Google Exposes Web Surveillance Cams 453
An anonymous reader writes "Blogs and message forums buzzed this week with the discovery that a pair of simple Google searches permits access to well over 1,000 unprotected surveillance cameras around the world - apparently without their owners' knowledge." Apparently many of the cams are even aimable. Oops!
The question is (Score:4, Funny)
Re:The question is (Score:5, Informative)
Google stopped me (Score:5, Interesting)
Google Error We're sorry... ... but we can't process your request right now. A computer virus or spyware application is sending us automated requests, and it appears that your computer or network has been infected.
We'll restore your access as quickly as possible, so try again soon. In the meantime, you might want to run a virus checker or spyware remover to make sure that your computer is free of viruses and other spurious software.
We apologize for the inconvenience, and hope we'll see you again on Google.
Re:Google stopped me (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Google stopped me (Score:5, Funny)
Re:The question is (Score:5, Informative)
Re:The question is (Score:5, Informative)
Re:The question is (Score:2)
Security vs. Stupidity (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Security vs. Stupidity (Score:5, Insightful)
Well, it's really just another example of engineers doing the job right, only to then have a PHB of some ilk tell them, "Now I want to be able to watch this from my office or my cell phone or from home, etc." Where the Engineer exclaims, "Doh!" and does it because he/she's not paid to THINK.
Where are the naked coeds? (Score:3, Funny)
We all know why we jumped on this story so now somebody needes to deliver!
Re:Security vs. Stupidity (Score:2, Insightful)
Re:Security vs. Stupidity (Score:4, Informative)
Re:Security vs. Stupidity (Score:4, Insightful)
I'm sick and tired of hearing marketing, human resources, finance and 99% of the world of "business" come cry me a river when they complain system doesn't work as expected because they didn't know what the customer really wanted. Not even the customer knew what he wanted, they all came to me saying " it must be cheap and basically print me money "
Yeah sure and If I had the method I'd be working for you fools would I ?
Go ask Alan Greenspan you yahoos !
Re:Security vs. Stupidity (Score:4, Insightful)
I'm sick and tired of hearing marketing, human resources, finance and 99% of the world of "business" come cry me a river when they complain system doesn't work as expected because they didn't know what the customer really wanted. Not even the customer knew what he wanted, they all came to me saying " it must be cheap and basically print me money "
A big part of engineering is figuring out what the user wants. The user can't be trusted to automatically know exactly what it is he wants that's possible to do. If as an engineer you simply take what's initially asked for, you likely won't get far. If something is impossible, you have to explain to your customer that it is, and provide alternatives. Make sure everyone knows exactly what's going on. While marketers, customers, etc. all have their own faults in the process, you can't simply pass the entire buck to them.
As well, the issue of making something easy to use yet secure, as the grandparent post suggested, is not impossible nor impractical.
But why were they crawled? (Score:3, Insightful)
But why does Google know about them in the first place?
Google (or any other indexing bot) can't find web pages that don't have a link to them. And, typically, they can only find sites that have links from other sites, or that have been "suggested" to the search engine by a user.
So, somebody put a link to the webcam in a publically-accessible page somewhere. If somebody puts a link to a security cam o
Re:But why were they crawled? (Score:3, Interesting)
Publically-accessible referrer page logs.
Let's say A.com/index.html links to B.com/index.html, and to A.com/referrerlog.html. B.com has three pages -- B.com/index.html, B.com/webcam.html, and B.com/referrerlog.html -- but B.com/index.html doesn't link to either of them. However, B.com/webcam.html has a link to B.com/index.html
How does Google wind up with a link chain to B.com/webcam.html?
Well, OwnerB checked B.com/webcam.html, and then hits the l
Re:But why were they crawled? (Score:3, Informative)
But, as the parent said, it will never find a site _unless_ there is a link to it.
Google does not just make up URLs and domains and try brute-forcing them, it follows links on already known-of pages. Therefore we can assume that somewhere, someone has linked to these cameras. Linking to your webcam on the internet kind of implies that it is open to the public, does it not?
ND
The URL I use (Score:3, Informative)
a search string for the lazy/stupid among us (Score:3, Informative)
Run your own surveillance (Score:2, Interesting)
I am sure someone will post with OSS software solutions.
Aside from that, how many people really need web-enabled surveillance? Just record it to HD or have it monitored live in closed-circuit fashion.
Brushfireb
Re:Run your own surveillance (Score:3, Informative)
X10 anyone? (Score:2, Insightful)
Sure, and if you're inexperienced or a moron then you can do it wrong, just as these people have. High quality tools can still be misused by dolts.
