Home Security Gadgets & Reviews

At first I thought this was a working cell phone and a stun gun, but it’s actually just a stun gun designed to look like a cell phone. The product description swears the unique design gives you a tactical advantage. What do you think? I guess it could be helpful if you want to fake out your assailants. Wait, don’t attack me…. here, I’ll give you my valuables, my watch, my keys, my wallet, and, oh, here’s my cell phone: Zap!

If that sounds promising to you (or maybe you can get it as a gift for someone else), you can find more information about the faux cell phone at Personal Self-defense Online, a site that sells all sorts of little mace keychains and the like.

Wireless is definitely the thing today in home security surveillance cameras. And it makes sense, since they’re much easier to install than their wired counterparts. They’re fairly cheap these days, too, at least compared to what wireless technology used to cost. Software that comes with the cameras makes it easy for anyone to plug-and-play and use them (footage can be recorded right to your computer).

This Panasonic network security camera is an example of what’s out there on the market. At just under $100, it’s an inexpensive way to add the ability to record color video footage of your home when you’re gone. It only turns on when it senses motion, and then it can even e-mail you the video image of what it’s recording.

Panasonic High-Quality Color Network Camera

As I’ve mentioned before, it’s always a good idea to change your locks when you move into a new home. You just don’t know how many people have lived there before and how many copies of the front door key there might be out there. There have been lots of reported cases where pet sitters, house sitters, or even previous tenants have come back to swipe the new homeowner’s belongings after they’ve moved everything in. So, there’s no reason not to change the locks and every reason to do so.

Don’t think of it as a tedious chore though; think of it as a chance to add a good-looking knob or latch set that adds some personality to the entry. This oil rubbed brass latch and key combo is a handsome piece that will add some drama and interest to even a plain Jane door. You can find it for sale in the door hardware section over at:

http://www.customglassdoors.com

Unless you live in some miraculous town where the power has never been knocked out, you know it’s important to have flashlights (or at least candles) tucked away in case there’s a power outage from a storm or other emergency. These things happen infrequently to most of us though, and we don’t always remember to check the batteries on our emergency lamps and flashlights. This hand-cranked Garrity Power Lite would be a smart choice for anyone who wants to know they’ve got a flashlight if they need one without worrying about batteries and what not.

You just wind the crank by hand for a minute and that gives you an hour of light. If you need more than that, just wind again. It’s got LEDs instead of light bulbs, so it should be brighter than your average flashlight. Perfect for use during a power outage and to keep in the car, boat, or any place else you might need light and be stuck without power.

The flashlight is $13 from Amazon: Garrity Power Lite 3 LED Crank Light

Here’s a gadget for all you new mothers and fathers out there. For years, parents have been using those walkie-talkie style baby monitors to listen to what’s going on in the baby’s room. Now there’s a monitor that lets you go beyond that; the BabySense Infant Movement Baby Monitor is placed under the sleeping infant’s mattress. Highly sensitive sensors then monitor every movement including breathing. If the baby stops breathing, an alarm will go off to quickly alert you that something is wrong. For anyone who worries about SIDS (sudden infant death syndrome), this monitor could provide some peace of mind.

The high tech baby monitor is available online for $130 from Dutch Guard.

Do you hate coming home to a dark house? Always wondering who or what might be lurking in the shadows? Or maybe you’re just tired of tripping over furniture on the way to a light switch that some idiot placed on the far side of the room. Well, a motion-sensing light that turns on automatically when you enter the room might make you feel a little safer.

This one is wireless, so it’s easy to install anywhere without drilling holes into the walls. It’s even weatherproof and waterproof, so it can be installed outdoors. Stick it in a room, shed, closet, porch, walkway, or any dark spot where you’d like a bit of illumination.

The motion-sensing lamp has LEDs instead of light bulbs, so it’s quite bright and will do a good job lighting things up. It’s powered by 4 C batteries, but since it only turns on when motion is detected, it won’t waste the batteries and you shouldn’t have to replace them often. The lamp is available from SmartHome for $30:

Motion-Activated Anywhere LED Light

Did you know that a home should have a smoke detector on every floor? And that those smoke detectors should have the batteries checked every month? If you did know those things, do you actually put them into practice? Well, with the new year coming up, it’s a good time to make some resolutions, and making your house a safer place for friends and family is always a good bet.

The Ademco wireless smoke detector makes installation easy (no wires so you don’t have to dig into the walls to install them), so if you’ve been putting off installing alarms on every floor because of asbestos on the popcorn ceiling or something else you didn’t want to deal with, now’s your chance to get safer without any hassle.

The smoke detectors cost about $100 (not too bad when you realize they could save your life…) and are available at several online stores, such as YourAlarmStore.

Dome security cameras have been popular in stores for quite some time. They inobtrusively watch for shoplifters and other problem customers from their hiding spots on the ceilings. If you prefer that look to the traditional wall-mounted cameras, you can get residential versions now that you can install indoors or outdoors to keep on eye on your home.

This ceiling-mounted mini dome camera from Shoppers’ Choice costs just under $140 and even if you bought a few of them to keep around the premises, it’d be cheaper than going with a full-fledged monitored security system. Of course, this way it’d be up to you do to the monitoring (you can program the cameras to transmit to a PC, where records are kept of the surveillance), but you wouldn’t have to pay those monthly fees. You still might want to get an expert to help you with the installation, however, as the cameras do require wiring know-how.

Color Mini Dome Camera