HSMSS.ORG

Posts Tagged ‘Tips’

One of the best ways to protect your family, your home, and your belongings is a home alarm system. When you purchase a home alarm system, there are many features and options to choose from, which can make your decision quite difficult. Understanding the function of each feature and accessing your home’s need for that particular type of protection is the best way to decide which features are right for your home.

Some people have questions about pricing when purchasing a home alarm system. Many people have a budget and can only spend a certain amount. Luckily, there are alarm systems that everyone can afford. Simple contact alarms on doors and windows are a good place to start. If someone forces an entry, these alarms will alert you immediately. Then, you can add other features later in order to complete your home alarm system.

A home alarm system protects your home from intrusions and burglary. Warning signs prevent breaking-ins and stop break-ins with a loud alarm and a message sent to local monitoring stations. Usually the sheer volume of an alarm would scare off potential burglars, but if that is not enough, an alarm that is tied to a central station will trigger a call to the police.

A keypad and control panel, contact alarms on your doors and windows, an audible alarm, and a monitoring system are all included in most basic home alarm systems installed by major alarm companies.  But there are many other home alarm system features you can consider for your home, and they may not be costly.

Motion detectors will recognize when there is any kind of movement within your house. Even if an intruder breaks in to your home without setting off any contact alarms, such as going through a broken window, they will set off your motion detectors. If a door or window is opened when the alarm system is set, contact alarms, which usually come with the home alarm system, will trigger the alarm. Audible and visual indicators are available in many alarms, providing such features as a loud alarm and a strobe light. A strobe light will further help to dissuade an intruder, and this option is especially important for people who are hearing impaired.

Choosing which type of alarm system, wired or wireless, is best for you is your decision. Plugging directly into the phone jack and communicating wirelessly, wireless systems do not require any drilling in the wall. If you choose a wired home alarm system, you will have to contact the professionals for installation and drilling. As part of your home alarm system, you can also get window stickers, yard signs, and motion activated lights.

Given the amount of choice and options on the market, choosing the right features for your home alarm system may seem overwhelming. But remember that any kind of home alarm system you choose, even the most basic one, will help you and your whole family be secure.

ADT Safety Tips: Home Burglary Prevention
BOCA RATON, Fla., June 14 /PRNewswire/ — The FBI reports that more burglaries occur during the summer months than any other time of year and that every home is a potential target. According to U.S.

Read more on redOrbit

Security experts’ six tips to ensure safe visit to South Africa World Cup
Washington, June 10 : Security expert Johan Burger has offered six safety tips for World Cup tourists to prevent pick pocketing, robberies, and muggings following the armed robbery of a group of World Cup journalists in their hotel outside Johannesburg.

Read more on New Kerala

Use encryption
Wireless routers give you the option of encrypting your data, so bank details and passwords can’t be intercepted. Wi-Fi Protected Access (WPA and WPA2) is a much stronger encryption system for securing your communications than WEP, which can be easily cracked by hackers.

Use a password
Set up a password for your wireless internet connection. Choose a strong password for securing your network – don’t use the one that came with your Wi-Fi router or a dictionary word that is easy to guess or crack. (You may wish to read our article on sensible password use for help with this.)

Don’t broadcast the name of your wireless network
The name of your wireless network, known as the SSID, should not be broadcast to passers by. In addition, choose an obscure hard-to-guess SSID name to make life harder for Wi-Fi hackers. SSIDs such as ‘home’, ‘wireless’ or ‘internet’ are not good choices.

Use MAC address filtering
Wi-Fi routers and access points normally have the ability to prevent unknown wireless devices from connecting to the network. This works by comparing the MAC address of the device trying to connect to the Wi-Fi router with a list held by the router. Unfortunately, this feature is normally turned off when the router is shipped because it requires some effort to set up properly. By enabling this feature, and only telling the router the MAC address of wireless devices in your household, you’ll be securing your wireless network against neighbors stealing your internet connection.

Securing your wireless network using MAC address filtering is not a total solution as it is possible for a determined hacker to clone MAC addresses and connect to your Wi-Fi network, but this measure should still be taken to reduce the risks.

Restrict internet access to certain hours
Some wireless routers allow you to restrict internet access to certain times of the day. For instance, if you know you will not need to access the internet from home between 9-5, Monday to Friday, then schedule your router to disable access between those hours.

Make sure your computers are properly secured
Check you have up-to-date anti-virus, security patches, and client firewall software, this will help to protect your wireless network by stopping malware-based connection to your Wi-Fi.