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Keeping Tabs On Your Home When Away

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You may have a single family home, second home, or apartment. And no matter what your abode sitchy is, there is no place like home. Whenever I leave, I miss my family, house, and stuff.  When we go on vacation, we are always happy to go home. I hope your sitchy feels the same.

And whenever I leave there is always a discomfort that when I’m not there to guard the castle, I’m concerned that something can go wrong. Mother Nature can make a mess of things with inclement weather, Father Time wears things down and they may break while you are gone, brazen burglars ransack your stuff, tempted teens use your vacated home as a party palace and worse than it all, freaky follies occur like a busted water pipe on the second or third floor completely ruining your home.  Water is big time destructive.

I’ve remedied most of these issues by installed a surveillance system by ADT Pulse on my property. Mine is a little over the top, however it serves as a good guide.

I have 16 surveillance cameras including 8 on the inside and 8 on the outside. Each camera is strategically placed to give me a remote view of each critical access point on the perimeter and on the inside.  There are also cameras in the garage and mechanical room. Each camera is set up to record video whenever there is motion. Each “event” is then sent via text message to alert me to the activity.

In the event that a water pipe lets loose I have water sensors tied directly to the Internet. If the water heater or any water dependant appliance gets all freaky In the kitchen I’ll be alerted via text to the issue.

When I’m home my touchpad’s or PC are alarm central. And when I’m out or away it becomes laptop, iPad or mobile. No matter where I am, I have full access to the goings on of my property.

Robert Siciliano personal and home security specialist toHome Security Source discussingADT Pulse on Fox News Live. Disclosures

How to Save Money With a Home Security System

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The best thing about a recession is it smartens people up. It makes us tighten our belts and shed excess. I’m definitely guilty of piling on the debt circa 2004-8 in the irrational exuberance years.  But as soon as the ball dropped I made significant change.  Immediately I looked at all the monthly recurring fees and bills and cut down on about 80% of them.

I also have a monthly bill for home security alarm monitoring. But not once did I contemplate eliminating that. Actually I upgraded my system to one that’s more efficient that has more options too. My ADT Pulse system has an internet based dashboard that allows me to set schedules for lights, heat and cooling so I sat down and looked at how I could make this system pay for itself.

First thing I did was set schedules for the heat. I have a gas fired hot air system and gas isn’t cheap, nor is the electric to run it. It’s common knowledge that home heating should be set to 68 degrees, so I set my heat to run at 68 starting at the hour of 6 am, which is generally when everyone’s up and about. The 68 degrees runs all the way until 10pm because there is always someone home. Then I set the heat to drop to 64 degrees on the first floor and 66 in the bedrooms on the second floor.  Nobody but the dog is on the first floor and she’s got a fur coat. And everyone in the bedrooms is under blankets and has enough body heat to handle the 2 degree drop.

Over the past year it has become evident that this simple tweak in my heat scheduling has saved me money in excess of what my home security system costs. Nice!

Robert Siciliano personal and home security specialist toHome Security Source discussingADT Pulse on Fox News. Disclosures

Best Secret Hiding Places: Dead Space

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Burglars know where you hide stuff. That key under the mat or in the flower pot or the jewelry in the dresser draw or the cash in the cookie jar. But there are better ways to do things. A heavy fire retardant safe bolted to the floor is best. And there are other options too.

We have dead space all over our homes. If you are handy, this dead space can become handy.

  1. Walls: There is a 16 inch center to center void in most of your homes walls made up of 2x4s and sheetrock. Newer homes built in the last 30-40 years have sheetrock opposed to horse hair plaster. Sheetrock is much easier to cut out and make a faux access panel.  This is a great hiding place for anything including long items like rifles and shotguns.
  2. Stairs: Underneath stairs there is often a big void as big as the tread itself. This isn’t always the case so consider drilling a hole before you go ripping up a tread.
  3. Staircases: Underneath many staircases is a closet of some kind meant to fill the big void the staircase creates. But there is always an additional void that gets boarded up because it’s too low to the ground to be effective space for a closet.
  4. Kitchen cabinets: In many homes the tops of kitchen cabinets are exposed giving plenty of space up top to lay things flat. In other cases the tops of the cabinets meet sheetrock that meets the ceiling. This can be a big void. Cut a hole in the top of a cabinet and put stuff up there, then seal the hole with a panel. The very bottom of cabinets have a similar void.
  5. Electrical outlets: Because your walls are hollow making a small hiding place out of a fake electrical outlet is easy. Hardware stores have all you need to cut a hole, put in a deep outlet box and put a non useable outlet or switch in.

Robert Siciliano personal and home security specialist toHome Security Source discussingADT Pulse on Fox News Live. Disclosures

Home Invader/Killer Says He’s Done It Before

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There’s no need to live in fear. And there is a need to take responsibility for your family’s security by investing in a home security system and take some control over your personal security.

Convicted killer and home invader on death row Steven Hayes apparently wrote letters confessing to up to 17 murders of women over the course of his miserable life.

