subject: 5 Smart Moves for a Portland Home Security System [print this page] How much is enough for a Portland home security system? It will always depend on each individual, just how far you want to go, but you'll be better off thinking about quality rather than quantity. If you want to make sure you have the basics covered, plus a bit of the advanced version, try out these five moves. Your home security system in Portland will immediately become a lot tighter.
1. Have your alarm monitored by a real pro. You might think your home alarm system is covered and you're all good, only to find out you're actually not even being covered. Is such a thing possible in this day and age? While it seems preposterous, it gives you an idea of just how lackluster some of the companies out there really are. You need to have all of your sensors connected to the central console, while your monitoring service should run tests with you on a regular basis to make sure it's all systems go.'
2. Put it all under the cover of lights. Your home at night is going to be a target if you are not there. Darkness is a thief's best friend, so you can imagine what a cover of light will do to the best laid plans of a prowler. Use motion sensors to trigger lights, so you don't have to pay for them all night long. For the interior, use light timers at random so the typical behavior of people will appear to be in effect.
3. Replace your old locks. When you get down to the nitty gritty of criminal versus your home security apparatus,' it might actually be a battle of lock versus thief.' Are your locks up for the challenge? Getting the type of deadbolts which cannot be picked under any circumstances would take a lot of the guesswork out of the equation. They are a little pricy, but at least you know they are going to get the job done again and again.
4. Add a few cameras. You might think about video surveillance and get a little nervous, but frankly they do a lot more good than harm. The trick is to keep them outside of the house. You will be able to solve the problem of any mysterious vandalism quickly, plus these cameras also work as a deterrent. If you are thinking that fake cameras might do the same job, you are on the right track.
5. Adopt a dog. Adopting a pet is akin to giving a gift to society, as you save a helpless creature from what really might be the end. At the same time, adopting a dog boosts your home security quotient immediately. Dogs put a monkey wrench in the plans of any thief, from the first bark to a potential standoff. The thing is it will never come to a standoff, as any wise thief hates the sort of publicity a loud dog will give him.
