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Netgear recalls Arlo outdoor camera power adapters over fire risks
If you bought one of Netgear's Arlo outdoor cameras and then snapped up an extra power adapter just in case, you may want to sit up and take notice. Netgear and the Consumer Product Safety Commission are recalling Arlo's aftermarket power adapter after receiving seven reports of the cord overheating and melting, in one case leading to a fire. Only 7,700 affected adapters were sold in North America between June and October, but that still presents a sizeable risk.
Jon Fingas12.05.2017
Nest's outdoor Cam IQ brings facial recognition to your backyard
Nest's latest media event could be big news if you're interested in spotting burglars before they break into your home. It's introducing the Nest Cam IQ outdoor, a rugged take on the regular IQ that's designed to watch over your yard. As you might guess, it applies the same facial recognition technology to a weather-resistant (IP66-rated) and tamper-resistant body that's always plugged in. In theory, it won't raise an alert if it sees your kids playing in the back, or a locked-out spouse frantically looking for a way in. The camera can automatically zoom in and follow people as well. And the speaker is 15 times louder than on the indoor model, so you can shout at trespassers if you catch them in the act.
Jon Fingas09.20.2017
August's latest smart locks warn if you left the door open
If you've lived on this planet long enough, you've probably had that moment where you thought you'd closed the door on your way out, only to find out that it didn't quite shut. But how are you supposed to know if no one's at home to tell you, and even many smart locks won't fill in the gap? August Home thinks it has the answer. It's introducing two new locks, a lower-cost August Smart Lock (shown at center) and the August Smart Lock Pro (at left), that include a sensor to determine whether or not the door is really closed. If it's ajar and the deadbolt didn't engage, you can find out through your phone instead of having to return home.
Jon Fingas09.19.2017
The best wireless outdoor home security camera
By Rachel Cericola This post was done in partnership with The Wirecutter, a buyer's guide to the best technology. When readers choose to buy The Wirecutter's independently chosen editorial picks, it may earn affiliate commissions that support its work. Read the full article here. After spending almost three months looking, listening, adjusting angles, and deleting over 10,000 push notifications and emails, we've decided that the Netgear Arlo Pro is the best DIY outdoor Wi-Fi home security camera you can get. Like the other eight units we tested, the Arlo Pro lets you keep an eye on your property and provides smartphone alerts whenever there's motion. However, it's one of the few options with built-in rechargeable batteries to make it completely wireless, so it's easy to place and move. It also delivers an excellent image, clear two-way audio, practical smart-home integration, and seven days of free cloud storage.
Wirecutter06.23.2017
Nest’s new camera is smart enough to know who’s who
After acquiring Dropcam back in 2014, Nest waited another year to launch its own home monitoring camera. It wasn't much of an improvement over the old Dropcam Pro, and aside from releasing an outdoor version with weatherproof body, Nest has focused on improving its software ever since. But now the smart home company is back with a second-gen connected camera -- the Nest Cam IQ -- which features serious upgrades in the hardware department and an inflated price tag to match.
Jamie Rigg05.31.2017
Nest’s next camera might be 4K, but not for streaming
It's been almost a year since Nest has released a new product and rumors are starting to trickle out that the one-time connected home darling is on the verge of a new release. As Android Police claims, Nest is launching a new, higher-resolution WiFi security camera sometime later this month.
Andrew Dalton05.22.2017
Lighthouse home security camera uses AI to ID people and pets
Security cameras are getting more and more advanced these days, they might put a few security companies out of business. Take Lighthouse, for instance. The device, hailing from an accelerator created by Android co-founder Andy Rubin, can figure out who's at home or who entered the house, and whether it's a human or the family dog/cat. When The Verge took it for a spin, the Lighthouse team showed how it responds to your questions and voice commands. Say, you want to know if anybody took the dog for a walk. You can just ask its accompanying app, and it will show you the latest video it took of your dog.
Mariella Moon05.11.2017
Nest security cameras can be knocked out via Bluetooth
Your connected security camera might not be as trustworthy a defense as you think. Security researcher Jason Doyle has published details of three vulnerabilities in the Nest Cam, Dropcam and Dropcam Pro that lets an attacker disable their recording over Bluetooth. Two of them, which rely on sending excessively long WiFi data, will trigger a memory overflow that makes the camera crash and reboot. The third exploit tricks the camera into temporarily disconnecting from WiFi by making it try to connect to another network.
Jon Fingas03.22.2017
Polaroid has a Nest Cam-like security camera, too
There are a number of options when it comes to wireless home security cameras that beam footage to your phone in a similar fashion to Nest Cam. Polaroid got into video a couple years ago with the tiny Cube, and here at CES it's showing off the Hoop camera that watches over your house. The company touts ease of use as a key feature for the $199 unit, so hopefully your parents won't nag you to come over and install it. Like Nest and other cameras, Polaroid says the Hoop can easily distinguish between humans and pets and that it will also stop recording when you get home.
Billy Steele01.04.2017
Logitech's Circle camera can better distinguish people from pets (updated)
The ability to determine the difference between an actual person and a pet or other wildlife can be an issue for some connected security cameras. With an update to its Circle camera, Logitech improves the device's ability to do just that. The company says the camera employs "proprietary artificial intelligence" to identify when someone is approaching. Of course, this should cut down on any unwanted alerts when your cat saunters by.
