Home Security Blog
LifeShield Security Review
Many security monitoring services force people onto a costly long-term contract, lasting for about three years. Thankfully, LifeShield Security provides high-quality monitoring services without a restricting long-term plan.
The LifeShield security monitoring service is much more flexible than people think. Monitoring costs $29.99 a month. This is a value for half the cost of ADT’s overpriced security monitoring service.
In fact, the best part about this security monitoring plan is the overall price. Unlike ADT, LifeShield will permit people to cancel their LifeShield monthly payment plan at any time, if they wish. LifeShield’s security equipment also stays functional, even after people cancel their monthly plan.
This is actually a much more reliable service, especially when people compare (more…)
Pan-Tilt-Zoom Home Security Cameras
Home security cameras come in many varieties, but one thing that’s common in the vast majority of them is that they don’t move. You install them in one spot and, while you can reach up and readjust the angle, they’re not going to regularly move around.
In fact, cameras that move around are traditionally more the purview of commercial security than they are of residential home security systems. However, there is a trend now among home security system manufacturers to offer Pan/Tilt/Zoom cameras – sometimes known as PTZ home security cameras.
How PTZ cameras boost your home security system
What’s the advantage of a PTZ home security camera? They’re the most flexible (and, of course, the most expensive) home security cameras on the market. They have three features that let you do more with your camera than what you could do with (more…)
Young Mom Provides Home Security for Infant Son
Sometimes, the best home security system is simply your will to live and your will to protect your family. A recent incident in Oklahoma involving a young mother and a home invader demonstrates just how dangerous it can be to threaten a family with small children.
This story involves Sarah McKinley, an 18 year-old young mother in Oklahoma City. The holidays proved tragic for McKinley, whose husband passed away on Christmas Day.
McKinley was targeted by a man giving the name of Justin Martin on the day of her husband’s funeral. The man claimed to be a neighbor introducing himself. Wisely, McKinley didn’t (more…)
Home Security in Three Layers
When you think of home security, you typically think of a home security system. Yet, a reliable home security system is only one piece of the puzzle. A more appropriate analogy, however, might be that it’s simply one layer of the cake.
There are, essentially, three layers of security that stand between you and a home invader. Your home security system can interact with all three layers, and you need to consider all three when making home security plans.
Layer One: External Security
The external security has to do with your yard as well as entry points into your house. Measures you can take to secure this layer include:
- Reinforce doors. Most doors are easy to break down. Reinforce yours to make it harder.
- Install deadbolts. Deadbolt locks aren’t impenetrable, but they are much harder to pick than standard lock.
- Secure windows. If you’re especially worried, consider (more…)
Preventing Non-Opportunity Home Invasions
Most burglaries are simply crimes of opportunity. A burglar chooses a home to rob, enters the home, takes valuables, and leaves all within a matter of minutes. There’s not a whole lot of planning ahead of time, and it’s relatively easy to deter. Give some indication that breaking in will be a hassle – such as bright yard lights, deadbolts, or a home security system sign – and they’ll choose the next house.
Unfortunately, the most dangerous home invasions can be ones where it’s not a crime of opportunity. If someone has deliberately selected your home to break into, there’s usually a specific reason. Some of the more common include:
- To cause harm to you or your loved ones.
- To steal a particular item or items of value.
- To damage or deface your property.
These crimes can be harder to prevent. In most cases, the home invader has been inside your home. He knows that you don’t actually have a dog, even (more…)
Low Light Home Security Cameras
A home security system is only as good as the technology it’s built on. If your home security system uses inefficient and outdated technology, you’ll be less secure. For example, it’s great that you’ve got a camera pointed at your home’s entrance at all times, but if it can’t pick up images at nighttime it’s only effective part of the time.
That’s where low light home security cameras come in. There are three ways in which technology can help create a more reliable and clear image for your camera in the dark:
- Utilize contrast. One of the best ways to improve a camera’s ability to capture images in the dark is to switch from color to black and white images. This enhances the contrast of the video. Many home security cameras use black and white images in order to increase low-light visibility. These systems may or may not switch back and forth between color during times of better lighting.
- Wide Dynamic Range. WDR is a technology that will attempt, on its own, to compensate for the amount of lighting in a given room. For example, if your camera is placed near a window aimed at (more…)
What is an IP Home Security Camera?
There are plenty of camera options when it comes to your home security system. There are cameras that are designed to work with a full system, and there are standalone cameras that simply capture images and retain them. There are wired cameras and wireless home security cameras. One of the newest types out there is the IP home security camera.
What, exactly, is an IP home security camera? There are several defining characteristics of which you should be aware:
- It’s not a closed circuit camera. For decades, the only kind of home security camera you could find was a CCTV camera. These cameras utilize a single circuit that connects the camera with a monitor or recorder. There’s no ability to transmit the data from the camera elsewhere. CCTV cameras may be either wired or wireless.
- It utilizes your home’s computer network. An IP camera uses your home’s computer network to send its signal. Each camera becomes another node on the network. The camera may plug directly into a (more…)
FrontPoint Security Review
If you’re considering a wireless home alarm system, you’ve most likely come across FrontPoint Security. FrontPoint is one of the leading wireless home security system providers in the nation. Let’s take a look at some of the FrontPoint equipment and service, and see how it stacks up against other home security options.
FrontPoint’s Wireless Core
At the heart of the FrontPoint system is GE Security wireless equipment. There are a variety of sensor types you can have with the system, including:
- Door sensors
- Window sensors
- Glass break sensors
- Smoke detectors
- Carbon monoxide detectors
- Motion detectors
- and more.
Each of the wireless sensors communicates with the control panel to create the secure area. The sensors are high-quality, tamper-resistant, and (more…)
Protect America Review
One of the things that keeps many people from having a monitored home security system is the cost. The fact of the matter is that home security can be expensive. One security company, however, seems to have the consumer’s interests at heard, and is able to do so while still offering world-class protection. That company is Protect America.
Quality wireless security equipment
At the heart of Protect America’s wireless home security system is GE Wireless Security equipment. This equipment has become the industry standard for home security. Most of the major wireless home security companies use this same equipment.
Getting started for free
The copper package from Protect America gets you started on the road to home security with no upfront costs, and some of the most competitive monthly fees around. In this package, you (more…)
Guardian Security Review
When it comes to your home security system, you want reliability. You want to know that, if someone breaks into your home, help will be on the way. Guardian Security offers home security systems that protect you in the event of burglary, fire, and other personal emergency situations.
Basic but solid security
One of the things you’ll immediately notice when looking through Guardian’s offerings is that they don’t have some of the add-on devices you might see from other companies. Guardian believes in focusing on essentials. They want to protect your home from burglary and fire, and offer you home protection.
What that means is that Guardian focuses on its monitoring services. This company, unlike many of its competitors, monitors your home security system from its central monitoring station. It doesn’t contract its monitoring out to other providers. When you have a Guardian system and there’s a security event, it’s a Guardian representative that’s going to (more…)
