Red Hand, A budget security camera.
INTRODUCTION
A while ago I used to write applications for another website that has since then closed down. I thought it was sad to lose all those cool applications that I had created. So I decided I will include them here in the blog for all to read and download. So before I start with the technical things about the application I thought I will give you some background into the inspiration in to the creation of this application.
This application was inspired from a subspected theifing domestic helper I had at my place. I would find that certain things around the house were missing after the helper had been there that day. Yes I could of hidden my stuff in a safe place but firstly I am too lazy to do that and secondly, I figured it is my home and I have the right to be comfortable where I was. I should be able to trust my domestic helper.
So to cut the story short I developed this program to monitor what she was doing, and sure enough I busted her ‘Red Handed‘ stealing an item that I had tactically placed. Hence the name Red Hand.
Ok so now the information about the application.
Rating:
It essentially takes pictures then constantly compares them (pixel by pixel, the quality can be changed for speed purposes). Any changes in the pixels are then saved onto your hard drive for later inspection.
If a different picture is detected then it saves the picture into the ‘Capture‘ folder where it is labeled by date and time. So in summary it detects motion and saves an image of the detected movement.
The quality of the detection can be adjusted, shown in the screenshot.
Lower quality motion detection will speed up processing of capturing. This application is designed not to run with no other applications and the more resources it has the better it will run.
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Download: Red Hand 1.0
Please note:
- The installer was written for Evil systems. This site does not exist any more. Any queries please enter them below in the comments section.
- This program requires .NET framework 1.1 or higher.
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Softpedia guarantees that Red Hand 1.0 is 100% CLEAN, which means it does not contain any form of malware, including but not limited to: spyware, viruses, trojans and backdoors.
This software product was tested thoroughly and was found absolutely clean, therefore it can be installed with no concern by any computer user. However, it should be noted that this product will be retested periodically and the award may be withdrawn, so you should check back on this page from time to time. (click here for more information) |
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Impressive. I wish I could program like that.
I did find that the preview windowpanes stretch the image coming from the webcam, and the preview of the image to be saved is speckled with black pixels.
But the things that realy bugged me were:
1. no explanation on where the ‘evidence’ pictures are saved
2. the user must select his webcam as input source twice: before the program starts, and after he hits the “start” button.
Kind regards,
Stefaan Meeuws
How about considering placing your project out on SourceForge as open source. We can make corrections and re-issue it.
Thank you all for your comments.
The speckled dots are unfortunately the result of the rendering of the screen shot as well as processing the comparison. I realize this program is quite resource intensive. It is intended to run and left alone for a few hours to record.
As for the ‘Evidence’ picture, perhaps it was not clear enough in the post but there is a dedicated folder called Capture, this can be found in the installation path of the program. There is also a shortcut to it in your program files folder (If default installation is selected). As for the web cam, I am not sure why this occurred, I do not have this issue. I will look into it thou.
As for Bob’s response. I have taken your advise and applied to SourceForge. I am currently awaiting approval. I will update this post when I have approval and created a project. I hope to see your support there soon.
Thanks for your support, it is must appreciated.
This is cool stuff… thanks
Red Hand repeatedly shows the error ‘Web cam not found!’. if i open NetMeeting or Camera/Scanner Wizard and have a live camera feed showing, the ‘Video Capture Source’ dialog box comes up…otherwise Red Hand opens directly to the application. Either way, same error. I have a working Intel PC camera; XP pro; downloaded latest .NET framework; rebooted many times. any suggestions?
Hi Rollerballz,
I have sent you an email with some troubleshooting steps. However for other readers with a similar issue you can try the following:
* Ensure you have the latest driver for your Web Cam.
* You can copy the following files from the Red Hand folder: ijlj15.dll , CamServer.dll and Interop.WIALib.dll to your Windows\System32 folder. Please ensure you make backup files if you are replacing files.
* Ensure you have administrator rights on the Red Hand application
* Sometimes other programs are known to conflict with Red Hand, especially Microsoft Live Messenger, AOL or Skype. I would recommend closing this and trying it again.
* Run services.msc from command prompt (start run). Search for and start the WIA service, if not already started.