We all upgrade our tech as and when time goes by. Whether it’s our smartphone, laptop, or even the GPU on our desktop -- everything has a shelf life, after which, it's time to upgrade it. Once you decide to upgrade, these older gadgets and gizmos no longer have any use. Some valuable items like phones and monitors can be sold on marketplaces. This way, they find a new home while you make a little bit of extra money. However, small peripherals and accessories like keyboards, mice, etc. don’t have a high resale value, so they get disposed of leading to a ton of e-waste. One such device is a webcam.

Now, the majority of people don’t upgrade their webcams as frequently as some other gadgets. This is because most webcams just get the job done for the occasional video call. But, if you attend a lot of online meetings, conduct online classes or sessions, or even live-stream your content, you may feel the need to constantly upgrade your gear to provide the best quality and visual experience for the opposite party or viewers. In such a case, you may have a pile of old webcams that you don’t use anymore. I was in a similar situation, too, when it struck me: why don’t I put all of these webcams to good use?

That's when I started thinking about what I could do with them, and figured I could use them to boost the security of my home office. I decided to repurpose my webcams -- just the way you can repurpose your hard drives -- and use them as security cameras to monitor my office space when I’m away. Surprisingly, it has been going great so far. If you – like me – have an old or a few old webcams lying around, here’s how you can improve the security of your home or office with them!

Setting up the webcam to use with Alfred

I found that the simplest way to use a webcam as a security camera was using a service called Alfred. Some of you may be aware of Alfred as an app that allows you to repurpose your old smartphones as a security camera. Unsurprisingly, the same developer also has a web portal for PCs and Mac computers that you can use to repurpose an old webcam for the same purpose.

What I love about Alfred is the fact that you don’t even need to download or install an additional app. Simply head to the Alfred Camera website to link your camera with the service.

1. Connect the webcam to your computer using a USB cable.

   If you don’t have a computer, or it’s situated far from the camera, you can also use a spare smartphone or tablet to connect to the camera. Open the Alfred camera website on the phone’s/tablet’s browser and select the Desktop site option. Do not use the Alfred app since an external camera won’t work with it.

2. Open the Alfred Camera website using a browser of your choice. Sign in or create a new account. Note that we will use the same account to log in on our smartphone, so remember the credentials, store them in a password manager, or note them down safely.
3. Once your PC/Mac detects the webcam, click on the Camera On/Off toggle to turn it on.
4. This is when you’ll be prompted to provide permission for your browser to access the camera and microphone on your computer. Select Allow while visiting the site for both.
5. You’ll now see the webcam’s feed appear on the Alfred portal. As a final step, enable Motion Detection by clicking on it inside the viewfinder window.

The setup process is now complete.

Placing the webcam to monitor your room

Place the camera from wherever you wish to monitor the room. Ideally, place it at a high level so it can get a good vantage point of the whole room. I have a tall bookshelf right above my PC, so I’ve placed the camera on the topmost shelf.

If you want a more unassuming location, I would recommend placing the webcam on top of your monitor – like how one would use a standard webcam. This would not raise any alarms – especially if you’re setting up a camera to catch an offender.

Alfred also allows you to connect and use more than one camera at a time. So, if you have multiple webcams at home, you can connect all of them to your computer and place them at multiple positions or angles. For example, my room is L-shaped. So, a single camera doesn’t cover the entire area. Owing to this, I’ve connected two cameras. Both of them are placed next to each other but are pointing in perpendicular directions.

Monitoring the webcam footage

Alfred provides you with two options to view the footage from the camera. The first one is using the Alfred Viewer on the web. Just like the Alfred Camera interface used to connect the camera, the Alfred Viewer also runs on a web browser and can be used to access the live feed of the camera you’ve connected to Alfred.

All you have to do is head to the Alfred Viewer site on any device, not necessarily the one connected to the camera. Then, log in with the same credentials you used when linking the camera. You will be able to view the camera feed. If you’ve connected multiple cameras, you can view the footage from all cameras simultaneously in one place. It’s almost like a dedicated CCTV system!

Features on mobile app

Another alternative, if you don’t have access to a PC, is using the Alfred mobile app. Download the app on your smartphone and log in with the same credentials you used on the website while setting up the camera. You can now access the camera feed from your smartphone or tablet, no matter where you are.

Apart from monitoring the feed, the Alfred app has an extremely handy feature that truly makes this solution an excellent alternative to traditional security cameras – motion detection.

Remember we turned on the motion detection feature while setting up the camera? Well, the Alfred app can notify you on your smartphone every time the camera detects motion. This is a feature that’s generally found on dedicated security cameras. If you’ve left your belongings unattended, or you simply want to know who entered your room when you were away, this is an excellent way to keep track.

Every time Alfred detects motion, it not only sends you a notification but also records a short clip that you can download. It’s amazing to see such a handy feature on a makeshift solution – that, too, for free!

Secure your space

Whether you stay in a shared apartment or work out of a co-working space, securing your belongings is extremely important. Using a hack like this, you can always keep an eye on who accesses your space, so in case something goes wrong, you always have evidence. Of course, there are some downsides to using a webcam instead of a dedicated security camera, like no night vision, no unlimited recording or cloud storage, etc. But, you’re also saving a good chunk of money, especially if you already have a few webcams lying around.