young couple buying a new house

5 Reasons to Upgrade Your Home Security Before Selling 

/by American Alarm Blogging Team

Invest in Home Peace of Mind 

Planning to put your house on the market? Want to differentiate the property and build value for it in a practical, demonstrable way? Offer your buyers full security capabilities and extra peace of mind.young couple buying a new house

If you already have some sort of basic alarm system in place, consider upgrading it and implementing a cutting-edge, high tech and holistic surveillance/life safety solution. The safety of your property and loved ones is crucial. Anything you can do to enhance that protection will most likely appeal to future owners of your house.

Read more →

Teenage girl with mobile phone in bed

How Monitoring Your Kids’ Online Activity Mitigates Break-Ins

/by American Alarm Blogging Team

Online “casing” has become a new favorite tool of burglars throughout the country. Statistics show that nearly 75% of home invaders used a resident’s online presence in some way to target and locate their home. While adults use social media and other online platforms to engage with the world, children are far more Teenage girl with mobile phone in bedinvested in their virtual life, which makes them a vulnerable target for would-be burglars looking for easy access to a vacant home.

There are many ways you can monitor your child’s online presence to ensure that your entire family – and your home – are kept safe from intruders. First, it’s important to know exactly how potential robbers locate the information they need.

Read more →

Summer Vacation Safety Tips

/by American Alarm Blogging Team

School’s out! Children will most likely be spending a lot more time in or around the house, which may require leaving them home alone.

This is worth thinking about in advance. In terms of the law, each New England state has its own rules about the minimum age a child can be left alone. Read more →

Four Tips for Spring Security

/by American Alarm Blogging Team

Days are getting longer, temperatures are rising, and the ice and snow are melting. Spring has arrived here in New England, and with it, an opportunity to reevaluate your home security.

After huddling indoors for the past three months, spring offers the chance to finally go outside and enjoy the mild weather, but it also provides an opportunity for thieves. Read more →

Predictions for 2019: Why Cybersecurity Protects Physical Security

/by American Alarm Blogging Team

Given recent trends in information technology and crime, we have two major predictions about security in 2019:

  1. The biggest single threat to your business will come via cybersecurity vulnerability.
  2. The Internet of Things (IoT) will come to dominate your house and small business systems (assuming IoT hasn’t already taken over).

Read more →

10 Security Lessons from “Home Alone”

/by American Alarm Blogging Team

“Home Alone” is an all-time classic holiday movie. Young Kevin McCallister cleverly outsmarts two house burglars in a hilarious Christmas comedy. In addition to the slapstick laughs, Kevin employs non-traditional security measures to protect his house against the would-be burglars. While we don’t recommend icing your doorsteps and swinging paint cans from the top of your stairs, there are some lessons to be learned about proper home security.

Read more →

Halloween: Spooky Security Facts for Homeowners

/by American Alarm Blogging Team

Halloween crept up quicker than you can say “boo!” and you should be aware of the night’s spooky security facts. About 175 million Americans will be observing the holiday in some form, says CNN. With all those parties, costumes and related activity in New England and beyond, it should be no surprise Halloween can be a scary day for homeowners.

In fact, the holiday sees a 17 percent spike in home claims for vandalism, theft and other crimes, as compared to the 364 other days a year, notes a recent CNBC article.  The most common vandalism acts include kicked-in doors, broken windows and mailboxes knocked down. Also, in-house theft claims jump by 60 percent, says a USA Today article. Read more →

Protecting Seasonal Homes and Businesses

/by American Alarm Blogging Team

Columbus Day came and went, and winter is coming soon. Seasonal businesses are closing, and part-time residents will be returning to their winter homes. Everyone hopes to return next May to find their work or living quarters in the same conditions as they left them. Read more →

An Alarm System Can Boost Home Value and Enable Smart Living

/by American Alarm Blogging Team

home security alarm system

On the fence about installing an electronic alarm system to protect your personal or rental property? Not convinced your security demands such a solution? A home security system can lighten your financial burden, more tightly link your mobile devices to your home management systems, and, perhaps, give you convenience and peace of mind.

It’s possible you own a house in a super-safe neighborhood, with a great police department, and lots of nosy neighbors living next door. Maybe you have a particularly vigilant dog. Perhaps the extra security doesn’t quite move you to install a system. You still owe it to yourself to consider some sort of a surveillance/alarm system’s extra benefits — ones you can enjoy even if you live in Fort Knox.

Read more →

Home Protection Must Never Go On Vacation

/by American Alarm Blogging Team

Nothing ends a vacation on a worse note than returning home to find it’s been robbed. A sobering FBI research statistic points out that of the 2.5 million burglaries a year, 66 percent are home break ins, according to the National Council for Home Safety and Security. Additionally, the police only solve about 13 percent of reported burglaries, given the lack of witnesses to the crime, or usable evidence.

So, if you’re planning on heading out with your family and leaving your house unattended, you have good reason to be wary. However, it’s not a lost cause: As the FBI also points out: Some 90 percent of home burglaries are preventable, says a Consumer Reports article.

Read more →