SecuritySpy

I'm not getting iOS notifications - how can I troubleshoot this?

• Firstly, make sure to familiarise yourself with how SecuritySpy iOS notifications work. You have to enable notifications for individual cameras in the iOS app, and arm the Actions mode for the camera(s) in question by setting them to a suitable schedule (e.g. "Armed 24/7").
• Make sure that you are using the latest version of SecuritySpy.
• Make sure there is no connection-blocking software installed on the Mac running SecuritySpy (e.g. "Little Snitch").
• Make sure there is no firewall that blocks outgoing connections to the Internet, either on the Mac running SecuritySpy or on the router.
• On the iOS device, go to Settings, scroll down to SecuritySpy, and make sure that notifications are allowed. You should turn on all options here ("Allow Notifications", "Sounds", "Show on Lock Screen" etc.).
• On your Mac, open SecuritySpy and click on the SecuritySpy menu; from the Debug submenu, select the "Check For Updated Supporting Files" option.
• Again from the Debug submenu, select the "Clear All iOS Notification Devices" option.
• Go to the iOS app and turn off, then turn on, notifications for the camera(s). This is done by tapping on an individual camera's live view, then tapping the gear icon at the bottom right of the screen: a menu then pops up that allows you to toggle notifications.
• In SecuritySpy on your Mac, make sure that Actions mode is armed for the camera(s). To do this, right-click (or control-click) on a particular camera's live view or on its name in the Camera Info window, and set the Actions schedule to "Armed 24/7", or some other schedule that results in the camera being armed.
• There is an option in the Debug menu to send test notifications - this is useful for debugging this issue. For this to work, notifications must be enabled for at least one camera in the SecuritySpy iOS app.
• Check the log (File menu -> Open Log) for any error messages relating to notifications.
• If you are still having problems, try uninstalling and then reinstalling the iOS app, adding the server to the app again, then turning on notifications again in the iOS app.

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I'm unable to access my system remotely - how can I troubleshoot this?

However, in a minority of cases, some further manual setup may be required. Here are the things to check:

• Double NAT: some users inadvertently have two routers between the Mac and the Internet (e.g. adding a WiFi access point or mesh system on top of the ISP's router, without replacing it). Depending on the situation, the solution is as follows:
  • If it's possible for one router to provide all services (modem, router, WiFi), then simply use one single router.
  • If you have a required modem/router from your ISP, that is then connected into your own router, switch the ISP's router to bridge mode.
  • If you have added a WiFi access point or mesh system on top of your existing router for the purposes of providing improved WiFi coverage, switch this access point or mesh system to bridge mode.
• Automatic port forwarding: in order to automatically allow remote access, SecuritySpy uses a protocol called NAT-PMP (on Apple routers) or UPnP (on other routers) to automatically set the necessary port forwarding settings in your router. Check your router's settings for either protocol and make sure this is enabled - if not, enable it and restart your router.
• Firewall: either the router or your Mac may have a firewall in place. Turn this off in the router (or allow access on SecuritySpy's ports 8000/8001) and make sure this is off on your Mac in the Security & Privacy system preference (or add SecuritySpy as an allowed service with incoming connections enabled).
• Connection blocking software: if you have any other connection-blocking installed (e.g. Little Snitch), make sure to set it to allow incoming connections to SecuritySpy.
• VPN: if you are running a VPN on your Mac, this may prevent remote access from working. When you need remote access, make sure to disable the VPN.
• Carrier-Grade NAT: with some types of Internet connection (most notably cellular and satellite), you are not given a true public IP address, but rather you are behind an additional layer of routing implemented by the ISP. This is essentially the same as the double-NAT situation described above, but with the second router beyond your control. In this case, you cannot use normal port forwarding for remote access and will instead have to use a VPN or tunneling service - see our blog post Remote Access Without Port Forwarding.

