The emergence of smart homes and the consequent prevalence of smart home security cameras has been associated with consumer preference towards energy efficiency and optimum resource utilization. While smart homes are popular for these advantages, security cameras are witnessing a surge in their adoption as we see a rise in security issues in and around these homes. The advent of next-generation wireless technologies such as HVAC Controller, security and access regulators, and entertainment contr
home (25)
Having to work from home isn’t something that everyone likes but during the COVID-19 pandemic it’s the safest option for your employees. If you’re lucky enough to be in an industry that gives you the ability to work from home then you should take the governments advice and sending your staff home. But how can you keep your employee motivated and working efficiently? Here’s a look at 5 tips to keeping your colleagues morale up during this unfortunate time.
Comfort
If you can a smaller, more managea
How prepared are you for a disaster? Most of us are not prepared, at all, yet two-thirds of us live in an area where we are at a moderate to very high risk of experiencing a natural disaster. Here are a few things you should do, today, to start preparing for a “just in case” situation:
Be Aware
Think about your home and where you live. What disasters are likely to occur? Fire, of course, could happen to any of us, and statistics show that there is a 25% chance that you will experience a major fire
One of the most exciting things in general about home theatre and audio is that it always evolves. Back in the 1980s, when the home theatre was introduced, Laserdisc was the best technology available to consumers with two channels of audio. The technology is continually being moved forward into new areas these days with 4K Ultra HD content and receivers that can accommodate up to 13.2 channels with Dolby Atmos. Companies are always striving to stay on top of the existing trends and also look to
The police in Port St. Lucie Florida have claimed that scammers are now posting homes as available for rent or purchase. You rent/purchase the home by putting a deposit down on the house, but you’re never given any keys.
The scammers are getting their victims to the property and even a tour of the house, but when it comes time to move in, the victim is left without any options. The tour aspect of the scam is important here. This legitimizes the fake agent as real.
Local realtors say that there are
Recently, the Reserve Bank of India has increased the interest rate on home loans twice in a short space of time. In addition to this, it is expected that there will be another hike of 25 points in the repo rate. This has prompted private banks like ICICI to increase theinterest rates for the home loan by 15 basis points on both the 6 month and 1 year scheme. Government owned banks such as SBI have also increased the interest rate from 8.25% to 8.45%. This is an increase of 20 basis points.
For t
When you are buying a house there are taxes that you need to pay when you get the possession of the house. But there are ways where you can save on these taxes. One of the ways you can save these taxes is when you invest in an under construction house. Under the section 80C of the Indian income tax code, we do not have to pay taxes for a property when it is under construction.
Here are a few conditions where the tax deductions are not applicable:
If you have any property that is under construction
Be honest. Do you have a key to your house under your doormat or a flowerpot? If you do, you might as well put a sign out that says “Come rob me.” This isn’t to say you shouldn’t have a key somewhere, though. After all, you might need it one of these days. However, there are better places to hide your house key:
- In a Lockbox – A key lockbox is a good idea. These have a combination that you will need to get into it, but, of course, you have to remember that combination.
- In Your Car – You also might
Burglars actually peruse social media to see who’s on vacation. In fact, 69 burglars were interviewed by Edith Cowan University in Australia, and perusing social media kept coming up as a way to find victims.
Keep your cyber mouth shut till you return. Here are more tips:
Get to know your neighbors. This way they’ll be more inclined to ask a stranger, who’s loitering around your yard, what they’re doing there.
Don’t show off. Like anyone else, burglars are attracted to the niftiest house on the blo
The holiday season is ramping up. And so are burglars. Even if you don’t get very festive, burglars may still target your home. Your dark, unlit home among all the dazzling festive homes will stick out like a sore thumb. Whether you have 10,000 decorative lights on or none, here’s what to do:
- Keep all possible entrances (even the second-story window next to the big tree branches) locked at all times with high quality locks in excellent working condition.
