secret folders.

CAMYou can now spy on people with apps like Private Ninja Cam, Stealth Cam and Top Secret Camera. Scary enough, many users of these apps use this technology on sexting and other porny activities.

This spying-type of technology, however, can be put to good use, such as capturing a teacher abusing a student or a spouse doing some cheating. You can build evidence for a lawsuit, for instance, amassing videos at the workplace of various forms of harassment. You can be sitting in your boss’s office, getting chewed out by him over nothing, recording everything without him having the slightest clue.

Be careful though, as some states have laws against these practices when audio recording is involved.

So how do you get away with the spying?

  • The camera can record with a motion sensor.
  • The screen can be made blank when taking a picture.
  • The preview window can appear like a Web browser.
  • The shutter sound can be muted.

You can then hide the loot so that someone who gains access to your phone won’t be able to find it. Such secret vaults include Best Secret Folder and Keep Safe Private Photo Vault.

Snoopers can’t get into them because they require a password. But snoopers may also be tricked into overlooking the vault because the vault can masquerade as another type of application. The vault may also snap a picture of the snooper or sound an alarm.

Imagine all the things someone can do with these apps, such as a man sitting on a subway “upskirting” standing women. But remember, good things can be done too, such as recording a crime, recording being mistreated by a family member, capturing your husband’s boss hitting on you at the Christmas party, and so much more.

Just sayin’

Robert Siciliano is an identity theft expert to BestIDTheftCompanys.com discussing identity theft prevention.

How to choose a Video Surveillance System

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Selecting a video surveillance system will depend, in part, on the nature of your home: size, layout, number of possible entry points, etc. Before purchasing a video surveillance system, figure out exactly why you need this technology and where you’d like to have the cameras mounted.

2WBut one thing’s for sure; no matter how many cameras you have, they must be able to provide a good view of prominent areas like rooftops, attics, doorways and other locations where intruders can gain entry or hide.

Another thing to consider is the hidden camera, if you want to build evidence, not just deter an intruder. For instance, who keeps stealing your milk? One homeowner wanted to find out who kept taking off with his freshly delivered milk every morning. The hidden surveillance recorded the thief in action: the neighbor’s dog.

A camera in plain sight, though, is a very effective deterrent to potential intruders and vandals.

Camera Types

  • Box camera. Nothing fancy here, but this style is very practical and cost effective, some with the capacity for interchangeable lenses. They’re perhaps the most commonly used.
  • Dome camera. Some makes have interchangeable lenses, and this type can be easily mounted in many locations and are not as bulky as the box type.
  • Bullet camera. This style can vary greatly in size, are good deterrents simply by their look, and can come with the interchangeable lens option.
  • PTZ (pan-tilt-zoom) come with more monitoring and installation choices, including a panoramic view just from a single unit. Most are remote controlled.

Indoor and outdoor cameras differ, mainly in that outdoor cameras are bigger and tougher to withstand tampering as well as the elements. However, nowadays higher-end cameras can function for both indoor and outdoor surveillance. Also, some outdoor cameras can be disguised as common items like a hose reel or a rock.

Wired or wireless? No matter what, your camera will need a wire. That wire may be “cat5” which is an internet cable also know as a “networked camera”. Or, the camera will need a power cable to plug into an outlet or hardwired back to a panel. Otherwise wired cameras are generally considered “analog” which means the video signal travels through the cable itself back to a digital video recorder. So one way or another, you have to have wires.

Robert Siciliano personal and home security specialist to BestHomeSecurityCompanys.com discussing burglar proofing your home on Fox Boston. Disclosures.

Woman Captures Alleged Theft on Video

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Robert Siciliano Identity Theft Expert

If I’ve said this a bazillion times I’ll say it again, video rules! Being able to access video footage of the day’s or evening’s “goings on” provides a tremendous amount of security. The UK has always been the leader in introducing video surveillance in public.

“Public video surveillance in the UK began very unassumingly in 1986, on a single square mile industrial estate outside the English town of King’s Lynn. Three CCTV video surveillance cameras were used and their impact was immediate. In the years before the cameras were installed, there had been 58 crimes (mostly vandalism) recorded on the estate. In the two years following the installation, there were no crimes reported”

Since then, millions of video cameras have been installed all over Europe, Asia and the United States.  Residential adoption of home security cameras is growing here in the states too. People everywhere now understand the benefits of being able to record activity that goes on at your residence while you are home or away. There is a tremendous piece of mind that goes along with being able to securely and remotely monitor over the Internet, what goes on at your home.


“A Chicago woman says someone stole her boyfriend’s brand new computer that had just been delivered to her apartment building lobby. She caught the theft on videotape and police tell her there have been dozens of similar cases in the past two weeks. A security camera set up in the lobby of the building clearly shows a delivery person entering the front door of the building. The videotape shows a man walking up to the front door, apparently referring to a message on his phone and then punching in an access code to open the front door. Less than a minute later, the video shows the man leaving the building with the package under his arm, then running down the street.”


Scenes like this are playing out all over the country. In many cases, home video surveillance is a great deterrent. With posted signage to add another layer of security, a criminal will generally think twice about stealing from “that” home and move onto one that doesn’t have video. Criminals don’t want to get caught for their bad deeds, and if a camera is on them they are less likely to strike.


The benefits of installing a home security system go way beyond deterrence or catching the bad guy. When you are at work, you can check in on your family at home. If you have a babysitter or nanny at the house, you can check in from the road. Some home security surveillance systems applications allow you to check in from a mobile phone too. If you have a vacation home, having a surveillance system installed there is fantastic.  And if you have an elderly parent who is home alone, having a security camera checking on them is a wonderful piece of mind.


Robert Siciliano personal security expert to Home Security Source discussing home security on Fox Boston Show. Disclosures