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Home Security Windows

March 14, 2009 by admin · Leave a Comment 

Homes that do not have any visible security devices are twice as likely to be targeted by criminals. A visible security device could be a sign that purports you have a security home monitoring system on the premises. Merely putting up a security sign is not a guarantee that your home will be skipped. It is pretty easy for a criminal to figure out if you have a security system for real or just the sign by tossing a rock at your window. A better way to deter a home invasion is to invest in home security windows.

Look around your home and imagine which windows would be easiest to use to get into your home. Sometimes it’s the ground floor windows because you can see the window is old or that there is a broken pane, but often it is the basement windows that are used to gain access to the home. Also, second floor windows are often targeted, as these are the most likely to be left open or unlocked.

Installing window bars on all basement and ground floor level windows is a great deterrent to crime. The bars are a visual deterrent to a potential criminal. Lets face it, if your home has window bars on it and your neighbor next door doesn’t have them, which home is the criminal going to target?

Besides being a visual deterrent to crime, window bars are a physical deterrent as well. As a homeowner, you can install interior or exterior burglar bars on your windows. Bars that are installed on the interior cane easily be removed if you need to have an emergency escape from your home. Exterior bars cannot be removed in the event of an emergency. This is an important home security consideration for you to think about.

If you’re concerned about the looks, there are some solutions. There are window bar companies that make aesthetically pleasing window bars. These designs are well done and look nothing like the black bared windows we’re used to seeing. The other alternative is to not put bars on your windows at all. Alternatively, you’ll need a home security system that has adequate window security sensors. These sensors will trigger the alarm in the case of entry.

Before making any purchase, consult your town’s building codes to see what the laws are regarding safety codes on window bars. Many towns require that the bars must be able to be opened from the inside without needing any special tools or keys. A home security window can be a great crime deterrent.

Smart Home Security

March 5, 2009 by admin · Leave a Comment 

You have worked hard to get your house looking nice and you have gathered precious belongings together to make it a home.

What have you done to secure it and make it safe from thieves and intruders?

How safe is your family inside their own home?

Be smart, it’s prudent to secure your home, giving you and your family much peace of mind.

There are many simple measures you can take, that won’t cost very much, to secure your home. Be aware of potential problem areas, and look for ways to minimize the danger of a break-in.

Here are a few home security areas to start with:

  • Locks – check the locks on the outer doors and windows. Make sure they are in good working order and will firmly secure the entry point when in the locked position. Replace any that are faulty or flimsy.
  • Doors - the best lock in the world won’t deter a burglar if the door is made of flimsy materials. Invest in the most solid outer doors that you can afford.
  • Windows – check that your windows can be secured properly and are not an easy invitation to intruders. Secure sliding windows with a piece of timber dowel in the groove of the window frame. Sliding windows can be secured in a slightly open position with a special bolt through the frame and window sash.
  • Valuables - keep valuable and targeted items like computers, electrical goods, entertainment items etc out of direct view of windows. Invest in a floor safe to protect passports, jewelery, documents and other small valuables.
  • Tools - keep power tools and other tools that could be used to break into your house, out of sight. Keep your ladders stored away- don’t leave a ladder leaning up against the house. Many robbers are opportunistic – they see an opportunity to break in and they take it, spur of the moment.
  • Sensor lights - install sensor lights at the main entry doors, garage, gate into the back yard and other places where an intruder may try to gain entry. These security sensors detect movement and switch on the light, which would deter most thieves. It is also added security for you and your family when coming home in the dark.

Home Security Surveillance

December 15, 2008 by admin · Leave a Comment 

Home security is an essential part of home ownership, choosing the degree of security comes down to individual choice. Home security surveillance is just one way of making sure that you, your family, and your possessions are kept safe and secure. Surveillance can be achieved in different ways and at different costs.

Monitored Security Systems
Monitored home security is installed and controlled by one of the many companies who specialize in home security systems and property surveillance. The home security surveillance aspect can take different forms:

  • Motion sensors set off an alarm that is received at the security company’s headquarters and they respond; either their own personnel are sent or they notify the police. The alarm may be heard at the house or may be silent.
  • Cameras that are activated by motion sensors – they turn on when the sensors record movement at the home. The security camera takes pictures that may be sent instantly to the monitoring company and they will respond.
  • Security officers in cars will patrol your street to observe that all is normal at your address. They may just drive past or they may actually walk around the house and grounds. This would occur a number of times each night.

