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Home Security begins at the Entrance

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If you were to design the ultimate security system for a house, what would you focus on? These days, many people would immediately think in terms of the most technologically advanced alarm system—one that’s voice activated, detects motion anywhere, can be remotely controlled and allows remote viewing of the home, etc.

5HBut even in this day and age of connectedness, the best security system begins with the front door. That’s because, essentially, the door is potentially your home’s weakest link—no matter how high tech the alarm system is.

Contrary to TV and movie depictions—even TV commercials for security systems—of burglars always smashing through windows in the dark (makes a noisier, more dramatic effect), by far the No. 1 entrance for an intruder is the front door. And often, it’s kicked in.

That’s because typically, only two or four mite-sized screws are holding up one or two little strike plates, attached to a weak door frame of thin pine. If you only knew how easy it is to sever pine. 10 year old kids in karate classes do this with their bare hands.

What if your door included one-sixteenth inch of heavy steel? Try kicking through that. And what about a four foot bar that’s installed over the strike plates, screwed right into the door’s frame? Wow, you have one tough-ass security system for your door: The Door Devil Anti Kick Door Jamb Security Kit. It includes:

  • Three and a half inch heavy screws, which go into 2 x 4 studs located behind the door frame
  • Steel door jamb reinforcement (48 inches): replaces the small brass strike plate
  • Three inch screws for reinforcing the door hinges

In addition, there are other things you can do to make your door more impenetrable.

  • A door bar jammer or door brace: One end fits snuggly under the doorknob, while the other end is angled out and affixed to the floor.
  • Deadbolt wrap: This will reinforce the area around the door lock.
  • A better strike plate: Thicker means better.
  • Door frame reinforcement: This steel implement is up to four feet in length, and some versions are decorative.

Of course, all of these measures add up to zero protection if you leave your door unlocked. Many intruders gain entry through unlocked doors. It’s that simple. But don’t forget that even a very determined burglar tires out and does not want to be standing there all day trying to kick down a heavily reinforced door.

Robert Siciliano is a home and personal security expert to DoorDevil.com discussing Anti-Kick door reinforcement on YouTube. Disclosures.

You need a Home Security Safe

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You don’t have to be wealthy or live in a big house to need a home security safe. If you don’t think you need one, ask yourself why. Ask yourself if you don’t have any valuables—not necessarily something that would be valuable to a burglar, but something very dear and special to you, such as a vintage photo of your great-grandfather.

5HA crook will grab a small safe, not knowing that it contains sentimental items to the owner, and hoping it contains jewelry items he could resell.

So the ideal home safe should be large enough to deter a burglar from grabbing. It should also be fireproof: You wouldn’t want your sentimental belongings to go up in smoke, would you? A safe is also a good place for emergency cash.

An article on community.homeclick.com provides information on choosing a home safe, beginning with the three kinds of locking mechanisms: keypad combination, cylinder dial and keyed lock.

Keypad Combination

This type, which uses batteries, provides fast access and can be customized. The downside, other than having to replace the batteries, is that it’s small enough for a burglar to grab. But if you prefer this system, then bolt this little safe to the floor.

Manual Dial

The manufacturer of this type of lock provides a preset combination, but if you have skill with tools, you can change the combination.

Keyed Lock

The downfall is that these can be picked with a paperclip. Thieves know how easy this is, so if this is your preferred lock, then bolt this safe to the floor—but that won’t stop the burglar from picking the lock. However, it’s fireproof and waterproof, so once the thief sees it’s filled with your children’s birthday cards to you of years ago and old photos of your great aunt Mollie, he’ll leave it alone, I’m sure.

The best safe is a big heavy one. A burglar doesn’t want to hassle with the chore of lifting it and carrying it out of the house. At the same time, it should have a locking mechanism that will stump a burglar. A large, heavy safe is ideal even if you have only a small quantity of valuables; you don’t have to fill it up.

The third feature is the ability to withstand heat. Safes are rated, such as being able to tolerate 350 degrees for one hour. This will surely protect photos, keepsakes and the like, but probably not sensitive electronic equipment. The safe should also have a good rating for resistance to water damage.

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

1 in 4 Female Undergrads sexually assaulted

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One in four (25 percent) of college women reported they received unsolicited sexual contact while in college, says the recent Association of American Universities Campus Climate Survey of 150,000 students.

1SDHow can on-campus safety be heightened?

