High-Tech Tips for Securing Your House While You're Away
Prevent burglaries when you're traveling by using the latest gadgets, apps and online services
Mike Elgan
May 3, 2013
Houzz Contributor. I'm a Silicon Valley-based writer, columnist and blogger, covering technology and culture. http://elgan.com
Houzz Contributor. I'm a Silicon Valley-based writer, columnist and blogger, covering... More
Burglars can watch for signs that homeowners are on an extended trip, so one of the best ways to keep your home secure is to prevent strangers from knowing you're away. Most are well known: Put a few lights on timers to go on in the evening and off again at night. (Leaving them on all day and night can signal your absence.) Park your car in the driveway, rather than keeping it in the garage or on the street. Put a temporary stop to your newspapers and mail delivery.
New technology can help, too. Here some high-tech tips for taking home security to the next level while you're traveling.
New technology can help, too. Here some high-tech tips for taking home security to the next level while you're traveling.
Keep Your Social Media Posts Private
One way some crooks might learn that you'll be away is on social media like Facebook, Twitter and Google+. You can post about your adventures abroad on social media, but make sure your posts aren't public. Public posts are available not only to friends of your friends and other strangers, but they actually get indexed on search engines, enabling burglars to search for target homes.
Avoid posting about your absence on Twitter unless you're among the minority who lock their account. (To turn on this feature, choose the "Protect My Tweets" option in Settings.)
The ill-advised broadcasting of travel is so common on Twitter that one guy created a site called Please Rob Me, which shows people who are publicly broadcasting the fact that they're not at home via their Twitter and Foursquare check-ins.
Facebook is another major site where burglars can find out that you're not at home. To protect yourself and still brag about your travels, click the gear icon in the upper-right corner. Click "Privacy" in the left navigation bar, then to the right of "Who can see my stuff?" choose a list that includes only the narrow group you want to share with. (You may have to first set up friends or family lists before doing this.)
On Google+ simply address your posts to narrow circles, such as "Family" and "Friends," and do not post to "Public" or "Extended Circles."
Also be careful about location-based check-in sites like Foursquare, which can broadcast your location even if the content of your post is unrelated. If someone knows where you live, a check-in in a different city is evidence enough that you're away for a while.
One way some crooks might learn that you'll be away is on social media like Facebook, Twitter and Google+. You can post about your adventures abroad on social media, but make sure your posts aren't public. Public posts are available not only to friends of your friends and other strangers, but they actually get indexed on search engines, enabling burglars to search for target homes.
Avoid posting about your absence on Twitter unless you're among the minority who lock their account. (To turn on this feature, choose the "Protect My Tweets" option in Settings.)
The ill-advised broadcasting of travel is so common on Twitter that one guy created a site called Please Rob Me, which shows people who are publicly broadcasting the fact that they're not at home via their Twitter and Foursquare check-ins.
Facebook is another major site where burglars can find out that you're not at home. To protect yourself and still brag about your travels, click the gear icon in the upper-right corner. Click "Privacy" in the left navigation bar, then to the right of "Who can see my stuff?" choose a list that includes only the narrow group you want to share with. (You may have to first set up friends or family lists before doing this.)
On Google+ simply address your posts to narrow circles, such as "Family" and "Friends," and do not post to "Public" or "Extended Circles."
Also be careful about location-based check-in sites like Foursquare, which can broadcast your location even if the content of your post is unrelated. If someone knows where you live, a check-in in a different city is evidence enough that you're away for a while.
Digitize It, View, Then Click to Shred
If you go on a long trip or travel frequently, one alternative to putting a stop to your mail is to have it digitized and made available to you online.
The best-known service for digitizing mail is called Earth Class Mail. The company gives you a new mailing address, and you use that address for all your bills and other mail.
When staffers receive your mail, they post pictures of the envelopes in the Virtual Mailroom, which you can see in a secure area on the website. You can browse the virtual envelopes and simply click to shred the original paper versions, scan the internal contents or forward the physical envelopes to another address. If you scan them, a few days later the internal contents will appear online, and you can read and deal with them. (Read Earth Class Mail's security and privacy policy here.) Note that each scanned letter costs an additional fee.