I am sure someone will post with OSS software solutions. Aside from that, how many people really need web-enabled surv
Re:Run your own surveillance (Score:2)
Re:Run your own surveillance (Score:2)
Re:Run your own surveillance (Score:3, Funny)
man, I hate it when the wife gets 'rooted' by the (pool|mail|ups)guy!
Re:Run your own surveillance (Score:2, Funny)
do you really have a wife?
your pasty white complexion tells me you don't have a pool either.
Re:Run your own surveillance (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Run your own surveillance (Score:2)
Remember the maket for these things are NOT techies.. ( few products really are, regardless of what many of us like to belive.. )
Why webenabled? Well, a most small business owners want to know what is going on with their 'baby' 24/7. This way they can sit at home and check up on things without driving across town at 2am.
Re:Run your own surveillance (Score:5, Insightful)
This is a good example of why you SHOULD trust some other company. Chances are that company knows more than you do about setting up a system. Choosing the right people to work with is obviously important. I wouldn't trust myself to set up an alarm system for my offices, I would hire someone who knew what they were doing.
Most of the good cameras out there have built-in webservers. Sending motion JPEG over a network from the embedded webserver on the camera is the most common and efficient way to manage a larger camera installation, especially if you are recording. If you have a school district with 10 sites, 5 cameras each, using a network video system and central recording is a fraction of the cost of a traditional CCTV or even DVR (digital recording of analog cameras) setup. Configuring the camera incorrectly leads to problems like this, taking a step backwards to CCTV or other technology is not the answer.
some cameras (Score:4, Informative)
http://sindominio.net/suburbia/article.php3?id_ar
Re:some cameras (Score:2)
The best ones so far (Score:5, Informative)
This one seems to show every page printed off of some printer. http://81.72.76.218/view/index.shtml [81.72.76.218]. Right now it's some photo.
This one http://217.148.2.106/view/index.shtml [217.148.2.106] shows somes bar (German?) that seems very active.
This one http://24.173.235.172:8001/axis-cgi/mjpg/video.cg
Anybody find any other cool ones?
Re:The best ones so far (Score:2, Interesting)
http://130.102.102.252/ViewerFrame?Mode=Motion&
Re:The best ones so far (Score:5, Interesting)
http://lobbycamera4.abia.org/axis-cgi/mjpg/vide
The search queries are... (Score:3, Informative)
inurl:"ViewerFrame?Mode=" [google.com]
or:
inurl:"MultiCameraFrame?Mode=" [google.com]
search keyword - find the most interesting place! (Score:3, Interesting)
I have clicked some of them, and indded some provide pictures of various random places, like shopping center, bureau, or parking lot. But I've noticed that some of them are asking for a password, or simply refuse to connect. Does it mean that admins had fast response to this issue?
And btw - slashdotting thousands of cameras around the world is really funny. Karma prize for a person that finds the most interesting places!
Re:search keyword - find the most interesting plac (Score:4, Interesting)
http://63.243.46.98:8081/axis-cgi/mjpg/video.cgi [63.243.46.98]
Re:search keyword - find the most interesting plac (Score:3, Interesting)
http://webcam.magic.iac.es/axis-cgi/mjpg/video.cg
Re:search keyword - find the most interesting plac (Score:2)
Username: root
Password: pass
I'll lay odds there are complacent admins out there.
THIS INFORMATION IS FOR EDUCATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY. DON'T BE A FUCKHEAD.
so-so interesting stuff, links (Score:2)
All in all CCTV is kind of funny, but doesn't really make my day :-(
Interesting places (Score:3, Interesting)
Not entirely sure what this is [miemasu.net]
Japanese fish store [miemasu.net]
most interesting - Casino anyone? (Score:2, Interesting)
interesting (Score:5, Informative)
change language=1 to language=0 to get english text.
Daycares with cams (Score:3, Interesting)
Perhaps some places have policies where the camera is on only for certain periods of time that vary weekly and IT departments that verify access logs, but I saw no such plans when I checked.
Re:Daycares with cams (Score:2)
Re:Daycares with cams (Score:2, Insightful)
Re:Daycares with cams (Score:2)
Re:Daycares with cams (Score:5, Insightful)
You sound totally paranoid. The driver of your school bus could be a pedo. In fact don't take your kid to the beach, a pedo-infested hunting ground. Statistically walking down the street your kid may pass a few.
Despite what the media may say, the world is populated by mostly normal people. Teaching your kid the dangers and a bit of common sense, and a CCTV camera by the school gates where the kids are picked up, should ensure nothing happens. Please don't inflict your irrational fears on your kids, the media and certain Prominent Politicians will be doing far too much of that already.
