Connecting iSpy to the web:
iSpy uses your broadband connection to serve your webcam video and captured
files out over the internet so you can view them remotely. To do this you need to
open a port so our web server can talk to the iSpy program running on your
computer. By default we use port 8080, but if this port is already in use, or if
you are connecting multiple instances of iSpy to our website under one account,
you will need to change it to something else (each instance of iSpy you connect
must use a different port).
Shown below is an example configuration screen to set up remote web services.
Encircled in red is where your local IP address is displayed. Please make a note
of this IP address before proceeding.
You now need to login to your router and forward incoming traffic to this port
to this IP address. The default address of your router varies from manufacturer to
manufacturer. If you don't know the address of your router try the following:
Linksys routers:
192.168.1.1
D-Link and Netgear routers:
192.168.0.1
US Robotics routers:
192.168.123.254
SMC routers:
192.168.2.1
You will be prompted for a username or password. Typically this is admin/
password or admin/ admin unless it has been changed.
Once you are logged in you will see a configuration screen. Again these vary
depending on the make of your router. You need to find the page that deals with
port forwarding and add the port you specified (our default is 8080) and the local IP
address of your computer (in this example it's 192.168.1.88 but yours will
almost certainly be different). Provided here are two example router configuration
pages:
Once you have added your port information click Save Settings (or similar) and
then go back to iSpy and click OK and we will try to connect to your computer
again. If it still doesn't work, please check that your firewall isn't blocking it
(
Open a port in windows vista firewall or
Open a port in Windows XP firewall) if it
still doesn't work, please ensure that any third party firewalls, like zone alarm are similarly configured.
Also check with your ISP as they may be blocking ports before the traffic even gets to your router.
We use a dynamic DNS system which tracks your public IP address by the port you
are connecting on, in combination with your username and password. If your
public IP address changes then iSpy will update it on our side automatically and
the connection will still work.
The port forwarding you set up will only work if your local computer has a
static IP address on your local network. If you have DHCP enabled on your local
network your local IP is likely to change at some point. To ensure connectivity
remains unbroken we recommend you assign a static local IP address to the computer
running iSpy. Please see
http://www.hotcomm.com/FAQ/FAQ_staticIPXP.asp for instructions
on doing this in Windows XP (Vista is very similar).
If you are unable to connect and have tried all of the above, please
contact us
and provide as many details as possible so we can help.