Earth Class Mail can even deposit checks into your bank account, under the right circumstances, and for an additional fee of either $20 per check or $34.95 per month for unlimited checks.
The service is nice, but there are two downsides. First, it's a commitment: You need to officially change your address as if you've moved. Once you've done that, it's a nontrivial chore to cancel the service and change back.
Second, Earth Class Mail is expensive. Although the least-expensive service is $20 per month, the company will almost certainly nickel-and-dime you into paying much more. A few scans here, a couple of checks there, and pretty soon you're paying a lot more than the base fee.
One way to save money with Earth Class Mail is to use its $19.95 mail forwarding service. It's the same money as the base price for the Virtual Mailroom, but there are no additional costs involved. You simply give the address where you'll be and when you'll be there, and that's where your mail will show up.
And an alternative to Earth Class Mail is just now emerging. A start-up called Outbox promises to make the digitization of your mail much easier and less expensive.
If you go on a long trip or travel frequently, one alternative to putting a stop to your mail is to have it digitized and made available to you online.
The best-known service for digitizing mail is called Earth Class Mail. The company gives you a new mailing address, and you use that address for all your bills and other mail.
When staffers receive your mail, they post pictures of the envelopes in the Virtual Mailroom, which you can see in a secure area on the website. You can browse the virtual envelopes and simply click to shred the original paper versions, scan the internal contents or forward the physical envelopes to another address. If you scan them, a few days later the internal contents will appear online, and you can read and deal with them. (Read Earth Class Mail's security and privacy policy here.) Note that each scanned letter costs an additional fee.
Earth Class Mail can even deposit checks into your bank account, under the right circumstances, and for an additional fee of either $20 per check or $34.95 per month for unlimited checks.
The service is nice, but there are two downsides. First, it's a commitment: You need to officially change your address as if you've moved. Once you've done that, it's a nontrivial chore to cancel the service and change back.
Second, Earth Class Mail is expensive. Although the least-expensive service is $20 per month, the company will almost certainly nickel-and-dime you into paying much more. A few scans here, a couple of checks there, and pretty soon you're paying a lot more than the base fee.
One way to save money with Earth Class Mail is to use its $19.95 mail forwarding service. It's the same money as the base price for the Virtual Mailroom, but there are no additional costs involved. You simply give the address where you'll be and when you'll be there, and that's where your mail will show up.
And an alternative to Earth Class Mail is just now emerging. A start-up called Outbox promises to make the digitization of your mail much easier and less expensive.
Outbox actually sends someone to your house three times a week to pick up your mail, so you don't have to officially change your address. The company then scans it and puts it online for you. A simple check box unsubscribes you from anything you consider junk mail. If there's mail you actually do want, you can check another box, and it will be redelivered to your house. And all this for only $5 per month.
Right now the service is available only in San Francisco; it had a limited trial in Austin, Texas. The company plans to announce additional cities in the future.
Turn a Smart Phone Into a Security Camera
One way to keep your home safe is to set up motion-detection security cameras. Unfortunately, these can be expensive, especially if you need them only once or twice a year.
My favorite trick is to use old smart phones and tablets for a free and effective security system. All you need is a device capable of taking a picture, connecting to the Internet and running apps. If you're like some gadget enthusiasts, you've got a box full of them somewhere.
Right now the service is available only in San Francisco; it had a limited trial in Austin, Texas. The company plans to announce additional cities in the future.
Turn a Smart Phone Into a Security Camera
One way to keep your home safe is to set up motion-detection security cameras. Unfortunately, these can be expensive, especially if you need them only once or twice a year.
My favorite trick is to use old smart phones and tablets for a free and effective security system. All you need is a device capable of taking a picture, connecting to the Internet and running apps. If you're like some gadget enthusiasts, you've got a box full of them somewhere.
Here's how you do it.