Phillip.
Re:Daycares with cams (Score:3, Funny)
It's a quantum mechanical thing. Any time you go somewhere you are really taking all possible routes along all possible streets. Only when you are observed do the laws of statistics come into play and the routes collapse into one real route. So the surveillance cameras do indeed play a vital role of providing that observer. Caveat: it's been a while since I studied QM, so I might be slightly wrong here.
Re:Daycares with cams (Score:5, Funny)
Funny how people with one deviant obsession are so annoyed by people with another. ;-)
Re:Daycares with cams (Score:5, Insightful)
This is awesome... (Score:5, Funny)
In case anyone didn't notice, danila looked up the posting history of FerretFrottage and found a post to use as incriminating evidence against him. This is a rather advanced flaming technique. I am quite impressed. Well done.
Re:This is awesome... (Score:3, Funny)
Re:Daycares with cams (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:Daycares with cams (Score:3, Interesting)
You're joking, right? Daycare jobs pay below the poverty level. Their workers are a big percentage of the 'working poor'. You think they have enough money to pay 'IT Departments'... what planet are you from
ooh (Score:2, Interesting)
Re:ooh (Score:3, Funny)
Re:ooh (Score:2)
Where! Where! Give us a link, NOW!
detailed links (Score:4, Informative)
You can do slightly bettter by searching for inurl:"MultiCameraFrame?Mode=" [google.com], as mentioned on Metafilter [metafilter.com].
Re:detailed links (Score:2, Informative)
Tracker Cam's use this in their urls. These cam's are they type that can be move around and seem to be one of the favs for "in the bedroom" used cam's.
Re:detailed links (Score:2, Funny)
Simple solution (Score:5, Insightful)
robots.txt not obvious (Score:4, Interesting)
If you don't want your webserver to be 'found' then either
A. don't put it online. (Right)
B. security through obscurity: don't link to it, don't save a record of it. No links = no crawling/spidering.
C. Put it behind a server-wise password
Because in the end, Google may respect robots.txt but I, for one, don't when creating a local cache of a site using HTTrack
And I'd imagine there's search engines which ignore it just as well.
Re:robots.txt not obvious (Score:2)
That one isn't so reliable anymore. Doesn't the Google toolbar submit pages it visits for indexing?
Re:robots.txt not obvious (Score:3, Informative)
Opera (the unregistered version with the ads) also uses Google to provide advertising, so anybody who browses to your site using Opera will make Google aware of your site. I had a page on my website that was linked to only from my IM profile, and I was looking through the logs and noticed someone use Opera to view my site, followed one second later by a bunch of hits from Google (probably trying to figure out what sort of ad to show.) Not linking to a page doesn't keep it secret in today's world - you
Re:Simple solution-THAT FAILS (Score:3, Informative)
further, if security is the issue, there are indexes that IGNORE robots.txt file, (and I'm sure there are some that actively look for robots.txt that are exclusionary) not everyone lives by the motto "do no evil"
a spider reading the robots.txt is a nice, perfect world, internet convention,
Re:Simple solution (Score:2)
Am I thinking too hard or isn't it common sense to disable external web access to a firewall... that'd be like putting your switching gear on the outside world... wtfmate
Welcome to last October (Score:5, Interesting)
Here is the list of searches for network aware stuff: Google Cached since main site is down [64.233.187.104]
Some search phrases for cameras are: "camera linksys inurl:main.cgi" and
"powered by webcamXP" "Pro|Broadcast"
Don't forget that google can limit results to region by using "site:.jp" or similar.
Re:Welcome to last October (Score:2)
a bunch of peepings toms... (Score:3, Funny)
In any case, I have to admit that one of my guilty pleasures used to be (before the slashdotting) this fun link to... 137 java-controllable webcams around the world: http://www.google.com/search?q=intitle%3Aliveapple t+inurl%3ALvAppl [google.com]
A certain japanese construction site has made a lot progress lately. :)
Slashdot effect on webcams? (Score:2, Interesting)
ZOOM! ZOOM! (Score:2, Funny)
Root Password (Score:2, Informative)
http://cert.uni-stuttgart.de/archive/bugtraq/2001
Re:Root Password (Score:2)
Many coded car radios can have the codes recovered or reprogrammed with a new code. Sometimes the codes can be determined from the serial number.
Does it matter they are public? (Score:5, Insightful)
So you can watch cars in a parking lot.. Or people mill around the mall...Big risk there..
I don't see a big deal that most of them are not being locked down. Unless i missed something here..
