February 20, 2007
Most parents want to know what's going on in their homes when they are not there. What are the children up to? What is the dog doing" Is anyone breaking in?

Now, you can take a look when you are away with live streaming video on your cell phone.

Busy mom Csilla Clark likes to stay connected with home when she's on the road so she uses home monitoring.

"One of our dogs likes to chew up stuff, and so we can monitor what they are doing," says Clark.

She's using the very newest technology in home monitoring systems which allows her to keep tabs on her cell phone. The access not only helps her prevent a mess, but it helps her feel safe and secure especially when she's away from her baby.

"When I go out and I have a babysitter watching my baby, with the push of a button, I can see what's going on in the house," says Clark.

She uses a system called Homesight.

"Using their cell phone, they're looking at live video of what's going on in their home," says Bob Diamond, Motorola Homesight. "They're being notified of live event like a door opening, motion being detected."

Several companies now offer home monitoring via your cell phone and Brian Cooley with C-Net says the services have many uses.

"Keeping tabs on your life when you're not there -- your home, your kids, your pets, your vacation home, your business when your away, and it's after hours," says Cooley.

But what about risks like hackers breaking into your system to spy on you inside your home?

Security expert Howard Belben says most home monitoring systems offer security features but, "It's critical that the security be activated on the system and that you change the default password -- you turn on encryption."

Belben warns if you have wireless internet, hackers can get in through your wi-fi unless that is also security enabled.

The Clarks had taken all the right precautions.

"Fortunately for this homeowner, their system happens to be locked, which at this point, short of a very intense, time consuming exploit attack against their system, we can't go any further," explained Belben. "Which is good news."

Clark says she would definitely recommend the system especially for parents who want to make sure their children are safe at home.

Most systems cost under $500, but experts say it's a good idea to let teenagers and babysitters know they may be monitored.