1 The external IP address of the router is always changing

Solution: Link your router to a Dynamic DNS (DDNS) service

The DDNS service tracks the external IP address of your router so that every time the ISP assigns a new IP address to you, the DDNS also updates its server.

So instead of trying to go directly to your router through the Internet, you go to the DDNS server which then routes you to your router.

First, find out the internal IP address of the router so you can access its control panel. For D-Link routers, it is 192.168.0.1. Check www.portforward.com for other brands.

Open your Web browser and key in the IP address. You will need to key in your user ID and password. If this is your first time logging in, check the manual for the default user ID and password or search in www.portforward.com.

Now look for a feature called Dynamic DNS. For my D-Link router, it is under the Tools tab.

You now need to set up a DDNS account. In the D-Link control panel, click on the link to dlinkddns.com. Or you can go to a popular site called www.dyndns.org.

Once that is done, input your DDNS settings: server name (dlinkddns.com), host name (for example, testcam.dlinkddns.com for my account) plus your user ID and password for the DDNS service. Save the settings.

2 The internal IP address of the camera is always changing

Solution: Get the router to assign a fixed IP address to the camera

First, connect the camera to the router via a LAN cable. Install the camera's software on the home PC connected to the same network and run it to set up the camera.

The router automatically detects and sets an internal IP address for the camera. Now key in your user ID and password ('admin' and 'no password' respectively for D-Link devices by default) and choose "static IP". This way, the internal IP address of your camera is always the same.

Now key in the IP address of the camera into the Web browser (in this example, my router was assigned 192.168.0.21). You should now see the live video feed on your local PC.

3 The ISP is blocking outgoing Web traffic

Solution: Get the router to change the default port for sending Web traffic

This involves what is known as port forwarding. It is to tell the camera to switch from sending out "http" Web traffic via the default port 80 to another port number designated by you, say, 8888 (a port is like a door where your data leaves and enters your network). As the ISP blocks only port 80, it will allow traffic from 8888 to pass through.

First, key in a name for your port forwarding setting. Then key in the IP address of your camera. This tells the router which device you want it to manage.

In my case, it was 192.168.0.21. Now key in 80 in the Private Port column. Assign any number larger than 1,024 under the public port column. I chose 8,888 for easy recall. Remember to save your settings.