Billy Steele12.13.2016
Security camera uses AI to tell humans from animals or cars
Netatmo's WiFi-connected Presence security camera is now on sale, making it one of the first on the market with built-in AI. That helps it distinguish between people cars, or animals, then send you a smartphone message like "car seen" or "person seen." You can program it to start recording or, say, turn off the sprinkler if it detects an animal, thanks to smart home and IFTTT integration. It also lets you watch activities discreetly using the camera's infrared night vision, or flip on the built-in floodlight manually.
Steve Dent11.02.2016
Netgear security camera is wireless, ultra-wide and weatherproof
Look, we know -- it's hard to get excited about home security cameras. However, Netgear is determined to stand out with a camera that ticks virtually every checkbox on the list. Its new Arlo Pro is not only wireless (with the option of plugging in), but touts an ultra-wide 130-degree viewing angle and weatherproofing. Yes, you can stick this on a tree with the knowledge that it could easily spot an intruder in the pouring rain. That includes at night, too, thanks to night vision and an infrared motion sensor.
Jon Fingas10.11.2016
Canary's Flex is a small, weatherproof security camera
Security cameras are slowly making their way out of your house and onto your porches and yards. Canary is following the footsteps of rival Nest by launching a new, smaller weatherproof camera called the Flex that can be plugged into an outlet or powered by batteries. It's available for pre-order today for $199 and will be in stores by the holidays. Canary is also introducing a new pricing model that is pretty different from what's on the market, but we'll get to that in a bit.
Cherlynn Low09.20.2016
Nest is reportedly working on an outdoor security camera
In a letter to employees posted by The Verge yesterday, new Nest CEO Marwan Fawaz reassured employees that the company wasn't for sale and stated that the focus should be on delivering new products currently in the works. Although a specific reference to a new gadget was redacted in the letter, Tech Insider reports that one of the new items mentioned is an outdoor version of the Nest Cam.
Billy Steele06.09.2016
Sony's 4K security camera can spot intruders in the dark
What do you give to the person who has everything? The world's best security camera to watch over it, we guess. Sony's latest Alpha product, the 850,000 yen ($7,500) SNC-VB770, may fit the bill. It's a 4K mirrorless, E-mount network camera that can capture "clear color video at 30fps, even when the subject is almost invisible to the naked eye," according to Sony. It features a full-frame 12.2-megapixel sensor that sounds a lot like the one Sony uses in its crazy Alpha A7S II mirrorless camera. As such, it can capture 4K in dark night conditions as low as .004 lux.
Steve Dent03.03.2016
Tokyo police are taking 3D mugshots of suspects
Security camera footage isn't always that useful for identifying suspects, even if you know who it's likely to be. What good is a mugshot when video shows the crook's head tilted down? Tokyo's Metropolitan Police Department has an answer. As of April, all of its 102 stations will start taking 3D mugshots that let them compare faces, regardless of the angle. Ideally, this will help arrest suspects that much faster -- police won't have to guess based on plain old photos, or ask for specialized gear to be shipped across the city or country. The 2D pictures aren't going away, but officers will soon have one more tool under their belts. [Image credit: Metropolitan Police Department]
Jon Fingas01.25.2016
Netatmo's security cam can pick out cars, humans and animals
Netatmo is no stranger to home monitoring cameras, and at this year's CES, the company is taking its efforts outside. The WiFi-connected Presence outdoor security camera has a unique feature: It can distinguish between cars, people and animals. In addition to real-time monitoring, the gadget can also be set up to record only when it detects a person or a car, for example. You'll get a notification to your phone through Netatmo's app, where you can flip on the flood light to deter any would-be intruders.
Billy Steele01.04.2016
Qualcomm to enable 'conscious' security cameras at lower costs
Just as all eyes are on Qualcomm's next move after its recent realignment, the company threw a surprise by announcing its entry into the security camera market by way of a reference design. But what for, you ask? Well, it's all about reducing the bill of materials while offering powerful features -- including 4K video and LTE radio -- at the same time. On paper, this Snapdragon 618 IP Camera platform co-developed by Thundersoft is very much a mid-range smartphone packaged differently: It contains a six-core 64-bit CPU (dual 1.8GHz Cortex-A72 and quad 1.2GHz Cortex-A53), Adreno 510 GPU, LTE Cat 7 radio (300 Mbps down / 100 Mbps up), 802.11ac WiFi, Bluetooth 4.1 and GPS. Compared to conventional solutions using multiple chips, the full integration on the Snapdragon chipset means lower manufacturing costs.
Richard Lai10.27.2015
Malware turns hundreds of security cameras into a botnet
Closed-circuit security cameras are supposed to make you safer, but some malware is turning them into weapons. Researchers at Incapsula have discovered code that turned about 900 Linux-based CCTV cameras into a botnet, which promptly bombarded an unnamed "large cloud service" that serves millions of people. The intruders compromised cameras from multiple brands, all of which had lax out-of-the-box security -- in some cases, they'd been hacked by more than one person.
Jon Fingas10.25.2015
ICYMI: Pocket 3D scanner, light show record and more
#fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-440441{display:none;} .cke_show_borders #fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-440441, #postcontentcontainer #fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-440441{width:570px;display:block;} try{document.getElementById("fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-440441").style.display="none";}catch(e){}Today on In Case You Missed It: Russia set a world record for the largest projected light show that took 140 Panasonic projectors to display. A Kickstarter project for Ulo the security camera is truly one of the most adorable pieces of tech we've seen for quite some time. And the EORA 3D scanner attaches to a smartphone and can upload scans to 3D compatible printing services right from the app.
Kerry Davis10.22.2015