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Technology and Home Security wed

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Gone is the day when, while out on a romantic evening with your special someone, you suddenly realize you forgot to turn on your house alarm. You spend the rest of the long evening fretting about this.

2HNowadays, all you need do is whip out your smartphone and activate the alarm. You can even view the interior and exterior of your property in realtime with smarthome security cameras. And rest assured, if someone breaks in while your eyes are glued to the big movie screen, you’ll get a vibration alert.

We are getting closer and closer to a Jetson’s lifestyle; you know, George Jetson, the cartoon character who lives in the future? The Jetson household includes a female-looking robot dressed as a maid.

Robots

A house robot is no longer the thing of science fiction. Google is working on creating a robot that will help protect the house (and cleaning it is already being done with a Roomba). One of the tasks this robot would be able to do is prevent false alarms with the home security system. “What can be conceived can be achieved,” so the saying goes.

Laser Beams

  • Laser beams have been in existence for a while, that can detect motion and set off an alarm.
  • But this technology has much room for advancement in the security world and is growing.

More Advancements

  • Like an airplane on autopilot, your home’s security system will one day truly be on autopilot, with you at the helm no matter where you are.
  • But remember, robots, laser beams and other forms of technology will never replace common sense. You can have the most state-of-the-art technology working to protect your house, car, boat, even your person (with smartphone apps that can sense an unintentional fall, or with one touch of a button, summon an emergency response and give out your GPS coordinates) – but all this may mean zilch if you’re not wearing a seatbelt or if you’re texting while driving. Or if you’re climbing up on the rails of the cruise ship you’re on.
  • So even though the war against home intruders is closing in on them, sometimes our greatest enemy is oneself.
  • In the meantime, take advantage of what the booming home security market has to offer. Home security companies typically offer free consultations.

Robert Siciliano personal and home security specialist to BestHomeSecurityCompanys.com discussing burglar proofing your home on Fox Boston. Disclosures.

Should You make the Investment in Alarm Monitoring?

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Imagine the effectiveness of the following sign at your front door when a would-be intruder reads it:

WARNING: This house is protected by a remote monitoring service; if you break in while the homeowner is away, he’ll be instantly alerted and the police will be automatically dispatched. And if you break in while he’s home, well heck, you’re still screwed.

2WWhat exactly is a remote monitoring service?

  • It’s always ready for an intruder, 24/7, every single day.
  • A comprehensive service will also detect smoke, water heater problems and other issues like a carbon monoxide leak.
  • You will have a “safe” word that only you (and other trusted people) know.
  • If the alarm is tripped and the monitoring service can’t get the safe word from whomever answers the phone, or there is no answer, police will be on their way.
  • An advanced system will also allow you to remotely revise settings on your customer account.
  • Another feature of a high tech system is that it allows you to set silent alarms, so that the “intruder” won’t know they tripped the sensor, but you will get an alert to your phone indicating this. This feature is great for people who suspect a family member is snooping around where they shouldn’t.

The Technology

  • Joe Thug kicks down your back door (you kept putting off getting a top-flight strike plate).
  • The alarm is triggered.
  • This alerts the monitoring center.
  • They call you.
  • But you can’t answer because you’re not there.
  • The intruder answers, intending to convince the company that it was a false alarm. Instead he’s asked for the secret word. Startled, he hangs up and flees.
  • The police are dispatched.
  • After the dispatch, your secondary phone numbers are called (family, friends, etc.).
  • This same technology has a panic button for fire, police and EMT. Once pressed, help is on the way.

So should you make this investment? How worth it is your home, family and peace of mind? Invaluable.

Robert Siciliano personal and home security specialist to BestHomeSecurityCompanys.com discussing burglar proofing your home on Fox Boston. Disclosures.

Protect your Home when Traveling

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When you go traveling, I’m sure you make a point to protect the various things you bring with you—including your laptop, children, even spouse. But what about something you left behind? Your home? Is that being protected too?