Re:Does it matter they are public? (Score:2)
On the other hand, the general public won't give a damn about it, until someone convinces them that they have a right to walk through the mall without anyone
Re:Does it matter they are public? (Score:2)
Go to the mall yourself, and you are seen by many eyes in person. Do i *personally* like being recorded, no as its no ones business i was shopping that day. But unfortunately in reality its little different then being viewed by people and them taking notes... so its a losing battle. ( actually thats my my 05 resolution, only pick battles that have a chance of being won, and drop the rest.. )
By fearing that 'terrorists'
Re:Does it matter they are public? (Score:2)
Re:Does it matter they are public? (Score:2)
Is that sarcasm or stupidity? Without the correct smiley it's hard to tell.
Actually, having surveillance cameras online is an excellent way to make people aware of how much they're being spied on. I might hope their reaction would be more "get rid of these things" than "stop the terrorists/paedophiles/whatever from accessing them.
Re:Does it matter they are public? (Score:2)
Its still a simi-public area. You could go down and stand there in person and watch..
You would look silly, but its legal ( today ) to look at people..
Google Links to Web cams (Score:5, Informative)
Google - inurl:"ViewerFrame?Mode=Motion" [google.com]
Google - inurl:LvAppl intitle:liveapplet [google.com]
Google - intitle:"Live View / - AXIS" [google.com]
Google - "Powered by webcamXP" [google.com]
Google - inurl:indexFrame.shtml "Axis Video Server" [google.com]
Google - "MOBOTIX M1" and "open menu" [google.com]
Google - intitle:flexwatch intext:"Copyright by Seyeon TECH Co" [google.com]
Google - intitle:"WJ-NT104 Main" [google.com]
Re:Google Links to Web cams (Score:3, Informative)
No, it doesn't - if you use homeJ.html links, there is a Java viewer that works on all platforms. Like in this search [google.com]. Some of them have even working controls, although most show boring construction sites.
Speaking of IP cam, why isn't there higher res.... (Score:3, Interesting)
With all of those sub 100 cameras that are going up to 3mpix these days, how come there aren't "HD"webcams or anything similar in the cheap end of the spectrum? it would be good enough for low-level consumer home security, and I'm sure it would sell like crazy. I know the image quality wouldn't be equal to the top webcam using CCD out there, but some application would require more resolution before perfect color reproduction.
Anyways just a thought... If anyone could point me to something that already exists, it would be nice, as I am sure a lot of people here would jump on this...
Re:Speaking of IP cam, why isn't there higher res. (Score:3, Informative)
Next, the phillips TriMedia chip and competitors support real-time compression at 640x480 and are available in volume. Chips that can suport compression at higher resolutions aren't made in volume, so are much more expensive.
Finally, if you need high resolution, just switch to a telephoto lens. If you need to look at several areas of det
Wireless (Score:2)
They still wont know (Score:2, Interesting)
These have been known for a while. It's hardly breaking news. I visit the site soetimes. There is a lot more than cameras. There are links for usernames, passwords, databases, etc.
iSight (Score:3, Insightful)
Blame the Users (Score:2)
So Peeping Toms no longer just the authorities (Score:2)
Phillip.
Doing this on AltaVista (Score:2)
How it should be? (Score:3, Insightful)
The fact that we can look is not the problem. The problem with surveillance cameras is when people can look at us, but we can't look back.
Wouldn't it be better if a women going to her car can look at surveillance cameras up the block to make sure she will arrive safely? Or a citizen's watch groups can virtually patrol it's own neighbourhood?
The key problem is when a select few can control and abuse the technology and possibly enforce the law selectively. For example, corrupt cops losing video evidence of them beating someone to death.
I'm not completely sold on the idea, but it's an opinion worth considering.
Transparent Society [davidbrin.com]
Airport Security at its finest! (Score:2, Interesting)
Good reason to make security cams public.. (Score:3, Interesting)
Lets say your local friendly 'protection' dude wanders in to your shop one day asking for money 'or else'.. you can either..
a) inform him that his every move is being watched by a million slashdotters..
b) pull your gun out from under the counter and blow his brains out - then tell the police there's plenty of witnesses to interview.. ;)
Shortcut (Score:3, Funny)
Re:Requires ActiveX Control (Score:2)
Re:Requires ActiveX Control (Score:2)
Re:Requires ActiveX Control (Score:2)
Re:Fun but dangerious? (Score:2, Funny)
Incidentally, Bush was born in Connecticut, so I often wonder why they call Texas his home state.
Adopted, I suppose.
Re:Guess the Location... (Score:2)