- Download an app that will upload pictures when motion is detected. My favorite iOS app for this purpose is MDC Free (MDC stands for "motion detection camera"). It's easy to set up the app to upload any motion-detection photos to Facebook — but shared only with yourself. There are many apps in Google's Play Store for Android and Apple's App Store for iOS that you can choose from. Some send pictures via email. Others post them elsewhere. It's a good idea to download a few highly rated ones and try them out.
- Once you've got an app you like, change your phone's Auto-Lock feature (which turns off your phone after a certain number of minutes) to Never, so your phone doesn't go to sleep.
- Set up each iPhone, iPad or Android device you want to use so that it's plugged in and the camera is pointed at the room, door or area you want captured if someone comes in. Make sure you test it a few times.
Control Your Door
If you're going to be away for a while, you might want people to check on the house, feed the goldfish, water the plants, that sort of thing. But you might not want to be handing keys out to people.
A nice alternative is the Lockitron door lock from Agipy. It functions like any other lock. The difference is that you can lock and unlock it remotely using an app, even if you're out of town.
You can also send virtual "keys" over the Internet, allowing someone to unlock your door with a smart phone. Those keys can have expiration dates, so if you want someone to check the house only on Wednesday, the key won't work on Thursday.
Likewise, if someone needs to enter your house for some unexpected purpose while you're away, you can use Lockitron to unlock your door remotely via the smart-phone app. Or you can send a key via SMS or email.
Lockitron even has a knock sensor. If someone knocks on your door, you can receive a notification.
If you're going to be away for a while, you might want people to check on the house, feed the goldfish, water the plants, that sort of thing. But you might not want to be handing keys out to people.
A nice alternative is the Lockitron door lock from Agipy. It functions like any other lock. The difference is that you can lock and unlock it remotely using an app, even if you're out of town.
You can also send virtual "keys" over the Internet, allowing someone to unlock your door with a smart phone. Those keys can have expiration dates, so if you want someone to check the house only on Wednesday, the key won't work on Thursday.
Likewise, if someone needs to enter your house for some unexpected purpose while you're away, you can use Lockitron to unlock your door remotely via the smart-phone app. Or you can send a key via SMS or email.
Lockitron even has a knock sensor. If someone knocks on your door, you can receive a notification.
If crooks suspect you're not home, they'll often test that theory by simply ringing your doorbell to see if anyone answers. One new product, called the Edison Junior DoorBot, lets you answer the door even if you're on the other side of the world.
When someone rings the bell, you'll get an alert on your phone. By using the smart-phone app, you can see who's there via the DoorBot's built-in camera and talk to them over your phone and through the DoorBot's speaker and microphone.
By combining DoorBot with the Lockitron, you can see who's there, talk to the person and then let him or her in the house. Or, if it's someone you don't want in your house, the person will assume you're there because you're answering the doorbell over what appears to be an intercom system. Or you can call the police.
Best of all, DoorBot could be a helpful addition to your front door even when you're not traveling.
More: 10 low-tech ways to keep your home safe while you travel
When someone rings the bell, you'll get an alert on your phone. By using the smart-phone app, you can see who's there via the DoorBot's built-in camera and talk to them over your phone and through the DoorBot's speaker and microphone.
By combining DoorBot with the Lockitron, you can see who's there, talk to the person and then let him or her in the house. Or, if it's someone you don't want in your house, the person will assume you're there because you're answering the doorbell over what appears to be an intercom system. Or you can call the police.
Best of all, DoorBot could be a helpful addition to your front door even when you're not traveling.
More: 10 low-tech ways to keep your home safe while you travel
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Good read....relemech.blogspot.com
Hi, today there are various technology available where you can monitor your house even when you are not there at home. There are efficient home security monitoring system in which you can connect your smartphone and even watch video of what is happening at home. This is really beneficial during late night hours as there is night vision property. You can even add wireless cameras to it to get the whole view. Few companies even gives the entire equipments as a single package and at discount offer.I guess you can just give it a try!!
I was just reading this article today about home security that you might like. Other precautions would be to be careful about hiring from Craigslist or programming 'home' into you car's GPS device.