1BBefore Leaving

  • Don’t wait till the last minute to arrange kenneling for your pet.
  • Tidy up the exterior of your house including mowing the lawn. Overgrown grass, unmoved rubbish and dormant toys/tools make a house look unoccupied. If you plan on traveling long enough for the grass to get overgrown, arrange with a trusted adult to mow your lawn.
  • Don’t leave your car outside.
  • Put your snail mail and any paper delivery on vacation hold.
  • Give spare keys to a trusted adult. This person should also know the “safe” word for your security system should they be in contact with the monitoring center.
  • Hopefully you have a reliable neighbor who will promptly remove any flyers in your door or on the knob.
  • Here’s something you probably never thought of: A burglar casing your street on trash pickup day may notice the one house whose trash cans aren’t at the curb. Hmmm…maybe those people are away on vacation? So have a neighbor bring your trash cans out on trash day—with trash in them—and then bring them back in.
  • Get rid of food that may spoil while you’re away.
  • Make sure the locks on your windows and doors work.
  • Set up an automatic timed lighting system. Open curtains or shades enough to reveal this to anyone passing by, but not enough for someone to be able to see your valuables through your windows.
  • Put as many valuables as you can in a fireproof, waterproof safe.
  • To prevent water flooding problems, switch off the water to your dishwasher and washing machine.
  • Make sure all appliances and electronic items are unplugged to avoid fires.
  • Lower the thermostat but no less than 60’.
  • Give the garbage disposal one last run, because if there is food waste in there you may come home to a swarm of fruit flies.
  • Make sure your smoke detectors and home security system work.
  • And don’t forget to turn your alarm system on before you embark on your trip.

Robert Siciliano personal and home security specialist to BestHomeSecurityCompanys.com discussing burglar proofing your home on Fox Boston. Disclosures.

How Glass Break Sensors work

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Your home should have multiple layers of protection. You’ve certainly heard that before. Motion detection is a critical layer of protection, and this is comprised of the simple act of unauthorized movement sensed as the result of breaking and entry. Glass break is similar in concept. One detects movement the other detects sound. 3B

  • Motion: The sensor detects when someone is moving about inside the house.
  • Entry: The sensor detects when a door or window is opened.
  • Breaking into: The glass break sensor detects when a burglar smashes through a window with a crowbar.

Many people don’t know that the sensor for breaking into exists. This special kind of sensor detects the unique sound (in terms of frequency) of window glass being hit and then shattering. The sensor then sets off the alarm.

So in other words, the sensor doesn’t wait for the glass to shatter. The detection starts when the crowbar or baseball bat makes heavy contact with the glass. This initial detection can be thought of as phase one. And phase two, the actual breaking of the glass, occurs just milliseconds later, setting off the alarm.

In a house full of windows, one sensor per room may be sufficient, covering three or more windows and even glass doors. And fortunately, it’s not necessary to have your kid hit a baseball into a window to test out the sensor.

The device has a “test mode.” You should produce a clapping sound (preferably with your hands). At the bottom of the sensor, a small light will blink, in response to the sound of the clapping, which simulates the sound of a window being struck.

Now if you don’t see the light blinking, the sound wasn’t detected. Make sure the sensitivity setting is on “high” in the device, and also check your windows; are they blocked by heavy curtains or furniture? If your hand clapping is weak, do you have a few wooden boards to smack together?

After you make the necessary adjustments, create the clapping sound again. If the unit is correctly installed, the light should blink.

If your child thinks he could trip the alarm by banging cymbals or dropping a glass on the kitchen floor, tell him don’t even think about it. The break-into sensor system has already taken false alarms into account. So if a glass or china plate crashes to the floor, or the sound of windows breaking is coming from the TV, these noises will not trip the alarm.

Robert Siciliano personal and home security specialist to BestHomeSecurityCompanys.com discussing burglar proofing your home on Fox Boston. Disclosures.

10 Home Security Mistakes we make

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Please, be humble and consider the possibility that you—yes you—might be committing numerous home security mistakes—that could really cost you if you don’t correct them.