Non-monitored Security Systems
It is possible to have security surveillance at your home that is not monitored by an outside firm. You can install CCTV cameras on your property. When triggered they turn on as a result of movement within their field of view. Any unwanted activity would be recorded, providing evidence for possible police follow up.

You could form a neighborhood watch program on your street, where every household watches out for the other properties in the street. If you were going away, the neighbors would be notified and could be even more vigilant than usual. This is a good way of developing a community spirit and making your neighborhood safe.

Attention to the security of your home will help to keep you safe from thieves and intruders. By adding a home security surveillance system to your property you will increase the level of security for yourself and your family.

Home Security Doors 101

October 12, 2008 by admin · Leave a Comment 

In this day and age, everyone needs to think about home security. And, in fact, many do as is evidenced by the fact that security systems and devices are booming in terms of popularity nowadays. Oddly enough, many intruders enter a home is by way of opening an unlocked door.  Therefore, when it comes to home security, doors should be the first thing you look at.

There are plenty of ways to secure your doors. The first one is to use chain locks. Doors with chain locks only work when someone is inside the home. Hence, intruders or burglars would immediately take off after knowing that someone is at home. However, chain locks can be easily pulled with just one good kick from the intruder or burglar. That’s why it is essential to secure the locks with bolts or long screws.

Another way to secure the doors is by way of the dead bolt locks. This kind of lock has a bolt which is square-faced. This is a very effective lock because the bolt’s shape as well as the required pressure to move the lock in any way makes it difficult for burglars to open doors with such locks. In addition, dead bolt locks cannot be opened easily with just a spatula or knife blade.

Night latches and doorknob locks can also be used for home security doors. These types of locks are very convenient and are also cheap. However, just like the chain locks, night latches and doorknob locks are not so great in terms of efficiency. This is due to the fact that night latches can be opened by sliding any card such as credit cards into the gap between the frame and the door.

Peepholes can also be used as a security measure. These devices are actually optical viewing devices which can allow any one to determine who is outside before opening the door. A peephole should have a wide angle lens and a convex mirror should also be placed on the opposite side of the door. This way, intruders or burglars who are attempting to hide can immediately be seen.

The aforementioned locking devices can be utilized to secure home doors. In this way, intruders or burglars will surely have a difficult time trying to open the door and entering your home.  So if you are worried about intruders, you should think carefully about home security and make sure you have the appropriate locks for your doors.

Home Wireless Security: No Need to Get Through the Wire

October 12, 2008 by admin · Leave a Comment 

We have got wireless phones, wireless headsets, wireless microphones, wireless broadband and even wireless books. Indeed, anything wireless seems to be very popular these days. So it’s no wonder that home wireless security is becoming more and more popular.

Home wireless security (cameras, monitors and sensors) is attractive to homeowners for a number of reasons. For one, they have become very a very affordable niche within the home security industry. Wireless security cameras used to be just accessible to the rich but now, just about anyone can afford one. Second, by using these wireless devices, you can keep safe from intruders, thieves, and shoplifters. Remote security systems allow you monitor your home, even if your away. You can also avoid accidents as these systems can also alarm you should an accident be about to happen. You can also use the footage as evidence should something happen to you, your family, your house, or your property. Finally, because you do not have to deal with dozens of wires and cables, you can set them up easily.

Home wireless security may also pertain to your Internet access. And you can apply changes to your router to make sure that your Internet use is protected so that other people in close proximity to your router cannot gain access to your Internet, or worse, to your very own personal computer.

It is wise to implement changes in the default password of your router. Alter the password after you have run the installation and setup wizard of the router. You should also apply changes to your Service Set Identifier (SSID). Get a unique SSID to keep your Internet access from hackers and online intruders. You also have to carefully immobilize your SSID broadcast to further strengthen your security from hackers.

The normal IP address is set at 192.168.1.1. This is a well-known address, that not just hackers, but even ordinary computer users know it. If you will let this as it is, then you and your computer activities are in a danger of getting exposed to malevolent intruders. It is, therefore, wise to also change your IP address so that hackers and intruders will have a harder time breaking into your computer activities.

