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Some gadgets can make your home safer

Cox News Service

November 18, 2008

I don't play computer games. Instead, I watch public television, take long walks and spend quiet hours studying mathematics and physics texts.

OK, so I lie. But numbers usually don't.

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When a hacker breaks into your home computer, you could have your identity stolen and your data trashed.

When a burglar breaks into your home, you could have your possessions trashed or even die.

I'll take a hacker any day. Besides, the odds of being hit by a home burglary are higher than those of a home hack attack.

Today we'll talk about gadgets that can make your home safer. I'll stick to the electronic end of things. But these tips are just finishing touches to a real home security plan. Some of the best ways to protect your home are free and low-tech. At the end of this column, I'll suggest Web sites that cover those simple ways to lower the chances of a burglary.

Alarm systems

There are plenty of do-it-yourself home alarm systems, but I suggest a professionally monitored system. Sirens and flashing lights are better than nothing, but when your family's safety is at stake, a monitored system installed by pros makes sense.

You can make any alarm system more effective by avoiding false alarms. Careless owners and faulty alarm systems turn a good system into an annoyance.

A study a few years back in Charlotte found that 98 percent of all alarm signals were false. Neighbors ignore frequent false alarms and police can fine owners when false alarms are common.

An alarm system may be critical to home security, but any good soldier will tell you that protecting the perimeter is important. Here's an area where do-it-yourself systems rule.

Peeling the onion

Think of a security plan as an onion. Your home alarm system and deadbolts on the door serve as a last line of defense that only come into play when a burglar has taken the final step and is breaking into your home.

But your first warning shouldn't be the sound of a door being forced or the scream of a burglar alarm.

You need time to react and get your family to a safe area.

That's where an outdoor motion detector comes into play.

I bought mine from Radio Shack for $80. It triggers an alarm if someone walks onto my patio or comes into my garage.

Have a dog? Adjusting the height of the detector's beam prevents false alarms.

There's a real feeling of security in knowing I will have advance warning of intruders on my property. My unit (Model No. RWA-300R, Catalog No. 49-429) has worked flawlessly for more than two years.

Motion-detector lights also deter burglars. Replacing existing outdoor floodlights with them is a do-it-yourself job as long as you are careful to turn the power off at the breaker.

Homes set a long way from the street may profit from an alarm — wired or wireless — that signals when a car pulls into the drive.

The alarms can be turned off during high traffic times or during the day. Here's a Web site that offers various types of motion detectors and driveway alarms: http://

tinyurl.com/6eznrr.

Keep in mind when I mention a Web site like that I'm offering an example of what you can find and am not recommending for or against that specific business.

One terrific use of technology is an online neighborhood hotline. That's what we do where I live. Subscribers can automatically send mail to neighbors alerting them to burglaries or suspicious activity. In our neighborhood, we use Yahoo Groups (http://groups.yahoo.com). It works fine and it's free.

Dumb and dumber

If you Google electronic home security systems, more than half the hits will involve video cameras that monitor your home and property. There's nothing wrong with installing one, and they're kind of neat. But unless you monitor it constantly, it's unlikely to warn you of intruders.

On the other hand, if it's a recording system, you'll have video of the burglar, right? Truth be told, the grainy video is unlikely to result in an arrest.

You'll also find robotic voices that tell burglars to go away — now that's scary — and recordings of barking dogs.

These systems do little more than give a burglar a good laugh.

You can stifle that laugh fast. Here are the Web sites I promised that offer good non-technical tips:

• http://tinyurl.com/6o3hdk

• www.crimedoctor.com/home.htm

• www.homesecurityinformation.com

Follow these tips and there's a good chance a burglar won't walk away with that firewall-protected computer of yours.

Bill Husted writes for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

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