5HHouse Alarm Turned Off

Some people only activate it when they are not home and others only activate it when they are sleeping. The alarm should be on at all times. Simply deactivate it when you go outside, but once back inside, switch it back on. Don’t think for a second that evidence of you being inside the house will deter a crazed intruder.

Not Locking Doors

Doors should be locked at all times, even if you keep going outside. Now I understand that maybe it wouldn’t be practical to lock the front door if you’re going in and out every two minutes to work on your front porch. But I think you know what I mean. Keep the doggone doors locked whenever you go out and while you’re inside the house.

Not Locking Windows

Many windows are easier to get through than the front door, and they’re also often hidden by shrubs. Burglars love windows. Never go to sleep with an open window that can be accessed from outside. Lock all windows whenever you go out. It’s okay to have a window open for a fresh breeze while you’re home, but don’t go overboard with “getting some air.”

Tightwad

Being a tightwad when it comes to investing in locks/security doesn’t pay off. When it comes to locks, you get what you pay for.

Hiding Keys

Use a keyless lock or give your house keys to a trusted adult; never “hide” them outside.

Ladder Outside

When finished with a ladder, put it back inside–immediately.

“Steal Me!”

Can outsiders see your valuables through your windows? If so, it’s time to do some rearranging.

Dark House

Keep the house well-lit when you’re gone, and when home, make sure there’s plenty of illumination.

“Are they on vacation?”

Your house shouldn’t trigger this question. Don’t let mail, newspapers and other deliveries accumulate. Don’t let your lawn and shrubs get overgrown. Speaking of vacations, never post on social media about your vacation until you’ve returned!

Garage Unlocked

This is bad. Keep it locked at all times.

Robert Siciliano personal and home security specialist to BestHomeSecurityCompanys.com discussing burglar proofing your home on Fox Boston. Disclosures.

Surveillance Video captures Home Invasion

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A man was assaulted by three or four men when he arrived home, through his garage door at 5:40 a.m. It’s very apparent that the attackers knew he’d be arriving home at around this time and decided to wait for him, says a report at ksla.com.

2BThis recent home invasion occurred in the Dogwood South subdivision in Louisiana. Though video surveillance recorded the crime, it’s not clear who the assailants are, as they were masked. Detectives are working hard at getting some leads.

The man, along with his wife, were bound with duct-tape. The man suffered minor injuries. The couple’s two young children were not harmed. The assailants made off with money and jewelry.

Needless to say, neighbors are unraveled, and the victims do not want to appear on camera for a news interview. The presence of police that lingered around the victims’ house went anything but unnoticed, so a post went up on the sheriff’s department Facebook page.

Rumors had developed that there were more home invasions in Dogwood South, but the Facebook page straightened this out by reporting “This simply isn’t true.”In fact, it’s been a very long time since the last home invasion in this area.

Residents should not equate the vehicle burglaries in the area with the crime of home invasion.

The Facebook post is asking that people call in tips to 318-965-2203.

I guess the good news is that, unlike some home invaders, these crumbs spared their victims’ lives. But now the victims probably keep wondering if the assailants, who were armed, will return.

Could home invaders be waiting for you? You just never know. Certainly, the victim in this story never thought something like this could happen as he arrived home.

  • Have pepper spray in your home and car, ready to pull out.
  • Look carefully around before you exit your car in the dark.
  • Have the pepper spray in your hand.
  • Close the garage immediately; don’t let it linger open.
  • Make sure no obscuring shrubbery is growing near any entrances to your house or near any windows.
  • Before entering your car, even if it’s been in the garage, look in the back seat. You just never know if a dangerous person could have somehow gotten in and is waiting for you.

Robert Siciliano personal and home security specialist to BestHomeSecurityCompanys.com discussing burglar proofing your home on Fox Boston. Disclosures.

Paralyzed Home Invasion Victim speaks

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If a home invasion doesn’t leave you dead, it might leave you permanently paralyzed, like it did Richard Potorski, who was shot two years ago and can’t move from the chest down.

