Home Security

6Nov/105

Clock In With Covert Hidden Cameras

Of the numerous different ways in which to disguise covert hidden cameras, clocks have, by no means, been left out of the equation. They are just one of the many items being used that cleverly allows you to keep an eye on things. There are a couple of different types of clock radios that contain covert hidden cameras. One is shaped like a cube and is a fully functional clock radio besides, offering a choice of black and white or color pictures.

Another one contains not only a hidden camera but a transmitter as well that will penetrate between two to three interior walls that are up to six hundred feet away. These covert hidden cameras also have a signal that travels up to fifteen hundred feet away from the camera to your VCR and or your TV. You can also move it from room to room as easily as you would any regular clock radio.

If you believe that having your covert hidden cameras inside of a clock radio just would not be classy enough for your living room, library or office, then you might want to take a look at the covert hidden cameras that come inside a mantle clock. This beautiful Seth Thomas mantle clock contains either a black and white low light or color/black and white high-resolution camera with a motion activated DVR, which is hassle free and easy to use.

By using a wireless remote control, you activate the arm button, and then the moment any motion is detected, the video camera begins running and will continue to run for fifteen seconds after the motion stops.

Popularity: 43% [?]

6Nov/105

Home Protection, What your security system may not detect!!!

In many cases, most people feel pretty secure with a basic/standard home security system, but with today’s criminals/robbers its shocking to know how many of them know there way around a security system. There are a couple of small inexpensive things you can do for you and your family that may prevent that awful robbery.

A. Window Alert is home security device that attaches to windows and set off by vibrations if someone tries to break through. Installs easily on any window, There is so many cases that robbers use there window cutting device that can not be detected from a basic Security system. This little window alarm was an essential in saving the millions of lives that were threatened by a robber.

B. A Home Security Device such as the Watchdog is ideal for home protection, because it accomplishes what even the best living, breathing watchdog cannot do. Rex’s electronic radar eyes, the Electronic Watch Dog Home Security Device can "see" through thick doors, walls and glass. And once his cord is plugged in, he'll stay on duty around the clock, indefinitely. The Electronic Watch Dog Home Security Device can protect homes, apartments, mobile homes, RV's, jewelry stores, factories, warehouses, public and private buildings of virtually every kind. For example, most apartment complexes do not have a security system in the apartment units. You only go in good faith that the apartment is safe. Rex, the electronic watch dog, what an easy solution to cure a robbery scare.

• Barking gets louder and more frequent as the intruder gets closer.
• Switches from the watchdog to the tranquil sounds of nature with the simple switch of a button.
• Variable distance sensitivity (up to 30') as well as volume control.
• Supplements your regular home security system by detecting robbers before they attempt to break into your home.

C. A Nightmare Situation There are preventive solutions!!!
1. The Big Jammer is a home security device that is a strong 20 gauge steel adjustable door brace that installs easily under door knobs and provides added security. Adjusts easily to fit most hinged doors. End caps can be removed to allow for use on sliding glass doors as well. Clean, baked enamel finish makes it attractive for in-house use.
2. The base of the alarm is bolted to door or window frame, the actuator is connected to the window or door. The alarm is activated by opening the door or window. Great for any door particularly those hard to protect sliding glass doors.

Popularity: 34% [?]

6Nov/106

How to keep your home safe when you are away

We all want to make sure that our homes are protected and safe while we are away for the day or for any extended period of time. There is no way to know for sure if something is going to happen while we are gone. The only thing that we can do is prepared for out homes to stay safe while we are not there. There are a few things that we can do in order to provide safety for our homes.

One way is to tell our neighbors that we trust about not being home. It is very important that we only tell the neighbors that we have trust in and that we know about being gone. We have to be confident enough that they will look out for our home and take care of it while we are away. Tell them to check on the pets and plants while you are gone as well. This will make it look like someone is their taking care of things. They can also gather the mail and the newspaper everyday as well. This will keep potential prey thinking someone is home.

