The use of a dog as a component in security goes back thousands of years. Chinese palaces were protected by dogs. Even Greek myths have Cerebus guarding the gates of Hades. Some dogs are loyal, bark at strangers or have other attributes that suit them well for the role of guard dog.
Everyone is familiar with [...]

Crime rates vary, but in many large cities they’ve actually gone down over the past few decades. Still, the population has grown and the need for security is still very much with us.
Home security systems used to be largely reserved for the well-to-do. This made sense when the systems were very expensive and they were [...]

One of the less well-advertised aspects of the PC and Internet revolution is its impact on home automation security systems.
A combination of software and hardware can provide video surveillance cameras with intelligent tracking. They can, for example, come on when you leave the home and turn off when you arrive. They can be programmed to [...]

Older burglar alarms were fairly elementary. A door or window was opened at the wrong time and an alarm went off, either in the house or at a remote location or both. Installing them required adding wiring and attached devices - an expensive propostion. But security systems have evolved greatly over the past twenty years, [...]

Modern technology has caught up to home security lighting needs. In times past, a simple, low-cost timer might have been used to turn indoor lights on and off at selected times. Outdoor lights might be on a similar mechanism, but set at different times. Floodlights were common. But state-of-the-art home security lighting is much more [...]

One of the most effective means of protecting your home is to join, or if necessary create, a neighborhood watch program.
You can’t be home 24 x 7 x 365. You work, you shop, you take the kids to events, you take vacations. In short, you lead an active life, just like most of your neighbors. [...]

A panic room, or as professionals call them, a safe room is very much what the name suggests. The concept is simple: build or select a room within the home that is impervious to intruders.
The release of the popular Jodie Foster film, Panic Room, a few years ago brought the idea of a safe room [...]

Windows and doors are, obviously, the two most common entry points for burglars. Fortifying them can start with near-zero cost, then grow from there as your needs and budget allows.
Before you buy anything, take a good review of your home and your habits.
Do you leave keys under the mat near doors? Do you leave a [...]

Many valuable items kept in your home are small enough to conveniently place in a safe.
Though it’s less common to store documents there, now that computers have taken over the job, you may have a hand-signed will or old family photos you want to protect. If you have antique or rare stamps, manuscripts, baseball cards [...]

One of the most obvious common sense observations about homebreakers is their desire to avoid detection. But they want not only to be unobserved while committing the crime, but desire to leave no visible trace of themselves afterward. A video surveillance system can help thwart both their goals.
Just seeing that you have a set of [...]