OffTopic: Baby Monitors & outside reception! from Inside Edition

[Guest guest]

Word of caution - saw this on Inside Edition last night. People with

back-up cameras in their cars passing by were able to pick up clear

images from the baby monitors as far as a block away. They said the

baby monitor companies are working to develop baby monitors with better

security, but now they [said they] feel the benefits outweigh the

risks....

People interviewed said they felt violated. One woman said she nursed

in her baby's room, etc. The report was concerned with pedophiles.

Obviously, this allows people outside to view inside your house as well

as get a clear look at the children.

Below is the link and I will try to copy the article below that. [Hope

it all goes through.]

http://www.insideedition.com/news.aspx?storyId=3380

More and more moms are using

inexpensive wireless cameras to keep an eye on

their babies from anywhere in the house.

But what many parents who buy these wireless monitors don't know is

that they may not be the only ones watching their children.

It's

a shocking invasion of privacy. Strangers peeking into your home from

the street, using the very camera you thought was securing your

family's safety.

Here's how it can happen.

INSIDE

EDITION installed a rearview camera for the car called a backup

camera. It's designed so drivers can see what's behind them when they

put the car in reverse. It's a device that's growing in popularity.

But when we drove around a number of neighborhoods in New York, it

didn't take long to pick up an image from a nearby home's wireless security

camera. It popped up on the screen, right in our car...the back stairs

to someone's home.

Front

yards, backyards, and we even caught an image of a toilet, coming from

a wireless camera installed in someone's bathroom. We picked up the

signal just as anyone else driving by with a backup camera could as

well.

Security expert Brosnan says what makes this so disconcerting

is that these cameras are supposed to make families more secure.

"You're

maybe sleeping better, but you're much more at risk. Those images are

being sent out to individuals who could do you harm. And they're

crystal clear," says Brosnan.

Sandy is a mom of four from Belle Harbor, New York. We showed her video of her

2-year-old son that popped up in our car.

"It's

very upsetting because I'm in there all the time with my girls. I

change clothes in there, I used to nurse my baby in this room," Sandy

says.

And when INSIDE EDITION drove past a young woman's house

in Beach, New York, we saw video of her son, , climbing

in his crib.

"Let me show you what we saw from down the street," said Matt Meagher.

"I'm

shocked. I'm terrified. I'm very upset. I spent $300 for the whole

world to see what's going on in my house...I never knew this was

happening. Never. This is horrible," said the mom.

The

juvenile products industry says the overwhelming safety benefits of

video monitors far outweigh any risks, and that newer technology is

emerging that will prevent interception

In the meantime, if you

want to make sure you aren’t inadvertently sending images and sound

from inside your home for anyone to see, experts say you can either

install wired cameras, or buy a wireless camera that is WI-FI

Certified. WI-FI cameras use your wireless internet

connection, but remember: the encryption MUST be turned on!