Real cats and dogs need protection.
Pets are like children and, to many, their safety is just as important. You can set up a web cam to monitor your home while you're away, but this will do little to protect your pet. If the pet gets hurt, you won't find out until you get home. The solution is to set up a surveillance program with online reporting. This way, you can monitor the footage in real time just by checking your email.
Instructions
1. Install the web cam according to the directions in its user's guide. The specifics may vary, but this usually includes inserting the setup CD to begin the installation and plugging the web cam into an available USB slot when prompted. If you have a built-in web cam, it should be ready to use. Use the driver CD that came with your computer to locate the web cam drivers, if necessary.
2. Download a security software program (see Resources) and save it to the Downloads folder located in "My Documents." If you are a Vista or Windows 7 user, you will see "Downloads" in the folder with your user name.
3. Open the Downloads folder, and double-click the setup file. Click "Next," and leave the settings at the default unless you are an advanced user. Stay online during the installation because the setup might require downloading additional files from Microsoft.
4. Click "Continue Trial." You will not see this screen if you have the registered version.
5. Type "Administrator" for both the username and password.
6. Click "Yes," and the software will load with instant video from your web cam.
7. Press "Enter," or click "Close" to exit the setup window.
8. Click the "Open Settings Dialog" button in the upper right corner. The icon resembles a set of tools.
9. Click "Channel Settings," and go to the "Event Handler" tab.
10. Click "Advance" and then "Add Module."
11. Click to highlight "Email Notifier" and then "OK." Check "Event Setting," and make sure that "Motion Detect" is highlighted. This tells the software to send an email when motion is detected. Adjust the settings to increase or decrease the number of messages.
12. Fill in your email info in the "Email" tab, and click "Bind Module." Click "Apply" to accept the changes. All changes require you to check "Bind Module" to activate that component regardless of clicking "Apply."
13. Adjust the web cam so that it's aimed in the direction of your pet, and you'll receive snapshots of the pet's status as email attachments.
Tags: Downloads folder, Bind Module, Module Click, with your, your email