Automatically upload Blue Iris motion alerts to AWS cloud

J

Justin Time

n3wb
Jan 1, 2019
6
1
New England, USA
The paranoid person in me says that if someone breaks into my house, the PC will be one of the primary targets to grab and with it the majority of my footage. Internal microSDs in the cameras are more likely to remain, but could be taken by a determined burglar and I honestly haven't tested out the reliability of that recording yet. Paranoid, I know. So I've been looking into somehow getting the motion triggered video stored remotely, securely and in real time.

Has anyone else solved this problem yet? If so I'd love to hear your solution.

I did look into software called odrive which seems to do just this: odrive - All cloud storage in one place. I'm just not sure how secure it is and if a burgular could use the active connections to it on the PC to access and delet the cloud files. I realize how crazy this sounds as I type this, but I digress. If anyone has tried this software with success and can speak to the security of it by all means would like to hear.

So ultimately I wanted control over everything. I'm a software engineer so I whipped up a little java program using the Java WatchService library and Amazon S3 integration. Amazon S3 stores up to 10GB free for 12 months and then its like 0.02/GB thereafter...so for just motion video that should be next to nothing. You can also set purge rules on your S3 bucket to delete older files to keep storage smaller.

Would anyone find this helpful if I shared it? It's a pretty simple program. I have Blue Iris writing alert video to a specific folder and this program is just waiting for windows storage events on that folder. Once it finds a file it waits until Blue Iris has finished writing/recording the file, picks it up and securely sends to S3 with only access keys/secrets I setup in an IAM role.

Right now I just run the bundled jar file from a command prompt, but working to integrate it in as a windows service that always runs on startup. It seems to work quite well. By the time I trigger the camera and make it to my office with the PC it's already uploaded to the S3 bucket. Just figured I'd share in case any other crazy people have been looking for something like this :)
 
Justin Time said:
The paranoid person in me says that if someone breaks into my house, the PC will be one of the primary targets to grab and with it the majority of my footage. Internal microSDs in the cameras are more likely to remain, but could be taken by a determined burglar and I honestly haven't tested out the reliability of that recording yet. Paranoid, I know. So I've been looking into somehow getting the motion triggered video stored remotely, securely and in real time.

Has anyone else solved this problem yet? If so I'd love to hear your solution.

I did look into software called odrive which seems to do just this: odrive - All cloud storage in one place. I'm just not sure how secure it is and if a burgular could use the active connections to it on the PC to access and delet the cloud files. I realize how crazy this sounds as I type this, but I digress. If anyone has tried this software with success and can speak to the security of it by all means would like to hear.

So ultimately I wanted control over everything. I'm a software engineer so I whipped up a little java program using the Java WatchService library and Amazon S3 integration. Amazon S3 stores up to 10GB free for 12 months and then its like 0.02/GB thereafter...so for just motion video that should be next to nothing. You can also set purge rules on your S3 bucket to delete older files to keep storage smaller.

Would anyone find this helpful if I shared it? It's a pretty simple program. I have Blue Iris writing alert video to a specific folder and this program is just waiting for windows storage events on that folder. Once it finds a file it waits until Blue Iris has finished writing/recording the file, picks it up and securely sends to S3 with only access keys/secrets I setup in an IAM role.

Right now I just run the bundled jar file from a command prompt, but working to integrate it in as a windows service that always runs on startup. It seems to work quite well. By the time I trigger the camera and make it to my office with the PC it's already uploaded to the S3 bucket. Just figured I'd share in case any other crazy people have been looking for something like this :)
Click to expand...
Burglars dont steal desktop pc's. You need an alarm system. You can tie down the pc.
Use cameras with SD card backup.
If you are paranoid, record to a hidden nas using cloned cameras.
Have you thought about how your aws backup will work if your cable line is cut? (rare but you are paranoid).
Or your can record to a google drive. You need to disable combine and cut and hope the file gets uploaded before your stuff is stolen.
Also consider bandwidth limits set by isp.
Bottom line is this, cloud backup of video is foolish and peddled by those who want to ensure RMR.
 
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Have an alarm. Why wouldn't a burglar take a small form factor desktop they could easily unplug and turn around quickly for $500? Especially if they saw cameras on their way in which are likely recording to it or a device nearby? No brainer. Not to mention PCs often have a lot of personal data on it.

Sure there's always a scenario that will bypass one measure or another, including this with a cable cut and also including onsite hidden NAS (burglars are good at finding hidden things that make noise). I'd say the likelihood of finding that NAS is more likely than someone cutting cable line but who knows, both incredibly rare. Just wanted to add a quick easy and cheap layer to push the video offsite from my home securely and fast for 99% of scenarios. I'm in a low traffic area and at most I'd be storing 5GB of videos out there at one time - uploading only a fraction of that per month so no ISP concerns. That's 6 cents per month at most for AWS storage, all within my control to stop using or increase as I see fit and totally independent of the operation of the cameras unlike Nest, Ring, etc. Those services are literally 100x more expensive, critical to the use of the cameras, offer less features and storage not controlled by the consumer. I was against being tied to an expensive monthly service like these which is why I went the route I did.

