Best Home Security Products for Your Urban Home

Living in an urban or suburban neighborhood comes with its own set of challenges.

In some urban areas, the crime rate is escalating at an alarming pace and the need to make your home safe is being felt more than ever. In these troubling and uncertain times, it’s good to reevaluate your home security set up. And before you start spending big bucks on sophisticated security systems, make sure to take care of the simple yet effective measures that will make your house safer.

Here are a few tips and suggestions that can be used to secure your home and give you the peace of mind you are looking for.

Secure Your Doors

Modern life is busy, but no matter how precious your time is, you can surely take out a minute or so to properly lock your house both when you leave it and when you come back. Burglars look for easy targets! The ideal situation for them will be if you do not have the habit of locking the doors behind you. It gives them the opportunity to just stroll in. Apart from the doors, the garage and even your windows are go-to access points for burglars. Since these are the most common points of entry used by robbers, you need to make sure that they are as difficult to penetrate as possible. 

The doors should be of solid wood and the door frames need to be strong to offer maximum protection. Use different kinds of locks so that breaking in becomes more challenging and time-consuming for the burglar. If you have moved into a residence that was previously used by someone, then the first thing you must do is to get the locks changed. You can get smart locks or video doorbells or doorbells with alarm systems like the Guardline 500 ft. Doorbell or Driveway Alarm.

Lock the Window

After doors, the most common entry point for burglars will be the unlocked or weak windows. Never leave them open, especially at night or if you are going out. If you have sliding doors then make them more resistant by reinforcing more secure locks. 

Consider purchasing window-door sensors or glass break sensors which are easy to install and can inform you when these entry points are being tampered with. These sensors will alert you when there is an attempt to open the windows and can also help to scare off the burglar. It is a good idea to add window-treatments to your first-floor windows and garage windows so that intruders are not able to observe whatever is in your home or what kind of lifestyle you have. 

Increase Outdoor Lighting 

Poorly lit outdoors attract burglars as it gives them hiding space to take their time to make the robbery attempt. This simple tip of adding lights at key places can be a very effective deterrent. No one will want to spend a few minutes standing directly in the spotlight and try to open a door from where he can easily be caught or seen from far off.

Place flood lights over or near windows, doors, and driveways, as well as your walkway. You can also make use of motion activated lights. You can have specific lights or sirens set to motion sensors that can be triggered in certain places in your yard or in alleyways. Motion detector lights nowadays are very affordable. If you get these, make sure to buy ones that run on batteries or solar power.

Keep the Lawn Neat

Do not let the hedges, shrubs and bushes overgrow. They will provide a safe space for the would-be-invaders to hide and do their dirty work, without anyone knowing. A well-kept garden doesn’t only look appealing, but will also provide a clear view of the entire lawn. Design the landscape to your advantage and make sure you are able to see from the windows easily who comes in and goes out. You can place the thorny plants and bushes near the windows to discourage entry.

Get a Security Camera or a Security System

With security cameras becoming more affordable, having these in an urban home has become a need. These security cameras and security systems come in all kinds of budgets and for every level of protection. For urban homes, you must have a more cohesive system in place. There are a lot of options when creating a cohesive system, starting with choosing between wifi and non-wifi operated systems as well as between wireless and wired systems, motion sensors and more. Ultimately, it’s about choosing products that work best for you and your property. If the area you live in has a higher percentage of crime rate, then it will be smarter to go for the security system that comes with home automation or professional monitoring.   

Outdoor Motion Sensors

Since burglars are always going to try to make an attempt either when you are away or asleep, it is best to make the outside of your property better protected. A smart idea would be to have motion sensors outside that can alert you if there is any movement. Since these are going to be installed outside, make sure to get the ones that are weather resistant and provide reliable alerts. 

Guardline Security’s Driveway Alarms offer some of the most trusted outdoor motion sensor products that you can look into. These alarms are very easy to install and you can have them set up in minutes. Whenever someone enters your property, it will send you an alert. Having these installed will give you the peace of mind that you are in total control of your property. You can also look into indoor motion sensors that are compatible with the Guardline driveway alarm for enhanced security.

Set Up a Secure Wifi Network 

Home automation is the wave of the future, allowing you to schedule outdoor lights, get real-time alerts, and even monitor the CO levels in your home. But since these smart security gadgets are all wifi-enabled, they can leave you vulnerable to being hacked, giving criminals direct access to your home. Luckily, there are some concrete solutions that might help. 

For starters, make sure you’re using strong, non default passwords for both your router and your modem. Securing your router’s login and enabling your WPA (Wi-Fi Protected Access) are a good place to start, or even opting to use a WPA2 encryption, which is a bit more secure version of a user-generated password and makes it harder for hackers to access your wifi.