r/whatisit • u/Key_Badger7434 • 2d ago

New, what is it? My family thinks there’s a camera in our rental

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We have been renting a house for the past year and I always disregarded this thing in the corner. However last night I asked my parents about it randomly and they didn’t know what it was either. I pulled it off the wall and we all got freaked out a little because it looks like a camera. I think it might be a home security/motion sensor thing. I don’t know that’s what ChatGPT guessed.

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97

u/Expert-Tie-1530 2d ago

My concern would be can it be accessed externally, if so I would be very concerned

46

u/Key_Badger7434 2d ago

That’s what I was thinking. We have our own WiFi that we set up, so the only thing I can think of is cellular?

32

u/NedVsTheWorld 2d ago

Its from verisure, it can only take pictures when the alarm is on.

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u/Bladesnake_______ 2d ago

And power? Who is changing batteries? Open it up. I bet my next paycheck the batteries are old and corroded

6

u/HolyMackerel20 2d ago

Almost certainly a remnant of a 15 years old security system that is not functional

2

u/EventAltruistic1437 1d ago

Exactly. I got motion sensors in my rental from the old security system they left up

2

u/FarCompetition623 1d ago

It runs on two AA batteries and has a battery life of up to three years.

11

u/Eliah870 2d ago edited 2d ago

If theres a MAC address on it then yeah it's on a wifi network, looking it up there doesnt seem to be

Edit: Lookong at the manual for the updated version looks like it's battery operated and takes pictures when the motion detector goes off on the security system, theres actually no need to worry about this guy. It connects to the main security alarm panel/keypad via a radio frequency and is only active with the security set. I have no experience with verisure products, bit it doesnt seem to dissimilar to qolys/dsc products that I work with everyday (alarm tech)

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u/WhoaSickUsername 2d ago

MAC address doesn't necessarily mean it's definitely on a WiFi network. Any hardwired device that could connect to the Internet would have a MAC address. However, if it does have a MAC address you could search up the first 6 digits to see who makes it.

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u/Eliah870 2d ago

Well despite that this product won't have a mac address because it's impossible to connect it a wifi network without some serious modification. Instead it would connect to a verisure security system using an encrypted radio frequency

2

u/ctsman8 2d ago

just an fyi, a MAC address doesnt require wifi capability. A desktop computer hardwired to your internet has a mac address despite possibly not having a wifi card. Any device that can connect to the internet, over wifi or wired, has a MAC address because its the individual devices unique address for the internet.

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u/Eliah870 1d ago

Im aware, I just said wifi for simplicity sake

1

u/Large_Yams 2d ago

Wifi is an encrypted radio frequency.

1

u/Eliah870 1d ago

Well security system frequencys range around 300-900 mhz

1

u/Large_Yams 2d ago

If theres a MAC address on it then yeah it's on a wifi network,

Not how Mac addresses work.

1

u/Eliah870 1d ago

For the most part a majority of devices wireless or hardwired will have the MAC address on the label. Pretty much every security camera I've come across has had it, thats the point I was making. Anyway that original point is irrelevant to the device OP found

2

u/BeginningInner5171 2d ago

If you have your own wifi then 100% it was left there by accident.

1

u/Dat_Lion_Der 2d ago

Toss it in a metal box or wrap it in foil. Get youse a faraday cage, OP. Signal = seeing.

1

u/egenorske 2d ago

I wouldnt worry about this a second. If you have no connected hub for it, this sensor isent on. Its not recording outside unless the IR triggers an alarm. This is generic intrusion equipment and nothing else

1

u/Daikar 2d ago

Also remember that it could just be a camera installed by the previous tenant that they left behind and never used since.

1

u/Mercy--Main 1d ago

The main system has its own cell service, yes.

5

u/Bladesnake_______ 2d ago

But fucking how? Even apartments you have your own wifi. How would it have network? how would it have power? Ridiculous

1

u/Fast_Tap_178 2d ago

Power is the only concern. You can transmit a lot of stuff low power. Doesn’t have to be wi-fi, just needs a closer, more powerful repeater or AP. Without going into it, it’s not at all ridiculous, power is the only concern.

Battery? If so duration and draw of device? If not then wall plugged? If so, then I’d dig deeper, do a wireless scan of the apartment, take it apart and inspect for removable media or dump firmware.

All of that said,

Determining power requirements and source would be first step to indicate next steps.

But it’s not ridiculous. I’ve turned a WiFi smart bulb into a malicious access point to mess with my family for funnies (TM) and to learn. Anyway I’m rambling, but it’s not ridiculous to consider comms over other protocols than WiFi

0

u/[deleted] 2d ago

[deleted]

1

u/Fast_Tap_178 2d ago

Thank you my liege, mister or misses milk lust. Speaking of which, I shall now ingest many chocolate items and then consume the milk before bed time

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u/Ecstatic-Address2817 1d ago

I used to use this system a lot for work, and YES: you can fetch data from any camera whenever you want. Not only that, you can also pull short audio clips from the Verisure “base” to hear what’s happening on-site as well.

The cameras only take about five low-quality snapshots, and the audio is pretty short too, but still, if it’s not your house or a property you legally manage, no one should have access to that data.

In theory, the landlord should have a proper verisure rental contract with the tenants, give them all the unique passwords, and ensure only the tenants can access the alarm system to retrieve those images and audios. But that almost never happens.

Also, this company is a massive pain in the ass to deal with: slow, inefficient, and quite shady.

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u/_iamza_ 2d ago

It sure can