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Every year, 2.5 million burglaries take place in the U.S., according to data from the United States Department of Justice reported on The Zebra. If you have ever had your home burglarized, then you know what a feeling of violation in brings. Items are replaceable, but that sensation of being safe can be difficult to recover. When it comes to home invasions, an ounce of prevention is worth far more than a pound of cure. Fortunately, with advanced technologies, guarding your home has gotten easier and methods have become more effective. You don’t have to hope your old deadbolt or barking dog keeps intruders away. Smart and Wi-Fi-enabled devices have empowered people to stay in the know about what’s happening around their home, even when they’re away. And, these devices can greatly deter a break-in. Here are effective ways of securing your home when you’re away on vacation.
Key-less Locks
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Traditional locks face a major vulnerability: if someone just gets their hands on a key, they’re in. And anyone you’ve ever lent a key to, from a babysitter to a dog walker to an interior designer could have made a copy. That’s one more flaw of the traditional lock – if you want to let someone in while you’re away, you have to give them a key. But that enables access, even at times you don’t want someone in your home.
It’s time to upgrade to keyless locks. These are intelligent locks that empower you to decide exactly who goes in your home, and exactly when. Some locks connect to your smartphone. From there, you can lock and unlock the door. You can also pair the lock with a keypad, and give visitors a one-time code to access your home. This is an ideal way to let in your dog walker or babysitter and do away with regular keys entirely. Some of the best smart locks are on the market, some of which use fingerprint identification, one-time codes and other keyless forms of entry.
Smart Doorbells
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One of the best ways to prevent burglars from entering your home is to never let them know you’re away. Most intruders don’t want to deal with a confrontation. Smart doorbells, like Ring, not only send an alert to your smartphone when someone rings your doorbell, but also connect you to live surveillance at your front door. These gadgets then allow you to communicate with visitors, through speakers on the doorbell, from your phone. So you can make it seem like you’re home, even when you’re not.
Some doorbells boasts a 180-degree camera angle, and can differentiate between people, animals and cars to reduce false alarms. Additionally, it can store up to five-minute clips, allowing you to review security footage at a later time.
Home Monitoring Devices
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If your exterior security systems don’t prevent a break-in, an interior home monitoring device can act as a backup. Many systems monitor your home, letting you check real-time surveillance from your smartphone. They also notify you via call or text of air quality issues and intruders, so you can call the appropriate authorities like the police or firefighters, even when you’re away.
There are great interior home surveillance systems – especially if you want something discreet that intruders won’t tamper with. Some are tiny and subtle devices that look like smoke detectors (and are) but also contains a 170-degree camera with real-time recording and a siren for scaring off intruders.
Some also allow you to zoom in on footage to get a better look at intruders, saves footage for up to 30 days and even captures high-definition images in the dark.
Smart Appliances
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Securing your home gets easier when it looks like you’re inside. Today, with smart appliances, it’s easy to make it look like you’re home when you are not. Use these to turn music and lights on and off while you’re away. This will make it look to intruders as if somebody is inside. Several allow you to control smart devices from your smartphone to make your household appear occupied.