On January 8, 2013, Potorski went to his Maine home for lunch after work. Moments later he saw a gun pointing at him; it went off. He played dead—which wasn’t hard to do because his spinal cord had been severed—until his wife found him 90 minutes later.

Potorski says he doesn’t know the shooter, and even though he has a misdemeanor drug charge on his record, he was not involved with any drug deals with the shooter—Ronald Bauer, who received a 30-year prison sentence.

It’s a myth that most burglaries occur at night. Gee, night is when most people are home. Most people are gone during the day at work. Burglars know that. What if Potorski had had a security system on that fateful day? This isn’t a blame-the-victim mentality; it’s a very fair question.

Imagine Bauer trying to gain entrance and a screaming alarm sounds. He would have fled like a bat out of hell. Or suppose there was no alarm system, but the door had a top-of-the-line deadbolt and reinforcement system, and the locked windows all had Charlie bars and penetration-proof film. Bauer wanted to get in quick without attracting attention. Why would a burglar want to be seen spending 20 minutes trying to break into a house? Yep, it’s a very fair question.

Evaluate your lifestyle so that you can have an idea of what kind of security system will best suit you. For example, if you’re away a lot, or even only from 8:00 to 5:00, you’ll need a remote monitoring system.

Today’s systems are really cool in that you can even receive e-mails and texts about variables that the system detects. You can even see what’s going on with real-time surveillance transmitted to your phone.

Imagine that someone breaks in while you’re exiting your worksite to go home for lunch, and you get the alert on your phone. You connect and see some druggie trashing your place looking for cash. You won’t get shot by him. We live in a cruel world and need to be prepared.

Robert Siciliano personal and home security specialist to BestHomeSecurityCompanys.com discussing burglar proofing your home on Fox Boston. Disclosures.

Home Automation in your Security System

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Having a house run like the Jetsons’ is becoming increasingly possible: It’s called home automation. If you’re not familiar with the futuristic cartoon family, the Jetsons, just about everything in their house was automated. Today, we can have the following:
3H

  • Sensors that make noise when a door or window opens are nothing new, but real-time video surveillance of a home’s interior and exterior, viewed remotely through a smartphone thousands of miles away, is relatively new technology.
  • Controlling the temperature inside the house from anywhere outside using a phone. The smartphone connects with the thermostat’s sensors that detect radio frequency signals.
  • Odorless but deadly, carbon monoxide gas will be detected by a detector—and this has been around for a long time, but what’s relatively new is that the detection will trigger ventilation: a head start for the home’s occupants to scramble outside. Sensors can also alert to possible gas leaks.
  • Recently in the news was the seven children who died in a Brooklyn, NY house fire started by a hot plate. Apparently the house had one smoke detector—in the basement—that nobody on the second floor heard when it went off while they were sleeping. The kids would have likely survived had there been multiple fire detectors to alert the residents.
  • Furthermore, smoke alarms detect smoke before the fire begins and can simultaneously notify a central control center that then contacts the fire department. Seconds count.

Home automation may seem like something that only the rich can afford, but the makers of these systems want to score a big profit, so they develop systems to fit different budgets. Reputable home security companies can offer different packages and give price estimates.

Realize that there exist security scams, including the one in which an employee comes to your house unannounced, wearing a jumpsuit with the name of your security company on it, claiming that your system needs servicing. What he really wants to do is scope your house for vulnerabilities and also find out when you might not be home in the near future—so he could rob the place.

Robert Siciliano personal and home security specialist to BestHomeSecurityCompanys.com discussing burglar proofing your home on Fox Boston. Disclosures.

Are you Mentally Prepared for a Predator

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A bear in the wild that wants to protect its young from another predator isn’t worried about manners. This is how people should feel when in circumstances that don’t feel right. The bear has a gut instinct not to let its young near a predator.

A woman who feels funny about getting into an elevator with a creepy looking man should have this same instinct. But often, she lets analysis take over: She steps inside an enclosed box with a stranger who makes her feel uneasy.

