Cheap Chinese IP Cameras

[stevethomson37]

As there didn't seem to be a place to post this I thought I'd start a new one. Hopefully I'm not alone in my predicament.

I have 2 cheap Chinese IP Cameras and they are both working from my local network fine and have been doing so for a few years now. They came with a buggy Chinese Server & App that works when it feels like it. They have the ability to record on movement.

Now I'm going away for 6 weeks, I wanted to be able to see my cameras using an Android App.

I have a Ubuntu 16.04 Server PC that I can leave running. I've considered setting up OpenVPN but have no idea how to achieve this. Then I find out that I still need to have a VPN Server setup to be able to use OpenVPN at all?

Can anyone shed any light on this situation or maybe a better way to achieve what I'm after without additional costs as I'm on a disability pension with no other income.

Here's the specs on my cameras if it is helpful. I have a static WAN IP Address with my internet provider.

Backyard Camera

IP Address = 192.168.1.20
HTTP Port = 82
TCP Port = 10002
RTSP Port = 554
DNS = 8.8.8.8;8.8.4.4 (Google)
Mac Address = 00-12-12-6B-FE-AC
Cloud ID = 45a80b04dd37e9da
Device ID = 45a80b04dd37e9da
URL = http://192.168.1.20:8899/onvif/device_service


Pergola Camera

IP Address = 192.168.1.40
HTTP Port = 84
TCP Port = 10004
RTSP Port = 554
DNS = 8.8.8.8;8.8.4.4 (Google)
Mac Address = 00-12-12-49-CC-72
Cloud ID = 00121249cc72
Device ID = 00121249cc72
URL = http://192.168.1.40:8899/onvif/device_service

This Information was taken from ONVIF Manager Software Version:- 2.2.250 today.

Cheers

Steve

 

[TonyR]

Start by reading this ==>> VPN Primer for Noobs

 

[stevethomson37]

Hi Tony, thanks, I'm reading through that as well to see if I can work all this stuff out...
I found that page before I posted my questions here...

 

[toysareforboys]

If a VPN is over your head then you could just do some port mapping in your router. Make sure you have strong passwords on your cameras.

Let me know what router you're running if you need help with the port mapping.

-Jamie M.

 

[Camit]

If a VPN is over your head then you could just do some port mapping in your router. Make sure you have strong passwords on your cameras.

Let me know what router you're running if you need help with the port mapping.

-Jamie M.

Never ever forward ports,that’s a bad idea, specially with cameras. Just read the info about VPN. There’s no reason not you run VPN besides,laziness.

 

[alastairstevenson]

Make sure you have strong passwords on your cameras.

With backdoors and similar vulnerabilities that won't add much protection as brute-force attempts don't really feature.
The extensively-exploited Hikvision backdoor requires no password at all.
Interesting recent example : IPVM - -Hacked Hikvision IP Camera Map

then you could just do some port mapping in your router.

Not good advice - you have no idea what valuable or sensitive data or devices are on the OP's LAN that would be put at risk as a consequence.

 

[stevethomson37]

Never ever forward ports,that’s a bad idea, specially with cameras. Just read the info about VPN. There’s no reason not you run VPN besides,laziness.

Hi Camit, I like your thinking.. I have been reading the info about VPN but it's not laziness that is the problem, it's understanding what it wants me to do, then working out how to achieve it in Ubuntu 16.04. I have just installed Webmin & zoneminder but for some reason this time I can't work out how to add my 2 IP Camears to zoneminder? I got them both working in Zoneminder a year ago on an older PC. Since a newer PC arrived and a fresh install of Ubuntu 16.04 LTS, now I can't even get the cameras to work, let alone a VPN.
Cheers

 

[actran]

Never ever forward ports,that’s a bad idea, specially with cameras. Just read the info about VPN. There’s no reason not you run VPN besides,laziness.

I think, for some people, VPN is too hard for them to understand or even configure (even after reading VPN primer 10 times). I don't think it's necessarily laziness. You have to remember that you @Camit and others like you have technical skills that some people don't have.

For example, I don't expect my mom to even know how to turn off/on a router, let alone configure VPN.

 

[TonyR]

For example, I don't expect my mom to even know how to turn off/on a router, let alone configure VPN.

Tell me about it. My ex-wife could turn a light switch ON; she never figured out how to turn one OFF.

 

[towster]

You could setup your router to allow only SSH to your Ubuntu box. You could then SSH to your ubuntu box and configure an SSH tunnel to each camera. I have never done this with android but it would work with a computer.

 

[Praetorian.72]

Hello Everybody,
I having a similar problem: a few weeks ago I bought a Chinese wifi camera model "N818" on AliExpress. The only instruction in the small user manual is to download an app, V380 pro, and to manage the camera with it.
The problem is that this camera is not detected by the above app, nor by nmap nor by arp-scan. When I turn it on, a voice like Walter Cronkite says to start the app (which doesn't work) and in the meantime the camera appears on the wifi network with the following address: 192.168.66.1
So I tried to set the network of a router (always in class C) as 192.168.66.1, but from my Linux PC I can't find this damned camera.
What about the seller? -> The only instruction he gave me is to use Bluetooth, which however isn't there: no bluetooth adapter in the camera.

Could you kindly give me some instructions to solve this problem?

Thanks in advance for your support.
Frank

 

[pedropt]

sometimes you have to move away the qr code from the app to the camera so it can read it , the qr code sends your wifi AP name , password and your client id to their cloud server . I have 2 of those here and i notice also the wifi AP from the camera , i scanned all ports from 192.168.66.1 with nmap and none are opened . Their app is a crap full of ads , and if you stay more than 1 minute watching the video feed then it will pop up an ad , without even mentioning the fact that the camera do not shut up until it is configured to their cloud server . when i get sometime i will open the camera and extract the stupid firmware from it . Chinese cameras are crap , china is a surveillance state , they sell their cheap cameras so they can watch everything from the cameras you bought . These cameras do not even have an rstp streaming so you can watch them on your network or apply that streaming on a webpage so you do not need to use their app , and the manufacturer do not reply to you even on aliexpress , by this you have an idea on what their purpose is with these cameras . Anyway , it is just a matter of time until i extract the firmware post it on github so everyone can look whats there is inside of it .