Man taking notes and looking at laptop, at home office, portrait.

Increase Work from Home Productivity with Smart Home Technology

/by American Alarm Blogging Team

Man taking notes and looking at laptop, at home office, portrait.The uptick in work-from-home positions due to the pandemic (from 7% to 62%) has caused many to question how they can make their workday more productive. Kids at home, pets, endless chores, and sometimes a considerable lack of space can inhibit work productivity and create unnecessary stress. These distractions have a lingering effect. Studies show that it takes almost a full half hour to refocus after a distraction at work. 

Smart home technology has become an answer for many who are seeking an end to remote work distraction and a more streamlined, healthier, and happier at-home working experience. Smart home technology allows your devices to communicate with each other and with you via a remote control, smartphone, tablet, or voice command. They save time, energy, and – usually – cost. These days, it seems like almost anything in your home can become “smart.” Refrigerators, coffee makers, speakers, alarm clocks, thermostats, smoke alarms…the list goes on. 

Here are some pieces of smart tech you can use to boost your on-the-job productivity from home.

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Cardboard boxes on the door mat near the entrance door

How to Protect Your Home Deliveries

/by American Alarm Blogging Team

Cardboard boxes on the door mat near the entrance doorAmong its other effects, COVID-19 is fueling the growth of online retail purchasing in New England. This means more deliveries of goods to the home, which in turn creates more opportunities for parcel thieves.

Criminals can just grab a package from the doorstep in broad daylight and vanish, without needing to break in. To combat this threat, online customers can leverage proven surveillance and high-tech solutions to catch or frustrate these criminals.

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A Hanging Birdhouse

How to Disguise Hidden Home Security Cameras Indoors and Outdoors

/by American Alarm Blogging Team

How to Disguise Home Security Cameras

A Hanging BirdhouseApproximately 67% of all burglaries occurring in the United States target residential properties. This results in nearly 3.5 billion dollars in homeowner property losses each year. Of those burglaries, 15% occur in homes in the Northeast, and nearly half of those take place while the resident is at home.  

This makes security cameras a very important tool for both the safety of the home and the homeowner. Yet, an effective camera isn’t enough. You also need effective camera placement. 

In some cases you may not want your cameras right out in the open where they can be tampered with. Instead, you want to ensure that they are well hidden, yet still placed in prime position to capture any would-be intruder.

Here are a few great places to hide your indoor and outdoor cameras to ensure that they are as useful as possible while remaining undamaged by potential burglars.

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High school students at school, wearing N95 Face masks. Teenage girl wearing eyeglasses sitting at the school desk and listening to the teacher.

Returning to School: Security Tips for Parents

/by American Alarm Blogging Team

Depending on your state, county, city or town, your child may be returning soon to the classroom. With the threat of COVID-19 remaining here in New England, you’ll want to take the best approach to ensure your child’s safety in and outside the school or playground.High school students at school, wearing N95 Face masks. Teenage girl wearing eyeglasses sitting at the school desk and listening to the teacher.

The challenges for successful reopening and education are considerable, as a Mayo Clinic article on the subject notes. It states, “As schools reopen, they must balance the educational, social and emotional needs of their students along with the health and safety of students and staff in the midst of the evolving COVID-19 pandemic.”

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intrusion of a burglar in a house inhabited

How Burglars Think: How to Outsmart Them

/by American Alarm Blogging Team

intrusion of a burglar in a house inhabited

Every New England home or business owner wants to protect their property from burglars. Such invaders are a real threat today. According to the FBI, in 2018, the most recent full year with available statistics, there were 1.2 million burglaries in the United States. This represents some 17 percent of all property crime.

Naturally, you can take basic steps to defend yourself, such as locking doors and windows when you are absent, alerting neighbors if you are going on vacation, and so on. To take it a step further, however, try to think a bit like a burglar and develop your defensive strategies accordingly.

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Loving couple paying bills online at home using a laptop computer and looking very happy - lifestyle concepts

How to Secure Your Home Without Breaking the Bank

/by American Alarm Blogging Team

Loving couple paying bills online at home using a laptop computer and looking very happy - lifestyle conceptsRoughly 250 New England homes out of every 100,000 are burglarized each year. Massachusetts residents alone have about a 1 in 79 chance of becoming the victim of a property crime. 

If you want to ensure that you do not become part of that statistic, you’re not alone. Homeowners are looking for better ways to secure their property – that don’t come with a hefty price tag.

Fortunately, there are plenty of ways to achieve greater home security that don’t involve a lot of additional investment. Often, some creative thinking matched with wise decisions are all it takes to ensure that your home is safe from would-be intruders.

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Shot of an unrecognizable little girl playing with a sparkler at night time outside in nature

Safety Tips for the 4th of July

/by American Alarm Blogging Team

The Fourth of July brings the excitement of backyard barbeques during the day and awe-inspiring firework shows at night. However, as Pew Research describes, Fourth of July weekend is also considered the most dangerous and deadliest weekend of the year. Emergency rooms experience thousands of patients on normal weekends for a variety of causes, but Independence Day adds a high number of firework, alcohol and water-related injuries to the Shot of an unrecognizable little girl playing with a sparkler at night time outside in naturelist. 

There’s no reason to let these statistics dampen your enthusiasm. Most – if not all – Independence Day accidents can be avoided by observing a few standard safety precautions. Implement the following tips to ensure that your Fourth of July remains a fun weekend of relaxation and entertainment.

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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.

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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.

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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 →