Intruder gets in/out with no VitD record

[clarke_hamel]

I have a Toshiba Satellite laptop A350-02T running Windows Vista. My computer is connected to the net only when I am using it. I am trying to catch a key holder who is entering my apartment. This key holder is able to get past my locked computer, erase any VitD record of his/her visit plus leave without recording his/her exit. Does anyone know how this is possible and how much skill it would require?

[Semper Vaporo]

Not a lot of skill, but just some particular knowledge.

Obviously, they know the computer is present and is recording video and that Vitamin D is the software.

They also know the particulars of how VDV works to know how to erase the videos. Many people are smart enough to use the mouse to point and click at things and could very quickly figure out what to do with in VDV to erase some files. The "Help" file is of course available for them to use and it would not take long for someone to read it and figure it out.

But I wonder if they know that the program has log files that will show the time they deleted the videos. You might be able to pinpoint the time they entered your apartment which might help you decide who it might possibly be.

If they were a bit more savvy, they might be smart enough to delete the files outside of VDV just using Windows Explorer. This would then cause VDV to display a "Video not found" message for those times, which again would pinpoint the times they were there, but that is a rather farfeched theory because the file names are quite cryptic. They would probably just delete all the files in all the directories to be assured of the cleaning of the data.

But how do they erase files created while they are leaving? I suppose they might be smart enough to shut off the camera and use the "Arm Camera" delayed-start function to start the camera one minute after leaving the apartment.

With some luck and a lot of work on your part you might be able to recover some of the deleted files using one of the file recovery programs that are available... it is possible that some of the files might not have been overwritten between the time they delete the files and the time you do the recovery attempt. You would have to be prepared to do the recovery attempt as soon as possible after returning to your apartment... Shut off VDV to stop it from writing new files and start the recovery right away before any other work is done on the computer so the disk space of the files has less chance of being overwritten. Somewhat iffy as to whether you can actually get useful data this way, but it might be worth a try if you REALLY want to do so.

Better would be a 2nd computer and camera that are hidden but with a view of the present PC so you can get a video of them doing it. Put the computer in a closet or someplace where the sounds of the diskdrive and fans are not a give-away to its presence and the camera in a vase or behind some knicknacks on the other side of the room or in a pile of dirty underwear to help discourage them from discovering it. Be sure to put a piece of opaque tape over the camera's ON light and don't have the computer making any sounds (shut off the speakers, etc.) Don't bury the computer in cloth as it needs its fans to keep cool.

Maybe you can borrow someone's computer for a few days... just be sure the person you borrow it from is not the person entering your apartment or friends with them... maybe you can rent one for week; check your phonebook for rental stores. Conceal your taking it into your apartment so no one would suspect you now have a 2nd computer.

[clarke_hamel]

Perhaps this question just gives me away a newbie, Semper, but how do I access the log files that show when the video files were deleted? I have an eviction hearing on Monday and it would be great to have evidence like the log files that show the times when the intruder video files were deleted. Thanks for posting my question and your great response.

[Semper Vaporo]

I see you are using Vista but I don't know that version of winders at all, so I cannot tell you the Path to the log files. You might check through the postings here for the word "Vista" to see if the question of where the log files are has already been answered. Or do a search on your harddrive for "BackEndApp.log". You will find several different logs in the same directory that you can check to see what they have recorded. I think the file deletion is recorded in the file I named above. The file will be huge. Search it for "msgIdDeleteVideo". That will be at the begining of a group of lines detailing the deletion of a file. Or you could search the file for the date and time you think it occurred and read in that area for evidence of files being deleted.

[pcmac]

re: Intruder gets in/out with no VitD record

is it possible to hide the VitD program ?

so intruder would not see it on screen?

(I'm using Mac OS Lion )(guess only way can do it, is to lock screen with password )

[clarke_hamel]

Hi Semper. I tried all the things you suggested and I have not discovered the log file location. Imputing Vista into the search bar on this site did not give any relevant leads. Searching for "BackEndApp.log" and "msgIdDeleteVideo" also did not yield any results. I found the VDV program files but there 76 sub-files, plus the sub-sub files. Any shortcuts you can suggest would be greatly appreciated.

[Semper Vaporo]

The path in Winders 7 is:

C:\Users\{user's name}\AppData\Local\Vitamin D Video\logs

You may not be able to get to them if you are not logged in as 'Administrator'.


As for "hiding" VDV... The subprocesses that do the actual video monitoring continue to run if you close the main window altogether. Run DVD as usual to get it all started, then click "File|Exit", You will probably get a dialog box telling you that the subprocesses will continue to run and how to make them quit, but since you want them to continue recording video, just click the "Exit" button on the dialogbox and the main window will go away. The subprocesses will continue to work.

Be sure any active defined rules do not include playing a sound file or doing anything externally noticeable!

The appearance on screen now is that nothing is running. The Harddrive activity light will blink more often than on a PC that is truely idle and if you run Task Manager you wil see that the CPU(s) are busier than an idle computer and the Processes list will show the VDV subprocesses are active.

You can also turn off the monitor so the display will make it appear the computer is off (fans and lights to the contrary, but it depends on where the computer box is as to whether those are noticeable or not). If you are using a laptop, you will have to alter the power control settings to "Do nothing" on the "Close lid" feature, so the Laptop can be closed to appear "off". Some laptops have a light on the back side of the lid that shows the true power state, so it might have to be covered with something opaque to hide it (The handyman's secret weapon, duct tape to the rescue!). Of course, if the camera is the one built-in to the lid then you will have to get a seperate camera so the lid can be closed. Even if you have only the "one camera", free version of VDV you can install an external camera and tell VDV to use it instead of the built-in one.

I still think a 2nd PC and camera hidden on the other side of the room is the best answer.

There are also some totally self-contained 'spy cameras' available that can record for an hour or two onto a memory chip with one battery charge that could be placed on a shelf someplace with a view of the room. The video it takes can then be dowloaded and manually view in 'fast forward' using various video editing/viewing software. I found some for less than $20 that will record for 1 hour that are the size and shape of a car doorlock remote keyfob (do a web search for "Keychain Spycam").

I do wonder about the legalities of recording video inside a "rented" apartment without the consent of the person being recorded. A landlord may have a legal right to enter his property without your consent that outweighs your right to record him doing so without his consent. Of course, I doubt if he has any right to touch your property while checking his property. Laws vary from state/country to state/country. Some are quite vague and there are movements afoot in some states to restrict what can be recorded. Audio and Video are not even treated the same way. Most places you can record video with no restrictions but not audio. Check with a lawyer before you show up in court with "video evidence". I wonder about "text evidence" of "illegal" videos being deleted... that ought'a drive the legal eagles into a frenzy!

[go_robot_go]

I realize that this topic has been stagnant for over a year, but I just wanted to throw out a suggestion in case anyone else finds themselves in this same predicament:

One option would be to set up a second machine -- location doesn't really matter -- as an FTP server, and have the VitD rule configured to FTP the video files to your FTP server. This would give you a secondary storage that is not only locked away from the intruder (since even viewing the VitD rule does not reveal the FTP password), but that could also be in a different physical location altogether.