The New Haven register reports he noted “Yes, I’ve killed before,” Hayes bragged. “I have 17 kills throughout the Northeast United States. Perfect victims and well executed, controlled endeavors.”

Hayes partnered with Joshua Komisarjevsky in the “Petit home invasion” which has become known as one of the most brutal highly publicized home invasions ever, where a mom and her two daughters were killed as the Dr. dad lay beaten and bloody in the basement.

Hayes purportedly wrote in a letter “I’ve searched my whole life for someone who could embrace and had the capacity for evil as I possess, I thought I finally found it in Josh.”

Apparently Hayes played the father figure role and Komisarjevsky served as his evil apprentice. But in the letters Hayes wrote “But events show Josh, while (he) had the proper evil intent, lacked in the most serious aspects, commitment and control.”

He further wrote “the Petit home invasion was a dry run in the partnership between Josh and myself. I do now realize that had we gotten away, I would have killed Josh. He was not even close to being worthy of my partnership.”

The letters go on to describe in painful detail how Hayes selected his victims one by one in a process that allowed him to avoid detection for almost 20 years.
Creepy.

Robert Siciliano personal and home security specialist to Home Security Source discussing Home Invasions on Montel Williams. Disclosures

Serious Considerations When Building a Panic Room

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A “fortified environment” is what it is known as. A safe haven or “safe room” buys you time in the event of brutal home invasion where people are tied up, raped and murdered. Like this one.  A safe room is also a layer of protection in the event of manmade or natural disasters.

Envision you are home and the home security alarm goes off because some drug crazed axe, knife and gun wielding bunch of lunatics smash down your door with the intent of doing very bad things to your family. This is when a fortified environment would help you survive.

Features of a safe room include:

Reinforced doors. These may be steal fire rated doors or ones lined with steel plate. The frames are also beefed up with door brace technology.

Reinforced walls, ceiling, floors. This can be anything from extra layers of plywood, sheet metal, steel plate, concrete or bullet resistant acrylic (plastic) or Lexan sheet.

Electronics. What safe room wouldn’t be complete without wireless internet and mobile communications?

Security systems. A monitored home security system complete with security cameras and back up batteries. All of which are in some way protected from intruders.

Self defense equipment. This can be anything from non-lethal to lethal.

Nourishment. You may be in your safe room for hours to days. Non perishable canned foods, and water is a must.

Gas masks. In the event your home invaders (or nuclear fallout) try to smoke you out, a gas mask is a nice touch.

Emergency first-aid kit. And assortment of bandages, ointments etc. Put some trash bags in there too. Trust me.

A simple enough strategy when installing a safe room in an existing home is to either install in your bedroom, basement or retrofit a walk-in closet.

Robert Siciliano personal and home security specialist toHome Security Source discussingADT Pulse on Fox News. Disclosures

Beware of Furnace Scams

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To my horror, old man winter is knocking at my door.  There is snow on the ground in Boston accompanied by a howling wind with a wind chill of wicked, wicked, wicked cold. Did I say it’s wicked cold? It’s only 37 degrees but feels like 10 below. Frankly, I should live on an island in the pacific for more than one reason, and avoiding winter is one of them. I’m a very delicate flower.

Anyways, if you are proactive you should have already gone through with your annual maintenance regime with your forced hot air furnace, or forced hot water boiler.

In this process you may change air or water filters, clean out tubes, clean ducts, tighten up any water or air leaks, or flush the system of bad fluids. If you haven’t done any of this or have no idea what I’m talking about you may be a good target for furnace scams.

The most effective way not to be scammed is to do business with those you know, like, and trust. A referral by someone you trust who has a long term relationship with a licensed plumber or pipefitter is often the best way to get a reputable contractor to do maintenance or install a new system. Keep in mind any heat/cooling related work can cost under a $100.00 to several thousands. And if you don’t have an honorable contractor, they can easily fleece you.

Look for a license and confirm its validity with the local registry.

Be especially aware of duct cleaning scams. Do your research on how often they should be done and watch the contractors every single move. You want to see dirt and see dirt removed.

Confirm they are insured.

Don’t do business with anyone who does door to door sales.

Beware of scare tactics.

Always require a full proposal.

Get second and third opinions.

Get references.

Search them online and seek out any complaints with the Better Business Bureau.

Robert Siciliano personal and home security specialist to Home Security Source discussing home security and identity theft on TBS Movie and a Makeover. Disclosures.

Community Comes Together to Fight Burglary

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In Rochester New York they are being “plagued” by burglaries which rose by over 13 percent in the last year. As a result they organized a Burglary Prevention Clinic to teach homeowners how to better secure their homes.

WHEC reports one of the residents was quoted saying “It’s so easy to forget that maybe I didn’t lock my window, or I didn’t secure my door, or my lock is a little loose.”