  • Students should have a hardcopy and smartphone-stored list of contact information for all kinds of help. The school’s emergency and security numbers should be on speed dial.
  • Memorize key numbers in case your phone is stolen or the juice dries up.
  • Ditch the headphones when walking outside.
  • See if the campus has a security escort service.
  • Take self defense classes often. Many college campuses have martial arts clubs; join and learn.
  • Don’t always walk the same paths to and from classes so that predators don’t learn your patterns.
  • Review the privacy settings of all your social media accounts, as some accounts have geolocation features that can reveal your location via photos.
  • Keep your windows locked! Always keep the door locked as much as possible and always overnight.

What about social settings?

  • Out late at a bar? Never leave alone; always have someone with you. And make sure you know precisely how to get to your next destination.
  • Never get drunk. Yep, I’m serious. Though many victims are sober at the time of assault, getting drunk can open many opportunities for being victimized, such as being unaware that someone just slipped the “date rape” drug in your fifth drink.
  • In fact, never let your drink out of sight. If you don’t want to take it with you to the restroom, then either finish it or trash it first.
  • Never accept a drink that you didn’t see poured, and never accept an opened can of soda.
  • If you feel it’s time to leave, it probably is. You don’t owe any explanations. In fact, if you say, “I have to go,” pushy people will ask why and urge you to stay. So instead, silently and nonchalantly make your exit. If someone nabs you along the way, tell them you need to 1) get some air outside, 2) make a phone call or answer a text, 3) get something from your car.
  • If it’s more obvious you’re leaving for the night (e.g., putting on coat and boots), say you 1) just received an urgent text, 2) have an early exam tomorrow, 3) look ‘em hard in the eye and say, “I’m leaving. DEAL.” Then leave.

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

Do It yourself home security getting easier

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How would you like a home security system that’s also your personal assistant? Angee Inc., a new company out of San Francisco, knows you’d like one.

ANG2Features of the Angee Device

  • Smartphone controlled
  • Has a Full HD camera with night vision.
  • Learns habits of and senses presence of household members to automatically arm and disarm.
  • Camera rotates 360 degrees—and does so as it detects motion; intruders will not be able to get out of view while they’re burglarizing.
  • Security tags provide security of a property’s entire perimeter, so that entrance via a tagged door or window will be detected.

Furthermore, says an article on gizmag.com:

  • The Angee system is portable, is powered by a battery and has local data storage.
  • So if there’s a power outage, Angee will be able to keep monitoring your home for at least eight hours.
  • Angee can record about an hour of high definition footage, and longer at lower quality.
  • Footage can also be stored in the cloud. However, Angee can distinguish between benign activity and suspicious activity, so there shouldn’t be any useless footage time.

How can Angee tell suspicious activity from normal activity?

  • It learns to recognize the movement patterns of household members. Intruders move differently.
  • Burglars also enter and exit their target homes in a peculiar manner.
  • If the burglar has an accomplice, there’s likely to be conversation, and Angee will detect these unfamiliar voices.
  • Angee will recognize familiar people by their voice or by a Bluetooth signal that connects with their smartphone.
  • If the Angee user has an iOS or Android, they will receive an alert when Angee detects suspicious activity; Angee will then stream video of this activity.

The gizmag.com article further explains that Angee can be controlled by voice commands, including recognition of vocal passwords. Angee is practically human, as it can even remind you to close windows if rain is predicted. It can also check your calendar and answer the phone. There are many ways the user can “program” Angee to behave, and Angee also gets smarter and more personalized the longer you have it in your home.

Through a Kickstarter campaign, Angee Inc., has raised over $260,000 and is still going. The unit is projected to retail at $429, and the expected delivery date is October of 2016.

Robert Siciliano, personal and home security specialist to Angee. Learn more about Angee in this Video. Support Angee on Kickstarter. See Disclosures.

How to Choose a Home Security Safe

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Home safes aren’t just for expensive jewels and wads of $100 bills. They can be for anything you’d be crushed about if it were stolen, lost or burnt in a fire. This could be a birthday card that your child made for you when they were five, or a photo of you and your grandmother.

4HHome safes come in all sorts of designs and sizes. An article on community.homeclick.com provides tips in choosing the home safe that best suits your needs. Let’s first look at the three types of locking mechanisms: keypad combination, cylinder dial and keyed lock.