You can also tell the local police department if you are going away for an extended period of time. Tell them the dates that you will be gone and ask them to patrol the home every once in a while. This is good especially if you live in a secured area.

You always want to make sure that the doors and the windows are always locked when you leave to go anywhere. Do not make it easy for an intruder to get inside your home. Keep things secure and well protected with good quality locks that will be tough for anyone to pass by.

You will also want to make sure that everything is secure inside the home too. If you are just leaving for the day, make sure that lights are off and anything electrical if turned off as well. If you are leaving for a few days, you may want to turn the water main off in the home as well as the hot water heater too. This will protect your home from an unexpected breaks or leaks that can occur at any given time. You do not want to come home to the surprise of having a flood in your home.

Check all doors in your house that lead to the outside or into a garage. These should be metal or solid wood and at least 1.75” thick. Be sure door frames are secure and cannot be taken apart easily. Make sure doors fit into frames without gaps. Even with strong locks, good burglars can get into your house if your doors or doorframes are weak.

Popularity: 31% [?]

Filed under: Uncategorized 6 Comments
6Nov/104

How Home Security Monitoring Works

Home security monitoring does not mean that there will be 24 hour a day surveillance of your home to ensure that your home is protected from a burglar. At least it does not mean that in a literal sense but home security monitoring does provide you and your family 24 hour a day protection from burglars and in some cases, even fire. The level of protection that you receive will depend on the complexity of your home security system and the capabilities of the security provider you have chosen. The one thing in home security monitoring that is relatively similar no matter which provider or system you choose is the sequence of events that occur while the security system is in use. This article will provide a brief synopsis of how home security monitoring works.

Just about every home security monitoring system is activated as the first step in the process. Usually the homeowner pushes a button or series of buttons on the keypad to turn on the security system. This sends the message that the security system should trigger if it is breached in any way. Once this happens the various components of the home security system are activated. This may include access contacts, motion detectors, security cameras and any other components of the home security monitoring system. These components remain activated until the homeowner returns home and deactivates the home security monitoring system. Again, this is usually accomplished by typing in a series of numbers in the keypad.

If there is a breach of security, the home security monitoring system will begin a sequence of events. In most cases the first event, upon detecting an intruder, is to sound a warning alarm. This is usually a low level alarm and the intent of sounding this alarm is to allow the home owner the opportunity to deactivate the alarm when they return home. The homeowner usually has approximately 30 seconds to deactivate the alarm before the home security alarm system takes the next step.

If the alarm is not deactivated two things happen simultaneously in the home security monitoring system. A loud alarm is sounded and a message is sent to the monitoring station that there has been a breach of security in the home security monitoring system. This message reaches personnel at a 24 hour per day monitoring station who respond to this message. The first response is to contact the homeowner to determine whether or not the home security monitoring system has been breached or it was a false alarm. If the homeowner does not respond to the home security monitoring personnel and supply them with a security password, the staff will contact the local police department and send them to your address.

Home security monitoring is a precise service that has a clear path of action. Most home security monitoring companies react and proceed in a very similar fashion when a security system in their network is breached. While each home security monitoring company may have differences they all generally work in the same way.

Popularity: 32% [?]

6Nov/104

Crime Prevention through Environmental Design (CPTED)

What is CPTED? The official book definition is "the proper design and effective use of the built environment that can lead to a reduction in the fear and incidence of crime and an improvement in the quality of life." It is simply a goal to reduce opportunities for crime that may be inherent in the design of structures or in the design of neighborhoods. In other words, make your home or neighborhood unappealing to burglars and thugs.

Cities and Counties throughout the country are adopting CPTED ordinances requiring site plan reviews with crime prevention in mind. Law enforcement officers who are specially trained in CPTED are now working closely with Planners, Architects, City Officials, and Educators to ensure the proper design of structures, schools, and neighborhoods. These experts know how the design and use of the environment can control human or criminal behavior and reduce the fear of crime. They used natural means such as landscaping to deter criminals. Access control, natural surveillance, different aspects of lighting and its effects on human behavior, all deter crime.