This particular event had more than the standard Neighborhood Watch attendees. In attendance was law enforcement, security professionals, locksmiths, politicians, insurance agents and community members all sharing their experience and best practices to keep safe.

They discussed a number of security issues, people voiced their concerns but one politicians stated very poignantly “I would say the most important thing is that there’s a lot that we can do to protect each other, so communication with your neighbors, and relationship with your neighbors goes a long way.”

Use solid steel or solid wood doors.

Trim shrubs to eliminate hiding spots.

Report suspicious activity in your neighborhood.

Start a neighborhood watch and get to know your neighbors.

Inform a few trusted neighbors of any travel plans to assist in the collection of newspapers and mail.

Install a home security system monitored by law enforcement and consider security cameras too.

Robert Siciliano personal and home security specialist toHome Security Source discussing burglar proofing your home on Fox Boston. Disclosures.

Thinking About Building a Safe Room?

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A safe room also known as a panic room is designed to keep bad out and extend your lifetime. Bad could be in the form of Mother Nature’s wrath, manmade disaster or a human predator.

There are varying levels of options and financial investments based on what exactly you want to protect yourself from.  For example if you live in a part of the world where tornados are a problem then you may build your safe room with similar security features as you would when trying to protect from a predator. But may not as extreme as protecting yourself from manmade disaster, like nuclear fallout.

FEMA has a guide that begins the process of building a safe room and asks you to consider: When extreme weather threatens, individuals and families need advance warning and protection from the dangerous forces of extreme winds. Individuals and communities in tornado and hurricane areas need structurally sound safe rooms and early alert systems.

What is the cost of installing a safe room?

Can I install a safe room in an existing home?

Can I build the safe room myself?

Where is the best location for the safe room?

Where can I find plans for safe room construction?

FEMAs guide discusses having a safe room in your home or small business that can help provide “near-absolute protection” for you and your family or your employees from injury or death caused by the dangerous forces of extreme winds.

This is a good start for anyone considering a safe room of any kind. In the next post we’ll get into detail about what designs may be considered when building one to protect for predators and even manmade disasters.

Robert Siciliano personal and home security specialist toHome Security Source discussingADT Pulse on Fox News Live. Disclosures

Phone Scammers Have No Shortage of Targets

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Scammers call as a grandchild with a bad crackly phone connection in another country on vacation hoping the victim will believe they are their grandchild who needs to get bailed out of jail. Other scammers call informing the victim they won the sweepstakes or lottery and only need them to pay by credit card or wire money to insure the winnings end up in their back account.

Sometimes the caller will say they are a lawyer from a foreign land and a long lost relative just died and left a large amount of money that desperately needs to get into the victims back account. All that needs to happen is the victim coughs up bank routing numbers and authorizes a cash transfer. And if the phone ever rings and it’s someone telling you they are selling stocks, bonds or gold or can get you a tremendous rate on your mortgage, chances are they are just another scammer trying to separate you from your money.

Amazingly, Alexander Graham Bells little invention has allowed scammers for well over 100 years to use his tool of technology to fleece unsuspecting citizens, and rob them of their personal security. Just like the internet today, people believe that the anonymous person on the other end of the communication is who they say they are.

The naïve and false belief to trust the authoritative figure who informs you that you either stand to gain or lose something based on your compliance is a tried and true method of scammers.

Really, the key to preventing phone scammer: hang up.

Robert Siciliano personal and home security specialist to Home Security Source discussing home security and identity theft on TBS Movie and a Makeover. Disclosures.

Defense Begins in Petit Home Invasions

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It’s as hard for me to write this as it is for you to read this. In one of the worst publically known home invasions of the 21st century one defendant has received the death penalty while the other is facing the same fate. Joshua Komisarjevsky, confessed to the attack on the home and family of Dr. William Petit, and the murders of his wife, Jennifer Hawke-Petit, 48, and girls Michaela Petit, 11 and Hayley Petit, 17.

The 2 home invaders met in jail and after they got out one night set out to rob some people at ATMs and ultimately landed at the Petit home. The father was sitting on his sun porch when the two men came in and Komisarjevsky hit him with a baseball bat.

Then both men went up stairs to tie up mom and two kids. A short while later one of them escorted the mother to the bank to take out $15,000.00.

When they came back each of the men sexually assaulted the mom and a daughter. To cover up the DNA evidence they debated to burn the house down killing the victims and destroy the evidence.

After what Komisarjevsky described as a brief argument they agreed and poured gasoline all over the house. The mom and her daughters died of smoke inhalation.

In his confession Komisarjevsky stated “They did every, they did, they did what they were supposed to do. There was no reason for them to die. They were compliant the entire way, both you know, very bright young ladies.”

We can “what if” all day long and play out different endings as a result of actions or inaction taken. I’ll simply offer this; while compliance is how most of us are raised and is necessary in a civilized society, sometimes noncompliance is in order in an uncivilized situation.

Robert Siciliano personal and home security specialist to Home Security Source discussing burglar proofing your home on Fox Boston. Disclosures.