How do home security cameras work?

A home security camera is a smart video recording device that you can hook up to your local network (either directly or with the help of a hub or base station) to access its footage from an app or a web portal. In the simplest sense, it's really just an internet-enabled camera. But most models out there now go way beyond those basics.

There are three main types of security cameras: wired, wireless, and wire-free.

• Wired security cameras need an ethernet cord to connect to the internet and some sort of cable to connect to an electrical outlet.

• Wireless security cameras connect to the internet over WiFi but must be plugged into an outlet.

• Wire-free security cameras don't need any wiring whatsoever (duh), instead relying on a WiFi connection and batteries for power.