She fears he’ll think she’s rude if she waits for the next elevator. She may have the grandest home security system in the world, but one slip in judgment could cost her her life: Inside that box, the man strangles her.

A predator can sense when a woman is more concerned about his perception of her than of her safety. But men, too, make mistakes, like the man who gives a ride to a man he’s meeting for the first time at a country road gas station late at night. The stranger could be dangerous. And if he’s innocent? Well, so he doesn’t get a ride this time. He’ll live.

But predators are just everywhere. And some are female. It’s amazing that some people will go all out in securing their home and sports car…but when it comes to the safety of their person…they’re incredibly lax.

People need to employ layered security: like going out in the cold; you don’t just wear gloves. You also wear a hat, scarf, wool socks, maybe thermal underwear, a sweater, a coat.

Conversely, there’s the MMA champion who has no home security system. A lot of good his hook kicks will do when he’s not home while the intruder breaks in. A solid home security system has motion detectors, a loud alarm, timed lighting fixtures, an advanced lock system on all the doors and an anti-penetration system on the windows.

As for your person? Are you a good screamer? We are told to scream when attacked. But there’s a difference between hollering “Fire! Fire” when being abducted (“Fire!” is supposed to get everyone’s attention), and screaming “No” or “Stop” or even profanities. These are control words that are far better at getting control.

Many people want to lose weight. Kill two birds with one stone by taking up martial arts: Lose weight, tone up and learn to be productive in a threatening situation.

Put the pink dumbbells down and pick up a heavy barbell—even if you must struggle, because that struggle will prepare you to survive a crisis situation. Men aren’t off the hook from preparing for survival. Put down the cigarette and pick up a barbell to put some muscle on that body. You never know when you’ll one day need it.

Robert Siciliano personal and home security specialist to BestHomeSecurityCompanys.com discussing burglar proofing your home on Fox Boston. Disclosures.

Beware of Home Security Scams

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Will the home security scams ever stop? The latest scam has fraudsters going door to door, posing as sales reps for “Trio Alarm.” They first make sure that the houses they visit already have a security system (e.g., security decals on windows), then tell the occupant that the company for that security system has gone belly up. (Yeah, right, ADT has gone belly up!)

1SBut there’s one born every minute, right? The scammer tries to get the resident to sign a five year contract for “Trio Alarm.”

The alleged Trio Alarm company doesn’t even have a business license in the city of Huntington, West Virginia, where these scams have been occurring. There really is a Trio Alarm company, but it’s not known if the scammers are associated with them.

At any rate, if someone shows up at your door and says your alarm company has gone under, are you really naïve enough to take their word for it and sign a five year contract on the spot, rather than simply thanking that person, taking their business card, closing (and locking) the door, and then calling your alarm company to verify what you just learned?

Contact the attorney general’s office if you feel that a sales rep at your door was a con artist. And though Trio Alarm really exists, their D-minus rating with the BBB also exists.

Preventing Home Security Scams

  • If you have a home security system, and you receive a call from someone claiming to be from that company, requesting personal information for an update or whatever…don’t give out this information; tell them you’ll call back. Then call the company to see if the call was a scam.
  • Beware of the door-to-door home security “sales rep.” If you don’t have an alarm system and tell them “no thank you,” and they leave…that might not be the end of them; they may break into your home in the future, knowing you lack a security system.
  • Never give out any private information to anyone at your door! A company that really needs this information won’t send someone out in person to ring your doorbell to get it. And really, no company needs this information.
  • You’ll be a lot safer in life if you worry more about you and your family’s safety than hurting the feelings of a stranger at the front door. If the “sales rep” is persistent, including insisting he come inside because it’s hot out, or he needs to show you some papers, etc., do not give in! SAY NO, and do it through the door, don’t even open the door. If he’s legit, he’ll forget about your “rudeness” by the time he gets to the next doorbell!

Robert Siciliano personal and home security specialist to BestHomeSecurityCompanys.com discussing burglar proofing your home on Fox Boston. Disclosures.