Here’s some good news: According to the Los Angeles Times, crime is on the decline in the city. For the first time in five years, LA posted improved numbers across the board for all manner of criminal activity, including violent crimes.

And while that’s something to be celebrated, it doesn’t mean you can drop your guard. In fact, increasing your home security can help make sure the crime rate continues to drop. That’s why 2019 is the year you should invest in even more advanced security measures.

From access control to remote home security monitoring and artificial intelligence, there are plenty of ways to keep your property safe in the New Year. Find out how below.

See Also: Simple Tips to Keep Your Home and Family Secure

Improve Your Access Control

When you leave the house, you likely lock the door. Traditionally, that means walking through your home and securing each entry point manually. Electronic locks changed all that by allowing you to secure everything remotely, with a tap on your smartphone or control device.

But smart technology continues to evolve. Today, you don’t need a key or even a smartphone. Biometrics allows you to use your fingerprint or retina to interact with your locks. That way, you can never leave your key behind!

Additionally, you can assign temporary keycodes to people you trust so they can enter and leave. You’ll receive a push notification telling you when they’ve engaged the lock and stay aware of what’s happening around your home.

Remote Monitoring Helps You Stay Aware

Staying on top of who’s coming in and out of your home is essential to your safety. But you can’t always keep an eye on things. In those cases, enjoy a little help from a remote monitoring service.

Our service offers 24-hour protection for your home. When an alarm triggers, your service representative can assess the situation, review surveillance footage, and contact the local authorities if necessary.

Plus, we can keep your system up to date with remote maintenance. If something goes wrong, it’ll most likely be fixed before you even notice.

Get Smarter with Artificial Intelligence

One of the biggest technology trends to hit the security market recently is artificial intelligence. Primarily taking the form of behavior analytics software, your surveillance cameras can analyze and take action on potential criminal activity.

Already used by police departments and big box stores, analytics track the movement of anyone in view. When someone approaches your home, your system can spring into action if they behave in a suspicious way.

With an integrated security system, your doors can lock, your alarm can arm, and more. That way, your home remains protected, even before something bad happens.

How else can you protect your home? Find out by clicking here.

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The end of the year is a time for reflecting and setting goals, and one important goal you can accomplish in 2019 is taking a few simple steps to ensure your family’s safety. Home security is one of those things many of us don’t think about until after something bad has already happened, but a little forethought now could save you from major headaches down the line. From home surveillance to monitoring services and more, here’s how Orlando residents can better protect their homes next year.

SEE ALSO: See how automation can keep your home secure

INSTALL SMART LOCKS ON YOUR DOORS

It’s time for a digital upgrade for your home’s doors. Smart locks either require a code to be unlocked or can be unlocked through an app, making them a much stronger security measure than regular locks.

There are other security benefits from smart locks as well. If you’re out of town but you know someone is stopping by your home, you can give them the code instead of needing to stash a key somewhere where a potential intruder could find it.

You can also program your locks to automatically turn on or off at certain times of the day, making it less likely you’ll accidentally leave a door unlocked and invite potential trouble. Finally, you can link your locks to your home’s existing automation system and program them to unlock in the event of a fire, saving you much-needed time if an emergency occurs.

UPGRADE YOUR FIRE AND CARBON MONOXIDE ALARMS

A complete approach to home security means planning for more than potential intruders; fire and other hazards need to be accounted for as well. 2019 is the year to make sure your fire and carbon monoxide alarms can handle your security needs.

Newer fire alarms can be integrated with other automation systems in your home and trigger your doors to unlock if a fire is detected. Every second counts when it comes to getting your family out of the house, and those automated systems could save your life.

To be prepared for carbon monoxide, you’ll want a carbon monoxide detector on every floor of your house. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, about 2,200 people in the United States died from carbon monoxide poisoning between 2010 and 2015, so proper preventative measures should be taken. Another step to consider is switching to an automated HVAC system that can shut itself off in the event of a fire, thereby minimizing the spread of smoke throughout your home.

GET A PROFESSIONAL MONITORING SERVICE

The best, easiest way to ensure your home’s safety is to have someone else watch your home when you can’t with a home surveillance system. Professional monitoring services from a company like Safe Home Security can be an invaluable security tool, especially for times when you or your family are away from home.

Traditional alarm companies may not respond in time for you to act if an emergency occurs, whereas our security professionals will alert you the moment we detect anything amiss. In addition to home surveillance solutions, Safe Home Security can help protect Orlando homeowners from fire, carbon monoxide poisoning and much more. To learn more about how we can give you greater peace of mind at home, call us at 800-833-3211 or visit our website.

The post 3 Simple Household Safety Tips appeared first on Safehome Security.

Today’s business owners face much more complicated security issues than in decades past, and that means your security system must adapt as well. You need to protect not only yourself and your employees, but your equipment and valuable data. That’s where Safe Home Security comes in. We specialize in security for both homes and businesses, and we have the expertise to build a custom system for you that’s both effective and easy to use. Here are three ways an automated business security system can keep your Hartford, CT business safe.

SEE ALSO: Check out our other stories

KEYLESS ENTRY SYSTEMS

While digital entry systems aren’t exactly new, they have gotten more advanced in recent years, and they’re still more secure than a lock and key.

One option to consider is keycards. Keycards are personalized to individual employees, so you can keep track of who’s going in and out of your building or into different rooms within your office. This means that even if an employee’s card is stolen, you’ll either be able to block their card from being used or know whose card they used to try to enter your business.

Alternatively, you could use a biometric security system. Biometric security works by using a characteristic unique to an employee, such as their thumbprint or fingerprint, to allow them into your office. Fingerprints and thumbprints can’t be lost, which means someone can’t break in by stealing a key or keycard, and the uniqueness of each identifying characteristic gives you a much clearer picture of who’s going where in your business. 

SMART CAMERAS AND LOCK SYSTEMS

We’re firmly in the digital age, and that means business security has gone digital as well. Case in point, modern security cameras give you a 24/7 feed of what’s happening at your office from your phone or other smart device. Better still, these cameras can send you an alert if someone tries to break into your business, giving you the opportunity to take appropriate action.

Even if you’re still using traditional locks, you can incorporate automation to make them much more effective and easier to use. By overlaying them with smart locks, you can lock all your doors with one button press from a single device, which saves you time and makes it much less likely that you’ll forget to lock one of your entrances. Link your locks to your cameras to create a one-touch security blanket for your business.

VIDEO ANALYTICS AND GEO-FENCING

Modern business security systems can take the task of securing your office out of your and your employees’ hands entirely. How? Through video analytics and geo-fencing.

Let’s start with video analytics. Having a camera over your door is nice, and it’s even better if that camera can send you updates, but what if your camera was smart enough to notice threats before they happen? Video analytics makes this possibility a reality. By using advanced artificial intelligence technology, your cameras can give you even more insight into potential threats, like a stranger who seems to be hanging around your front door for hours on end, and allow you to respond before anything bad happens.

Geo-fencing is another automated way to help keep your physical and digital assets secure. Geo-fencing involves creating predetermined zones in and around your business that limit access to certain areas or systems.

For instance, you could set up your system to automatically turn on your cameras, lock your doors and shut down access to your business’ files once you’ve left the parking lot. Another possibility is limiting access to certain files or systems to those who are within a certain physical distance of your building.

These are just a handful of ways an automated business security system can help you. To learn more about Safe Home Security’s commercial security solutions, call us at 800-833-3211 or visit us online.

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