Today's photo caption: New MUST-SEE Surveillance Tape. 

Welcome back to Tech Service Today's IT Disaster of the Week series where we showcase the ugliest IT environment our technicians ran into this week. 

In our world of sound bites and video clips, I just couldn't resist offering up this "surveillance tape" as our featured disaster this week. Obviously there is a right way and wrong way to install a security camera. And unless you work in a plant that manufactures red adhesive tape, this would be an example of how NOT to wall-mount a camera.

While we can only speculate on why this camera was taped to a wall, it could be that mounting hardware wasn't included with the camera. With so many types of materials being used to build walls (drywall, wood, plaster, concrete, steel, even marble), and each type requiring a different type of mounting screws, the manufacturers of many wall-mount products (everything from security cameras to network equipment racks) often choose not to include any mounting hardware with their products rather than giving customers a whole bunch of different mounting kits/screws to cover every possible wall type.

When mounting hardware isn't included, IT professionals face a sticky situation - no pun intended (well, maybe a little one). Tape is a bad choice for several reasons. The first is that it just looks terrible and some thought should be given to the aesthetic appeal of the end solution. Tape also isn't as secure as proper mounting hardware, so it opens the door to theft. And finally, the adhesive on most tape tends to loosen as temperatures increase. Since heat rises and this camera is situated just below the drop-ceiling, it's only a matter of time before this tape detaches from the camera or the wall. 

So our advice for IT professionals this week is pretty simple: If you're planning to mount a new product to a wall or ceiling, but it did not come with mounting hardware included, just measure the mounting holes on the product, determine the type of material your wall or ceiling is made of, and take that info to your local hardware store where they can get you the right screws to do the job.