- Put reinforcements on your doors so that th
One of the reasons you—and many others—don’t have your alarm on during the day is because you know you’ll keep forgetting to turn it off every time you want to step into the garage or go outside. So you just keep it off. And that’s not smart because many home invasions and burglaries occur during daylight hours.
Typically, home security systems require you to push buttons.
- What if you panic and forget the code?
- What if you accidentally disable it?
- What if your naughty visiting nephew messes with it?
Did you know that the original meaning of hacker, as far as computers, was that of a person who built codes into computers? In fact, the bad guy was called a “cracker.” Somehow, “cracker” didn’t catch on. But the mainstream folk out there hears “hacker,” and right away, they think of a digital thief, often someone who breaks into governmental computer systems or Russian “hacking rings” that steal credit card numbers.
An article at motherboard.vice.com mentions that Richard Stallman gets the credi
To help keep your home and property safe from crime, the New Castle County Police Department provides the following guidelines:
- Sounds like a no-brainer, but so many people do otherwise: Keep your doors locked at all times. People will actually go to sleep with the front door unlocked.
- Doors should be locked with a deadbolt that has at least a one-inch throw.
- Keep windows locked. People have been known to leave a window open overnight in their child’s bedroom. Yes, hot weather is here, but there ar
The latest report says that Darron Dellon Dennis Wint did not act alone in the arson murder of a Washington, D.C., family and their housekeeper. You might wonder how a $4.5 million mansion—presumably with top-flight smoke alarms—could burn enough to kill the occupants.
A cnn.com report says they were held against their will since the day prior to the May 14 fire. Wint is being held without bond.
It’s too soon, however, to draw conclusions, as other people are being interviewed by police.
Wint was a
At least one woman is happy that her driver drove like a drunk. That’s because his erratic driving caught the attention of troopers who pulled him over. They then heard a woman calling for help—from the backseat. She was bound and gagged with a bag over her head.
The 41-year-old man had posted an ad on Craigslist; he wanted a submissive partner. His phony profile attracted the 22-year-old woman (who I must wonder, why would she be interested in a man who wants a submissive partner? Doesn’t this s
Burglars don’t usually depend upon the light of the moon to break into homes; they depend on the daylight—because that’s when they know most homes are empty! The kids are in school, the adults are at jobs or shopping…duhhh, even a halfwit burglar knows this is an opportune time!
Therefore, you should get a home security system that’s designed to repel robbers in both the dead of day, not just night. This includes while you’re home. And when you are home, a burglary turns into a “home Invasion” wh
WARNING: Removing this video surveillance camera to kill evidence of your robbery will do you chickenfeed because the video of you is being stored in the cloud!
Today’s security systems are so much more evolved than they were 20 years ago, even 10 years ago.
We’ve all heard of the bright light that goes on over the garage when someone steps onto the driveway. That’s so old that some burglars aren’t miffed by this in the least. However…such a motion detection system can also trigger video surveilla
“My house was hacked!” Had you said this 25 years ago, people would have thought a burglar vandalized it with an axe. Say it today and nearly everybody will know what you mean: A thief or prankster “broke” in to your house via its connected-to-the-Internet gadgets.
If something’s connected, like your refrigerator, the possibility of hacking exists. All of these smarthome gadgets make it to market without a lot of attention on security, leaving them with “back doors” through which hackers could en
Having a house run like the Jetsons’ is becoming increasingly possible: It’s called home automation. If you’re not familiar with the futuristic cartoon family, the Jetsons, just about everything in their house was automated. Today, we can have the following:
- Sensors that make noise when a door or window opens are nothing new, but real-time video surveillance of a home’s interior and exterior, viewed remotely through a smartphone thousands of miles away, is relatively new technology.
- Controlling th
Here’s good advice from a sheriff’s office about how to protect your house.
Burglars and home invaders don’t give a flying hoot if you keep thinking, “It can’t happen to me and this is a safe neighborhood.” In fact, the issue isn’t how safe your neighborhood is or how watchful your neighbors are. The issue is how easy it is to simply break into your home.
Think of the other safety precautions you take daily even though the odds of an unfortunate outcome are very small, such as making sure you take