Many landscape specialists incorporate CPTED into their layout & design of landscapes. Each of the following CPTED strategies are low cost guidelines that they apply to reduce the fear and incidence of crime and improve the quality of life.

1. Natural Access Control guides people entering & leaving a space through the placement of entrances, exits, fences, landscaping & lighting. Access control can decrease opportunities for criminal activity by denying criminals access to potential targets & creating a perception of risk for would-be offenders. Walkways & landscaping should direct visitors to the proper entrance & away from private areas. The design should create a perception of risk for would-be offenders. Walkways should be installed in locations safe for pedestrians & keep them unobscured.

2. Natural Surveillance is the placement of physical features, activities & people in a way that maximizes visibility. A potential criminal is less likely to attempt a crime if he or she is at risk of being observed. At the same time, we are likely to feel safer when we can see & be seen. The landscaping should be selected and installed to allow unobstructed views of doors & windows. The front door should be at least partially visible from the street. Shrubs & bushes near windows should not restrict full visibility of the property. Sidewalks & all areas of the yard should be well lit.

3. Territorial Reinforcement is use of physical attributes that express ownership such as fences, signage, landscaping, lighting, pavement designs, etc. Defined property lines and clear distinctions between private & public spaces are examples of the application of territoriality. Front porches or stoops should create a transitional area between the street & the home. Property lines & private areas should be defined with plantings, fences or retaining walls. Use thorny plants along fence lines and under windows to deter access by intruders.

4. Maintenance is a well maintained home, building or community, and creates a sense of ownership. A well kept area tends to make someone feel like they will be observed by neighbors or business owners as it is obvious people care about the area. Keep trees & shrubs trimmed back from windows, doors & walkways. Keep shrubs trimmed to 3 feet & prune the lower branches of trees up to 7 feet. Use exterior lighting at night & keep it in working order. Keep litter & trash picked up & the yard neat & free of items that might attract theft.

Popularity: 30% [?]

6Nov/104

Gun Safes – 4 Revealing Statistics Why Firearms Owners Need A Gun Safe

If your house is on fire would your gun or firearms be safe?

If a burglar were to break into your house, would he find your gun easily and steal it?

Is your gun easily accessible so that it can be reached by others who are unauthorized to handle the gun, allowing misuse?

These are the three main important questions that every gun owner must answer, and if the answer to any one of these questions or to all of these questions is in the affirmative, then what he needs immediately is a gun safe.

Consider these 4 revealing statistics:

1. In the United States of America, the FBI has estimated that there are more than 341,000 incidents of firearm theft from private citizens every year on average.

By nature, we tend to believe that firearm theft will not occur to "us" ...and that theft only occurs to others. It is time to get wiser, that theft does not wait for any man. For many who possess guns or firearms that are actually hierlooms, the loss of the firearms would mean much more than normal loss. It means loss of something sentimental, and it would be worse if that hierloom was used in the commission of a crime resulting in loss of life.

2.Guns and firearms are stolen with a purpose - stolen guns often end up in the hands of unwanted individuals and criminals who may use them to commit further misdeeds, burglary, theft, robbery and even cause bodily harm to others. Worse, children and kids may mistaken a real gun for a toy and mishandle it if the gun is not stored away properly, resulting in accidents.

We have read and seen actual cases where kids have easy access to the parents firearms, resulting in terrible unnecessary loss of lives and untold misery that lasts for life.

3. It is estimated that over 30% of the firearms used in the commission of a crime are stolen from American homes and businesses. Now, that is a really worrisome figure. Theft of guns is becoming a source of further crime and gun-owners must take on a role to prevent increasing firearms theft.

4. A burglar has a time window of around 6 minutes to look quickly for prized possessions and assets to steal when he breaks into a home, this being the time burglars would be "comfortable" in the commission of his crime.

Frustrate the burglar's "time comfort zone", by storing away your gun properly.

