My Home Security Is Cooler Than Yours

A few weeks ago I had a small situation where a stranger waltzed into my home in broad daylight while I was home.  (Read about it on my blog)  I had already been working on details for securing my home at the time however that particular situation forced me to move forward even further.

In the video below, I show a partial demo of what will happen if someone breaks into my home.  Home security is something that is top priority in my home automation setup, however I have been reluctant to show off my security system.  Only a fool would put their setup online, it would make it that much easier to bypass.  This is the reason as to why I am not showing how this is done.  Regardless, when it is finished it will be extremely cool.

Daytime Intruder

The other day I so happened to experience something that took me completely off guard.  A random man whom I did not know barged into my home in broad daylight.

It was roughly 9AM and I was working at my desk which is located in my living room.  By that time of day everyone in my house is gone except for me since I work from home. 

As I was sitting there working I noticed the sound of my someone opening my screen door.  This was nothing new and assumed it was a delivery man dropping off a package.  A moment later I heard my door open and a strange man waltzed his way into my home.  I got up from my desk and faced him when our eyes met.  When he noticed me standing there looking at him I could see the fear in his eyes and he walked out and closed the door behind him not saying a single word.  There was no way I was going to not do anything about his intrusion so I ran to the door and opened it to confront him.  He started to back away and said "I'm sorry, I have the wrong house.  I am looking for my cousin."  This was a clear violation of the sanctity of my home and the look on my face was a clear indication that I was furious.  I told the man "You are lucky I did not shoot you."  He apologized again and reiterated that he had the wrong house.  At this point there was nothing I else I could do and simply said "Don't come back" and then closed the door behind me- locking it this time.

This ordeal makes me very upset for several reasons.  The first thing is that I normally do not leave my door unlocked, especially during the day.  However on this day when my wife left for work, she did not lock the door and I also did not attempt to lock it behind her. 

Second, what is the point of all my technology when something like this can happen?  I have already publicly indicated that I am working on fully automating my home.  At this point in time I have almost all of my equipment however have been reluctant to publicly reveal my security system.  I will say this, I have motion sensors all over my home and when the house detects that everyone has left, it turns those motion sensors on automatically.  If someone opens a door, breaks a window, or somehow finds their way inside, I will know.  I am taking it a step further and plan on getting my home to contact the police, thus saving time in hopes that they will catch the intruder in the act.  However as cool as that may sound, it proves irrelevant if the door is not locked behind the person leaving.  Not only that, none of my security measures proved effective since the house knew I was home.  The features do not work unless I leave or when I lock up for the night.

Since this ordeal I have been replaying the situation in my mind.  I keep wondering if this man truly made a mistake or if he was combing my neighborhood trying to open doors.  I feel it is doubtful the man was trying a home invasion since he was alone.  However if it came down to it I do have the means and will to protect myself.

Still, this has forced my hand and I going to move forward with automatic locks.  I will not reveal which model I will be purchasing (I’m not even going to mention the one I am going with) however I wanted to share some of them with my readers.

This seems to be one of the more simple auto locks called Lockitron.

This is the August Smart Lock.

This is the Kevo Bluetooth Door Lock.

These are just a few of many electronic locks on the market which can be access through the home owners smart phone.

I refuse to allow this highly avoidable situation ever happen again weather I am home or not.  Granted I am still reluctant to show off my security system in fear someone may use it against me, I also refuse to show which autolock I will be purchasing.  Regardless, this is all very cool and gives me piece of mind.

However if all my security measures failed, I still have my firearm.

Good And Bad Of 24 Hour Home Surveillance

In 2014 security cameras are just about everywhere.  In fact, you are likely to be filmed more times during the course of a regular day than you probably realize.  Aside from protecting highways or even businesses, security cameras are a great way to look over the home since not all of us can be there 24 hours a day.  Granted that a security camera system cannot prevent thieves from taking valuables, however it can catch them in the act and make it a lot easier for authorities to catch them.

What a lot of people do not know if that security camera systems are not always fool-proof.  Many people believe that their own personal setup will act as a gateway into their home that will ultimately be for their eyes only.  Unfortunately, that is far from the truth. Anytime you put something on the internet you leave yourself venerable to hackers.  Take for example the case of a family who's baby monitor was gained access by a hacker back in 2013.

So in reality, who is to say that having a security camera in your home is actually productive?  Despite the risk, many people around the world are still putting their camera feeds on the internet virtually unaware of the dangers.  If a private video feed that is supposed to give a homeowner piece of mind is accessed, wouldn’t this make potential burglars job easier since they have an idea of what is in the home?

Regardless, there are pros and cons to the entire thing.  This is something that I have been thinking of doing.  However after hearing about horror stories of people accessing private video feeds, I am thinking it might be better if I simply have security cameras outside my home versus inside and focused on valuables that I want to protect.