Encryption gives your wireless router enough security; therefore you should make use of it. Before doing so, you must consider its two types of encryption and which of the two will suit you better. On one hand, you have the Wired Equivalent Privacy or the WEP. It is considered vulnerable still after a hacker tries to break in to your system for a certain number of hours. Its passwords tend to be very long as well. But its advantage is that it is supported by popular router manufacturers like NIC and AP. It is also a better choice that having no encryption at all. On the other hand, there is the WiFi Protected Areas or WPA. It boasts of a big improvement from the WEP in the sense that it is regularly updated. It has also become the standard encryption since the first quarter of 2004.

Sensing Danger with Home Security Sensors

October 12, 2008 by admin · 2 Comments 

I am a 38-year-old pediatrician and a father of two girls who are both in their teens and my wife works as a Math teacher in a nearby high school. We live a rather comfortable life. We both work very hard to afford our home and the things we put in it. We want to give our children the best life we can afford. That includes sending them to a good school and buying their school and other life needs. We also do our best to protect them from harm. With all these things considered, my wife and I decided to get some home security sensors.

While many people say that an estate is a good investment, protecting it and the people living in it from harm is even a better one. We thought of several ways on how we can keep our home safe from burglars and other unwanted guests. We thought of getting a dog, but we just did not have enough time to take care of one. Getting a security guard was never an option because our house is not that huge! Home security systems are convenient and reliable.

The first step we did before getting the home security sensors was to make sure that they were really for us. We observed our place. We checked our habits whether some of us go out or go home late at night. We also looked at the strategic places—windows and doors—where we could place them.

Next thing we did was we carefully chose all the sensors that would fit well in our household. We picked up door switches and window switches. We placed them in strategic places. We no longer placed window switches to windows that can be seen from outside. We’ve notified our neighbors, so if they see anything strange going on, they can alert us about it. We also installed a security keypad near the front door. This way, if anyone of us goes home or goes out late, we can turn off the motion sensors. We also put one keypad near the master bedroom so that we can turn the sensors again before we go to bed.

We have also included a carbon monoxide detector, a smoke detector and a fire detector in our home security systems. We wanted to protect our home not just from thieves and unwanted guests, but also from fire.

It took a while before we got used to the home security sensors. A month after we got them, we would still forget to keep them activated and turn them on. My daughters have also avoided sneaking out of the house late at night. That is another bonus of getting the sensors. Sometimes, my wife would still get nervous every time the sensors alert us, only to find out that it was me or one of our daughters who triggered the alarm. But everything is fine now. We have all been used to the sensors and they are now a part of our lives. It was quite a sacrifice in the beginning. But we were glad we took it. Because now, we could sleep sound in our homes knowing that we are protected from harm.

Home Security – Window Tips

October 12, 2008 by admin · Leave a Comment 

The term security is essential for those who seek protection for themselves and their families. However, getting rid of bad guys or intruders is not a simple thing to do. As a matter of fact, utilizing the most expensive locking devices for your doors cannot even guarantee a safe home. This is due to the fact that there are times, when intruders tend to choose the windows as an access to enter your home. Below are some home security – window security tips.

One of the many reasons why intruders choose windows as their access point is due to the fact that windows are made of glass which can be broken easily. In addition, windows have locks and latches that can easily be opened through the use of crowbars. These windows are typically the older styles of windows. In addition, intruders consider windows as a good way to forcefully enter homes because most of the windows are hidden by shrubs or bushes.

Therefore, you need to be vigilant when it comes to home security, window security and door security.  Enhancements intended for securing the windows are vital in securing yourself, your home, and your family.

There are actually simple things which you can do to secure your home windows. The first one is to use laminates and films. These materials are suitable for glass windows because it can eradicate the catastrophic glass fragments if accidental breakage of the windows occurs. The films have various uses. Aside from it can give warning for the presence of intruders, it can also provide a clear view of the things outside the doors. There are also some films which offer ultraviolet (UV) protection. In this way, the light entering your home can be lessened. Another thing which you can do to secure your home windows is to use locking devices or simply locks. Aftermarket locks are very convenient and affordable. Hence, you can surely secure your windows in just a small amount of money. After all, locks are available all over the place and fit to almost all types of windows. Moreover, you can utilize security bars for your windows. This can certainly discourage intruders from entering your home.

After taking all these precuasions to secure your windows it’s a good idea to take one more important step. Securing your windows with home security alarm sensors is a must. This will ensure that should your windows get breached the alarm will trigger, calling the authorities. Having a complete window security setup is paramount to the safety of your home.

Indeed, the aforementioned ways to secure your home are simple. These things may sound like common sense, but you’d be surprised at how many people never consider them.

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