Considering your responsibility as a firearms owner,it is no longer wise to store your gun in a drawer, or under a desk or behind a picture frame - places where burglars and unauthorized persons will zoom in for.

Every responsible gun owner needs a gun vault or a gun safe - fireproofed, locked and inaccessible to unwanted persons...and safe from theft, fire and misuse.

Popularity: 25% [?]

6Nov/104

Better Hearing with Listening Devices

Of all of the ways that people can use listening devices, whether it is for fun, helping to detect problems with plumbing, pest control, covert operations, or keeping tabs on baby, one of the most important reasons for the use of listening devices is to just be able to hear with. That is hearing what the person standing across the room is saying to you. Hearing the timer go off on your stove so that your dinner or that cake you made doesn’t burn. Hearing what is being said on the TV without having to turn the sound up so loud that the whole neighborhood knows what you are watching. More importantly, so that a would be intruder, listening to that blaring TV, doesn’t know that you are hard of hearing and might not hear them breaking into your home until it is too late.

Let’s face it, hearing aids, the type that are typically sold to people with hearing problems are expensive, very, very expensive. And if you don’t have health insurance that pays for the cost of these pricy devices, you may be living in a world of partial silence unnecessarily. There are listening devices on the market today like the dynamic new slim line SuperEar. What are so great about these devices are not only their high degree of sensitivity and their mere three-ounce weight, but the price is unbelievably listed at under a hundred dollars. That’s right! And these listening devices are so compact they can be easily stowed into a pocket or purse when you are not using them.

Popularity: 30% [?]

6Nov/105

How To Choose The Right Home Security System

Depending on the money you have and the neighborhood you are living in, you have probably wondered how to choose the right home security system. This is indeed a tough question and hopefully by the end of this small guide you will at least have a hint.

The first step to choosing the right home security system is to put yourself in the role of a villain. Look at your home with some evil eyes. Where would you make your entry point - through the window, the back door, or the basement perhaps? Imagine the most probable route that a thief might choose. This will help you establish the weak points in the security system. One of the best ways to ward off potential burglars is simply to place alarm signs and decals on the premises. These will make the potential burglar think twice about attempting a break-in.

A good strategy to provide a relatively cheap, yet effective home security system is to leave a seemingly unguarded path. Typically the villain will choose it. This area should be guarded in a more subtle way. For example, if you leave a backdoor “unprotected” you could install a motion detector that emits a loud sound when activated. The key here is to leave the potential thief a way out, so you avoid confrontation and possible personal endangerment. The typical scenario would involve him almost feeling that he succeeded and then right before the entry point he would have a very nasty surprise which will make him run away in a panic.

Unfortunately though, the above strategy might not always work. This is why additional security installations should be installed. Depending on the budget you have available, you can choose from quite a large array of alternatives. These can involve the installation of security cameras, door alarms, glass break detectors and even photoelectric beams. No matter what your choice is, you should never leave anything to chance. Thieves do not always follow the easiest path. If they are skilled in detecting home security systems and overriding them, you might be in for some real trouble. The trick lies in setting up redundant home security installations to make them feel overwhelmed and not so sure about their success.

These are just a few general guidelines to determine how to choose the right home security system. Depending on your specific circumstances and the specifics of the area you are living in, you might feel that the security measures must be tightened or relaxed. Regardless of the condition, you must always be prepared for the worst. The fact remains, crime is on the rise and there are no signals that this trend will decrease. If you are still unsure about what security systems to choose, let a security expert help you by doing a detailed evaluation of your needs. After all, your family and home are much too important to leave to chance.

Popularity: 33% [?]

6Nov/105

How Internet Predators Select Their Victims

The average pedophile will victimize between 50-150 children before he comes to the attention of law enforcement. A large and growing number of predators have gravitated towards the internet, reasoning that browsing the personal profiles children themselves post on instant message services and anonymously lurking in chat rooms is less risky and more effective than hanging around playgrounds and schoolyards. The number of predators using the internet to groom children for future exploitation rises every month.