Keypad Combination

  • Fast access
  • Can be customized
  • Uses batteries (which means replacement is necessary).
  • This type of safe may be small enough for a burglar to just carry away, intending to figure out how to open it later. Bolt it to the floor.

Manual Dial

  • Requires knowledge and skill (including a screwdriver) to change the combination.
  • Because of this, most people settle for the manufacturer’s preset combination.

Keyed Lock

  • Some models/brands can be easily picked with paperclips; YouTube is full of tutorials. Buyer beware.
  • No thief is intimidated by this kind of locking system. At worst, he’ll just take the safe with him and deal with getting it open once he’s home. Bolt it to the floor.
  • Nevertheless, these safes can protect from water and fire damage.

A big heavy safe with a good locking mechanism is not inviting to a burglar. Ideally, the safest safe is big, heavy and has a digital or manual dial locking system. Even if you have only a few valuables, a big hulking safe will deter a burglar. But if you’re not concerned about burglars, at least be concerned about fire protection—or rather, slowing down a fire.

The ability of a safe to withstand searing heat varies. They are rated for this ability. For example, says the community.homeclick.com article, a common rating is that of one hour at 350 degrees. But this rating probably will not protect sensitive electronic items in a house fire. All safes have a fire and water protection rating.

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

Choosing a Home Security System

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Choosing a home security system may be dizzying, what with all the possibilities, but the good news is that there’s a system for every budget and personality.

3HGone are the days in which the only security systems available were the ones with all the clunky wires that had to be put throughout the house. Systems are now offered by Internet providers and cable companies. But choose carefully.

Wireless

  • These often include do-it-yourself installation.
  • The provider may or may not yield an equipment charge.

Get the police involved.

  • Ideally the system should automatically send an alert to a call center who dispatch the police. However some home security companies don’t offer monitoring services that trigger a call to the police when the alarm is tripped. Look into this.

Smartphone

  • For not much more than $25-30 a month, you can have a basic system that includes motion sensors using an application for your phone.
  • With your mobile device connected to your home, you can monitor it in real time, get alerts, control other functions or arm your system if you forget to do it after you leave.

Customer Service

  • The industry of home security systems is highly competitive. Basically they offer the same things, so a good company will try to stand out by offering superior customer service.
  • It would be wise to check out reviews before committing to any service.
  • One thing to keep in mind is that customer service should be available ‘round the clock.

Home-made Security

  • Until you get an official home security system, you can buy security company stickers off of eBay and put them on your windows to fool burglars into thinking your house is protected.
  • Use timed lighting devices so that your house never looks dark and unoccupied.
  • Timed devices can also produce flickering light to simulate a TV being on.
  • Keep shrubbery away from windows so that intruders can’t hide in it.
  • Always keep the lawn well-kempt. An overgrown lawn suggests that the home’s occupants have been away on vacation.

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

Butthead Burglar buttdials Cops

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You know what a “buttdial” is. This is when a person has a seat somewhere, and the ensuring pressure of their butt against the seat accidentally presses upon the keypad of the phone that’s in their pocket. Or they don’t lock their phone and their fingers indiscriminately just call someone. Happens a lot.

What are the odds that the numbers that are pressed actually dial someone’s number? It’s pretty small, but it’s happened so much that the term “pocket dial” is now official English vernacular.

Here’s a better question: What are the odds that a buttdial dials 9-1-1? Next question: What are the odds that the buttdialer, at the time he butt dials, is talking about committing a burglary, and the 9-1-1 dispatcher overhears this?

Well, it happened.

Usatoday.com reports that a butt dial call came in to Somerset County dispatchers in New Jersey recently, and the inadvertent call allowed them to overhear burglary plans.

Scott Esser, 42, is now in jail on $100,000 bail after butt dialing on July 27. Nobody knows exactly what he did to accidentally place this call. All we know is that it rung 9-1-1, and dispatchers heard men discussing a burglary but were not able to track the location.

However, that evening, a burglary occurred in Branchburg. And by then, the cell phone company had learned that the butt call had been made by a phone assigned to Esser.

So detectives put out surveillance on Esser, following him as he drove to a home. Once he got out, the police lost sight of him. But he returned, and the detectives went to the home—and saw that it had been burglarized. They caught up with the butthead and arrested him.

His car contained jewelry and some pricey electronics, a gun, $11,300 worth of U.S. bonds, and burglary tools. Esser was then charged with burglaries not only in Branchburg, but in Stafford and Berkeley Heights. The butthead was busted.