Compare that to the cost of a new NAS as well. You'd get a few lifetimes of AWS storage for the cost of the NAS. The whole point was to create reliable backups offsite burglars could never access. Certainly not for everyone but calling it foolish is a bit of a reach. We're all a bit paranoid here I'd say and junkies to the tech, so just wanted to offer up a solution if anyone has ever been looking for the security of offsite storage in a much cheaper and controlled solution with the extra functionality of Blue Iris.
 
Justin Time said:
Have an alarm. Why wouldn't a burglar take a small form factor desktop they could easily unplug and turn around quickly for $500? Especially if they saw cameras on their way in which are likely recording to it or a device nearby? No brainer. Not to mention PCs often have a lot of personal data on it.

Sure there's always a scenario that will bypass one measure or another, including this with a cable cut and also including onsite hidden NAS (burglars are good at finding hidden things that make noise). I'd say the likelihood of finding that NAS is more likely than someone cutting cable line but who knows, both incredibly rare. Just wanted to add a quick easy and cheap layer to push the video offsite from my home securely and fast for 99% of scenarios. I'm in a low traffic area and at most I'd be storing 5GB of videos out there at one time - uploading only a fraction of that per month so no ISP concerns. That's 6 cents per month at most for AWS storage, all within my control to stop using or increase as I see fit and totally independent of the operation of the cameras unlike Nest, Ring, etc. Those services are literally 100x more expensive, critical to the use of the cameras, offer less features and storage not controlled by the consumer. I was against being tied to an expensive monthly service like these which is why I went the route I did.

Compare that to the cost of a new NAS as well. You'd get a few lifetimes of AWS storage for the cost of the NAS. The whole point was to create reliable backups offsite burglars could never access. Certainly not for everyone but calling it foolish is a bit of a reach. We're all a bit paranoid here I'd say and junkies to the tech, so just wanted to offer up a solution if anyone has ever been looking for the security of offsite storage in a much cheaper and controlled solution with the extra functionality of Blue Iris.
Click to expand...
They dont walk away with pc's its not something they do. You can lock the pc down with a 10 dollar cable. You dont have experience so you come up with crazy scenarios - way overthinking. As you alarm is blaring they are looking for cash jewelry and small electronics.
You can store a NAS anywhere in the home, again do you think they will be searching every crevis of your home for your hidden nas, and will take it? you dont understand how these guys operate. If you are paranoid about that, then you should be paranoid about your cable line being cut - which is actually more common as these guys realize that alarm systems are often tied to them.
Its a foolish idea perpetrated by sales teams wanting RMR. You dont need odrive, just pick a service.
The chance of your pc being stolen is less than your pc failing due to hardware issues. You surely have a second backup being this paranoid?
 
Well they can have my foolish 6 cents a month I guess. Hope they don't spend it all in one place. I don't need odrive because I built a simple alternative myself that I like better.

The one thing we can agree on is that I'm overthinking it. My wife agrees! :D No worries if others prefer different approaches. We all have different situations/needs and experiences that drive us to wanting survellience in the first place. Just thought it was cool for my situation and wanted to share.
 
Another option for less obvious low volume storage is a USB stick. All sorts of devices other than a computer have a USB plug on them that can make a usb stick visible a poor-man's NAS.

My ASDL modem, the Smart TV, the media player etc. Depending on make/model all can be a place to shove in a USB stick and store an extra copy of files over a LAN.

Another option just get a Raspberry Pi and hide it somewhere for some low volume discrete storage.
 
Justin Time said:
So ultimately I wanted control over everything. I'm a software engineer so I whipped up a little java program using the Java WatchService library and Amazon S3 integration. Amazon S3 stores up to 10GB free for 12 months and then its like 0.02/GB thereafter...so for just motion video that should be next to nothing. You can also set purge rules on your S3 bucket to delete older files to keep storage smaller.

Would anyone find this helpful if I shared it? It's a pretty simple program.
Click to expand...

This is a very good idea. I'm also looking into doing something else with offsite storage of alerts. I'm going to look into doing something similar.
 
Gee said:
This is a timely subject for me. I plan to be on vacation and it seems to me despite fenderman's assertion that "burglars don't walk away with PC's", I think anyone breaking in and seeing that the house has cams might very likely at least smash the running PC in the basement on the chance this would destroy the evidence.

I am interested in a quick and dirty, simple and easy, as effortless as possible way to shuttle off site a week or so of recordings which is why I'm reading this thread. Certainly would be a nice B.I. feature/service and if it were CHEAP, I'd even be willing to pay a small fee or subscription cost for it.
Click to expand...
Dont forget to buy a cellular modem, because you know, they will cut your cable lines. Then they will jam the cell modem...what to do....probably best to cancel the vacation and stay home.
get yourself an alarm system and if you are paranoid, hide a second NVR/use sd cards.
Being able to backup a folder to the cloud is available for any pc for free!!!!
 
I think Burglars are dumb usually they will be looking for a device Like NVR / DVR if they were to target a recording device.. Also they might even thing these cameras are like ring or nest uploading to cloud not even look that where the device is recording..

Also if it still does bother you .. Try getting a backblaze plan and put a dedicated folder for Alerts or motion video and try uploading / sync that folder with backblaze.. On the cloud :D but then the question is can your internet speed handle it ? Also another thing if burglars are so smart .. then they can also cut the cable in the box for your internet :D

So then you would need an 5G Lte in the future to upload that kind of data fast enough ... :d
 
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