If none of the above works to enable remote access, the next step is to manually set up port forwarding in your router. In this case, please follow the Port Forwarding - Manual Setup instructions in the Remote Access section of the SecuritySpy Installation Manual

If you are still having problems after checking all the above, please email us and include the following:

• A debug file, using the menu item at SecuritySpy > Debug > Create Debug File On Desktop
• Screensots of any router port forwarding settings
• The make/model of your router

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Does SecuritySpy integrate with IFTTT ("If This Then That")?

Yes, it is possible for IFTTT to trigger an event in SecuritySpy, or vice versa. Here are instructions:

Triggering SecuritySpy from IFTTT

In the Webooks applet, specify the Method as "GET" and enter the URL in the following format:

http://my.viewcam.me:8000/++triggermd?cameraNum=0&auth=xyz

Breaking down this URL into its component parts:

• http:// - this is the protocol specifier for standard HTTP. If, instead, you are using secure HTTPS, then you must specify https://
• my.viewcam.me - this is the public address of your SecuritySpy server, which can be set up in the SecuritySpy's web settings. It is not required that you use our viewcam.me DDNS service - you can use your own DDNS service, IP address or domain name as long as it correctly points to your SecuritySpy server
• 8000 - this is SecuritySpy's default port for HTTP. If you are using HTTPS, the default port is 8001
• cameraNum=0 - this is the camera number you want to trigger. You will find camera numbers shown in the Camera Info window (if you don't see this column, click on the header bar where you see the column names and a menu will pop up that allows you to add or remove columns
• auth=xyz - this is an authentication token, which is the Base64-encoded version of the string username:password for a valid web server account in SecuritySpy.

Triggering IFTTT from SecuritySpy

If you haven't done so already, you will need to join IFTTT, obtain your IFTTT key, and register an event.

Then, in SecuritySpy, under Settings -> Cameras -> Actions, from the pop-up menu next to the Run shell command option, select the IFTTT Trigger item.

In the command that appears in the text field, enter your actual event name and key instead of the EVENT and MYKEY placeholders.

The command uses curl to issue an HTTP request to IFTTT. If you want to send multiple requests, you can do so with multiple curl commands separated by a semicolon.

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Why does SecuritySpy automatically make connections over the Internet?

SecuritySpy automatically makes secure connections to our servers over the Internet for the following purposes:

bensoftware.com (51.195.234.92)

• To download new versions of SecuritySpy, if you are using the in-app update feature.
• To obtain updated versions of certain supporting files (e.g. certificates for sending iOS push notifications, which have to be renewed yearly).

ddns.bensoftware.com (198.244.208.112 or 198.244.208.113)

• To set up your viewcam.me DDNS name, if you are using this feature.
• To obtain a Let's Encrypt SSL certificate for SecuritySpy's HTTPS web interface, if you are using this feature.
• To monitor your SecuritySpy system for downtime, if you have enabled this feature in the Email Settings (off by default).
• To verify legal use of SecuritySpy licenses (e.g. to detect usage of the same license on multiple Macs at the same time).

data.bensoftware.com (212.56.101.192)

• To verify registration information, when initially registering the software.
• To check for available software updates.
• To obtain a list of cancelled/hacked license codes to prevent them from being used.
• To send us anonymous diagnostic data about your system, for the purposes of improving SecuritySpy, if you have enabled this feature in the General Settings (off by default).
• To send us anonymous motion-triggered images from your cameras, to help us develop our motion detection algorithms, if you have enabled this feature in the General Settings (off by default).

relay.bensoftware.com (198.244.208.112 or 198.244.208.113)

• To send emails, if you are using the email relay sending method rather than your own SMTP server, configurable via the Email Settings.

You may also see the following IP addresses being reported by firewall software for outgoing connections:

8.8.8.8

• This is Google's free public DNS server, used for looking up domain names and translating them to IP addresses. SecuritySpy doesn't actually exchange any data with this server, it just uses it as the endpoint of a "traceroute" test to check and report to the user any problems in the connection path to the Internet that would prevent remote access from working (e.g. a "double-NAT" situation).

231.0.0.160

• This isn't actually a connection to the Internet, it's the multicast group address on the local network that SecuritySpy uses to identify other instances of SecuritySpy for the purposes of license validation.