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

How to hide your Cash at Home

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It’s good to have a stash of cash for emergencies. If the grid goes down and the power goes out, an ATM or bank does you no good. But there are security issues too. Where do you put it? A safe is certainly a smart idea. You can get creative too.

1SWhat burglar would not think to look under a mattress for money? The mattress isn’t exactly a most ingenious place to stash money. However, if you have lots to stash, and put just a little under the mattress, this decoy could trick a burglar into thinking that there’s no other hidden money to search for.

At any rate, whether you want to go the decoy route or avoid the mattress altogether, here are some great locations for hiding cash in an envelope.

  • Inside an old sock (roll up the envelope)
  • Taped to the bottom of a low shelf or drawer (e.g., bottom of sock drawer)
  • Think of other places to tape the envelope: back of refrigerator, bottom of crib, bottom of sofa, top of sink cabinet, top of interior of the credenza, etc.
  • Inside a Tupperware container in the freezer
  • Beneath the passenger seat of your car
  • Inside a Band-Aid container or empty vitamin bottle (tightly roll up a wad of cash)
  • Inside a bible. There’s that saying, “A person who would steal would never open a bible, and a person who’d open a bible would never steal.”
  • Inside a picture frame between the support and the photo
  • In an empty cereal box, rice box or canister that once contained oatmeal flakes, protein powder, ground coffee or whatever
  • Inside a muddy pair of boots that you never wear
  • Underneath a heavy potted artificial plant (a real plant, since it gets watered, would require a saucer to separate the envelope from the bottom of the pot).
  • Between the stack of paper in your printer (but when you use the machine, remove that stack and insert a second stack for actual use, then when done, replace it with the stack that contains the envelope).
  • Taped to the inside of the door to the electrical cabinet
  • Inside a photo album
  • Inside a fake electric wall socket (these can be purchased)

Ask your kids to come up with additional ideas; you never know just what “crazy” but clever idea a child will come up with.

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

Sheriff’s office offers Home Security Tips

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Here’s good advice from a sheriff’s office about how to protect your house.

1SBurglars and home invaders don’t give a flying hoot if you keep thinking, “It can’t happen to me and this is a safe neighborhood.” In fact, the issue isn’t how safe your neighborhood is or how watchful your neighbors are. The issue is how easy it is to simply break into your home.

Think of the other safety precautions you take daily even though the odds of an unfortunate outcome are very small, such as making sure you take your vitamins, or making sure not to miss brushing your teeth before bedtime. Yet you leave your garage door open because you think your neighborhood is safe? What the…?!

Keep your garage door closed. A threat may not be imminent, but any passer-by may actually be a thief scouting around to see who has the goods, and he sees some real goodies in your garage; he’ll make a note of your address for a later crime.

Don’t leave boxes that contained expensive items sticking out of garbage cans. Did you know that burglars love to see what’s poking out of garbage cans? Trash cans are the windows to the soul of your house.

Religious thumpers. Savvier burglars will go door to door pretending to represent a religion—they may even have a bible on hand—but their goal is to feel you out. I’m not suggesting that you shout at them to get lost and slam the door so hard that it shakes the frame. But if you present as wishy washy and unable to say “No thank you,” this tells the burglar you’re easy prey.  It’s better to talk through the door opposed to opening it.

Petition supporters. The burglar may be pretending to sell something or collect signatures for some strange petition.

Product sales. Another scam is for the burglar to name a date and time they’ll be back to deliver a product if you show an interest in it. They’re hoping you’ll say, “I won’t be home then; can you stop by another time?” The crook will be sure to show up at the time you won’t be home—to rob you cold.

Alarm company employee. If someone’s at your door claiming to be from your alarm company (if you have one), or some alarm company (if you don’t), this IS a ruse to find out if you have an alarm system that works—even if he’s wearing an outfit with the company’s name. Alarm companies don’t send people out in the field for unsolicited visits to homeowners.

Secure all entrances. Don’t just layer up the security of your front door. What about a porch door in the back? What about windows to your basement?

Makes sure valuables are not visible through your first-floor windows. This is another way thieves case houses.

Before leaving for out of town, contact the local police and request a vacation patrol check of your house. Be sure to indicate whether or not anyone is expected to be there such as someone to mow the lawn.

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