How do internet predators select their victims? Here are some important factors:

* Almost by definition, internet predators favor children who have regular (and private) access to a computer. Most victims live in suburban or rural areas while relatively few live in inner cities.
* Internet predators gravitate towards children who are online for lengthy periods of time each day, and usually at the same time of day. Predators seek children whose schedules mesh with their own, children who are online most days during a consistent time frame. Think about it… predators have little chance to groom a child for future exploitation if that child is rarely online or is online at various times of the day. Children who do not have a lot of activities outside of school tend to be online longer and at the same times of day compared to those children who have lots of activities. These children are more often targeted by internet predators.
* Internet predators prefer children who have instant message accounts. Although some predators use email, many prefer communicating with their victims through instant messages. Predators know that while emails are saved automatically and have to be manually deleted, instant messages tend to evaporate into the ether once the instant message window is closed. Parents can keep a permanent record of instant message conversations by installing instant message monitoring software on their children’s computers. PCSentinel Software ( www.pcsentinelsoftware.com ) is one vendor of such software.
* Internet predators search out children who will speak to them. Again this seems self-evident, but predators are forced to pass over children who refuse to communicate with strangers they have not met offline. Teach your children never to communicate online with someone they have not met offline.
* Internet predators search out children who are vulnerable and lonely, sheltered and naive. Predators seek to develop a relationship with their targets, often posing as children or teenagers themselves, and then use that relationship to initiate sexual discussion and activity or lure the child into an offline meeting.
* Internet predators are all the more emboldened if they find out a child is from a single parent family, having trouble at school or with the law, or has been experimenting with drugs, alcohol or sexual activity.
* Internet predators search out children who post personal profiles on the internet, especially those that provide name, age, photos, gender, physical description, telephone number, address, etc.
* Internet predators favor targets who own webcams or digital cameras. Predators often coerce children into using these devices to send images of themselves to the predator. If a child does not own a camera, predators sometimes send one to their targets for the purpose of photographing themselves.
* To be successful, internet predators require children who will not terminate the relationship at the first suggestion of sexual activity. Even if a vulnerable child with few friends is uncomfortable with sexual talk, they will sometimes put up with the unpleasantness of the conversation for fear of losing their new “friend”.
* Internet predators seem to favor victims between the ages of 12-15. These are the ages where children are discovering their own sexuality and independence, and also the ages where they are most likely to be conned into meeting with a stranger without telling their parents. Younger and older children are also solicited, but as a whole tend to be harder targets.

Popularity: 31% [?]

6Nov/105

Bug Detectors Help Stop Unwanted Spying

Does your work entail government secrets, sensitive information, new products not yet copyrighted, or investigative procedures? Then you probably need to invest in some of the different types of bug detectors available.

There are several types of bug detectors on the market today that do a variety of things. One such device is a sound masking system that introduces sound into the perimeter of the environment. By introducing sound into the perimeter instead of the entire area, which would cause people to raise their voices, thereby defeating the purpose of the audio blanket, this device will prevent eavesdropping regardless of where the bug has been placed.

Other types of bug detectors can ensure telephone line security. They are designed to locate electronic wiretapping and eavesdropping devices and stop them in their tracks. These special bug detectors can also detect computer hackers, telephone line employees and government agencies, who are trying to intercept your computer, telephone and fax communications. They can even detect video tape recorders.

Then there are bug detectors that can tell you if someone is using their cell phone to monitor your conversations. These bug detectors can flash a red light, give off an audio alert warning, and prevent the monitoring by cell phone from such agencies as police departments, prisons, security firms, etc.

Some bug detectors can find the presence of small video cameras by telling you that they are there, and then by quickly finding the location of the camera, and have a detection range of two to fifteen feet. There are even some bug detectors that can warn a person of both audio and video bugging devices that are located on the premises. Whatever your needs in audio and video bug detectors, there is a device on the market that will work for you.

Popularity: 29% [?]