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Toluwanimi Alfred’s PowerShell project watches Windows Security events for three failed logons within a rolling 30-second window, then sends email alerts and attempts to start webcam recording with FFmpeg. It is a personal build report—not a Windows security feature or a guarantee that an intruder will be recorded. The monitor reacts to failed-login events; it does not prevent account compromise.
What the monitor does
In his September 29, 2026 DEV Community article, Toluwanimi Alfred describes a script that polls the Windows Security Event Log for Event ID 4625, the event associated with a failed logon. When the script finds three such events in its rolling 30-second window, it sends email to two configured addresses and starts webcam recording through FFmpeg. Those threshold and timing values are settings in his example, not recommended defaults or evidence of how often attacks occur. Read Alfred’s project write-up.
The example uses Gmail SMTP for email and FFmpeg with DirectShow for camera capture. Alfred says he used the computer’s integrated webcam and no third-party security software. These are implementation choices, not requirements for Windows monitoring. He reports that he got recording working, but that outcome has not been independently verified.
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How the trigger and response fit together
- Windows records a failed logon. The script looks for Security event 4625. Whether relevant events are recorded depends on the machine’s audit policy and configuration.
- The script counts recent events. Alfred’s implementation checks a rolling 30-second period and uses three failures as its trigger.
- The script attempts its response. On reaching the threshold, it sends email and launches FFmpeg to record from the camera.
This sequence is reactive: an event must be generated, the script must be running and able to read it, and its alerting and recording processes must work. A failed-login pattern is a signal to investigate, not proof that an unauthorized person is at the keyboard. Nor does a successful alert or recording block a later login.
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What can prevent recording or alerts
Alfred describes troubleshooting event counts, FFmpeg/DirectShow process launch, multiple script instances, and typographic characters copied into scripts. He also says recording could not begin before a user logged in in his Windows setup. That is his account of the project’s operating conditions, not a guarantee about every Windows version, camera, driver, or configuration.
- Event collection: If logon auditing is not configured to capture the relevant failures, the script may have nothing to count. Microsoft’s Audit Logon guidance explains auditing logon attempts and related logon-session events on the accessed computer.
- Script operation: The monitor must be running with suitable access to the Security log. A script that exits, runs twice, or miscounts events can fail to respond as intended.
- Camera access: FFmpeg must be able to start and access a supported camera through the relevant capture interface. The author’s DirectShow troubleshooting is a reminder that process launch and camera capture are separate failure points.
- Email configuration: SMTP authentication and delivery must work. Alfred’s Gmail example does not establish a secure credential-storage design; do not place an account password or app password directly in a script.
Windows auditing, Sysmon, and PowerShell logging are different tools
| Option | What it records or does | What it does not do by itself |
|---|---|---|
| Windows Audit Logon | Can audit logon attempts and related session events on the accessed computer, when configured. | Does not itself send Alfred’s email alert or start a camera. |
| Alfred’s custom script | Polls for failed-logon event 4625 and, in his implementation, responds at a configured count with email and attempted webcam recording. | Does not prevent account access, establish that a person is an intruder, or provide a tamper-resistant security boundary. |
| Sysmon | Records selected system activity to the Windows Event Log. Microsoft lists Sysmon v15.22 on its page published September 10, 2026. | Does not analyze events, alert, or block activity on its own. |
| PowerShell logging | Script Block Logging and Protected Event Logging can give investigators context about PowerShell activity; protected logging supports encrypting sensitive log data for handling by a more secure central collector. | Does not establish that an intrusion occurred or trigger webcam recording. |
Microsoft’s Sysmon documentation and Sysmon configuration guidance describe a telemetry option rather than an intrusion-response system. The chosen configuration determines what is captured, and event volume needs to be managed. For analysis, Microsoft describes forwarding records to collection or SIEM tools; merely installing Sysmon is not equivalent to detecting an intruder.
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PowerShell’s logging controls answer a different question: what script activity should be available for investigation? Microsoft’s guidance on Script Block Logging and Protected Event Logging covers capturing script content and protecting sensitive log data. Separately, Microsoft notes that enabling and configuring process-creation auditing can cause event 4688 to include command-line text in plain text. Treat command lines and logs as potentially sensitive: restrict access and plan retention and forwarding. See Microsoft’s command-line auditing advisory.
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If an attacker gains control of that machine, they may be able to stop the script, alter local logs, or interfere with the camera or network. For monitoring that must survive compromise of the endpoint, send logs to a separately controlled collector and restrict who can alter policies, scripts, and retained records. Microsoft’s Windows 10 and Windows Server 2016 security auditing and monitoring reference, published July 15, 2024, provides broader auditing context for those platforms.
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