239.255.255.250

• This also isn't a connection to the Internet, it's the multicast group address on the local network used for UPnP (Universal Plug and Play), which SecuritySpy uses to automatically set up router port forwarding for remote access.

letsencrypt.org

• Let's Encrypt is a service that issues SSL certificates, and SecuritySpy uses this service to automatically obtain certificates for its secure HTTPS web service.

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Can SecuritySpy use External GPU (eGPU) devices to boost performance?

Note: eGPU devices are currently supported on Intel Macs but not Apple Silicon Macs.

Yes, as of version 5.2.6, SecuritySpy supports eGPU devices in order to increase hardware video encoding and decoding capacity and performance. Supported GPUs are listed on this Apple support document: Use an external graphics processor with your Mac.

For video encoding, SecuritySpy automatically uses eGPU devices, and distributes tasks between internal and external hardware.

For video decoding, this needs to be manually set on a per-camera basis. To assign a camera to an eGPU for processing, click the status indicator in the Hardware Video Decode Status column of the Camera Info window (if you don't see this column, click the header bar containing the column names for a menu that allows you to add it):

The feedback indicator will show HW if a camera is being decoded via the internal hardware, SW if the camera is being decoded via the CPU, and eHW if the camera is being decoded via the external GPU hardware*. If the assignment to the eGPU fails for any reason, SecuritySpy will fall back to internal hardware decoding.

* The eHW indicator is shown on macOS 10.15 and later only. On older systems, this information is not available to SecuritySpy, so the HW indicator will be shown instead. In this case, you can use other means to check eGPU usage, such as Activity Monitor.

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I'm getting a "decoder overload" warning, what does this mean?

IP cameras supply compressed video streams, which SecuritySpy has to decode for various purposes, including live video display, motion detection, and web streaming.

Different Macs have different abilities to decode H.264 and H.265 video data in hardware. In the case of Intel "Core" CPUs (which are used in Intel iMacs and Mac minis), this functionality is provided by the Quick Sync Video module built into the CPU. On other Macs (iMac Pros, Mac Pros and Apple Silicon Macs), this functionality is provided by other hardware modules such as the GPU, T2 chip, or Media Engine. This processing does not show up in the CPU usage levels reported by SecuritySpy or Activity Monitor, as it is the dedicated hardware modules that are doing the processing, not the CPU itself.

This warning message means that video frames are being queued for decoding faster than the hardware is able to process them, which can result in noticeable problems with live video, such as chunks of missing video. The problem does not affect captured movies; just live video.

One solution is to reduce the frame rates at which your cameras are streaming video to SecuritySpy (log on to the web interface of each camera to adjust its settings). A good frame rate for general-purpose CCTV is 10 fps.

Another solution is to assign some cameras to software decoding in order to spread the load between hardware and CPU (NOTE: this method only works well on Macs with Intel Xeon or Apple Silicon CPUs, not on Macs with Intel Core CPUs). To do this, click the status indicator in the Hardware Video Decode Status column of the Camera Info window and select the Software Decoder option (if you don't see this column, click the header bar containing the column names for a menu that allows you to add it):

This can significantly increase CPU usage, so, as you assign cameras to software decoding, check the CPU section of Activity Monitor to make sure the "Idle" metric doesn't drop below around 30%.

Finally, if you don't want to reduce frame rates or increase CPU usage, and you have an Intel Mac, you could consider adding an eGPU to your system to expand its hardware decoding capabilities. For more information on this, see Can SecuritySpy use External GPU (eGPU) devices to boost performance?

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Which panoramic cameras can be used with SecuritySpy?

Any panoramic camera indicated as being supported on our list of supported cameras can be used with SecuritySpy, however the fisheye lenses of panoramic cameras provide heavily distorted images, which should ideally be corrected (or "de-warped") for viewing. Therefore, we recommend using panoramic cameras from the following manufacturers, because their cameras can do this correction in-camera, before sending the corrected images to SecuritySpy:

• Axis
• Vivotek
• Sharx

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