Home Security Gadgets & Reviews

If you’ve always thought it was neat when guests came to apartment complexes or condos and pressed the intercom to talk to the homeowner and be let in, now that’s something you can achieve in your own home.

The Doorbell Fon Door Answering System from SmartHome hooks into your doorbell. When the button is pressed, the system rings the phones in your house with a distinctive ring. Just pick up the phone, and you can find out who’s at the door without even leaving the room. If friends are at the door, tell them to let themselves in, and if it’s a salesman, tell him to take a hike.

SmartHome also sells a kit that you can hook up in addition to the Doorbell Fon, which allows you to press star to unlock your door. Just the answering system shown here is $150.

Doorbell Fon Door Answering System

A dark backyard can be a haven for burglars. Since they prefer to ply their trade under the cover of darkness, it’s in your best interest to light up your yard. You don’t have to use extremely bright lights that will annoy the neighbors and shine in your bedroom window all night, but consider lights that provide at least as much illumination as a bright full moon.

If you have a structure tucked into the corner of your back yard (i.e. detached garage, green house, shed), you probably don’t want potential burglars snooping around it (these structures often contain tools a thief can use to break into the house). It’s a good idea to light a shed, garage, etc.

This solar shed light from Earth Tech Products would probably do the job. The solar panel above the lamp sucks in the sun’s energy during the day, and powers the light below for many hours into the night. A nice bonus to solar-powered lights is they don’t require electrical wiring.

This one costs $90.

Earth Tech Products

Walk softly and carry a big stun stick.

That’s the way to feel safe and secure when you’re out roaming the neighborhood. This new non-lethal weapon is reputed to cause any potential mugger, rapist, or other assailant enough pain to convince him to get a new, less hazardous hobby. Inspired by the inventor’s son’s light saber toy, the Stunstick Neuroscrambler may soon be available for personal use.

Similar to other stun devices, the stick works by giving a high-voltage, low-amperage electrical charge, which overrides message from the brain to the muscles and leaves the victim unable to control that part of his body. Unlike any other stun devices on the market, it also works like a Taser, making contact in two points, and using higher voltages to force muscles to contract throughout the body, which makes the victim collapse.

What do you think? Will it be available through Amazon soon?

If you travel a lot, or you’re staying in a college dorm room or an apartment in an urban neighborhood, you might want a little extra door security; after all flimsy locks–locks you don’t have any control over if you’re a renter or just staying the night–can be broken down with a strong kick. This door jammer brace from Mace Security International offers a little extra peace of mind.

The heavy-duty 20-gauge steel bar is a suped up version of a door stop. Instead of just being wedged under the door, it is angled and braced underneath the knob. The product description over at Amazon promises it adjusts to fit most hinged doors, and the end caps can be removed to allow for use on sliding glass doors as well. The price is $20.

Big Jammer Door Brace

Security timers for your home’s lights, both internal and external, are a good idea if you’re going to be out of town, or even if you work late and don’t get home until after dark. Burglars prefer an easy mark, and they’re less likely to take risks with houses where someone might be home. They don’t want to be caught or identified, so they definitely go for the homes that are obviously vacant.

So, how do you make it look like you’re home when you’re not? Security timers can turn on your lights at night, so it looks like someone is there. The downside is that most of them turn on the lights at the same time every day. A smart burglar might observe this and realize you’re not really home.

That’s why a programmable timer is a smart choice. With a tool like Intermatic’s timer, you can program the lights to come on at different times every night, thus keeping a burglar guessing. At less than $50, it’s not a bad home security investment.

Intermatic Programmable 24-hour Security Timer

You can spend thousands of dollars building a fancy home security system to protect your material belongings from burglars, but don’t forget about home safety; it’s just as important to protect your family from accidents.

If you’ve got a swimming pool in your backyard, this is a place where people, especially small children, can be injured or even drowned. Kids just shouldn’t be using the pool without adult supervision. Try telling them that though.

If you’re worried your children, or perhaps the neighborhood children, will enter your pool when you’re not in the yard, a pool alarm is a good way to add some peace of mind. These devices alert you whenever someone tries to get into the water.

The Aquaguard alarm from Frontgate has two sirens to ensure you’ll be alerted if a child enters the pool, but they aren’t supposed to go off (false alarms) due to high winds or other “natural” disturbances. The system looks pretty easy to install and is available online for about $500.

Frontgate

A lot of home security is designed to keep unwanted people out of your home, but it’s important to think about safety on the inside too–especially if you have a family including small children. A lock on the front door is great, but what if there’s a door leading to steep steps or a pantry with cleaning agents inside and you don’t want your kids to be able to get through? That’s where a child safety lock like this one can come in handy.

The Door Guardian Security Latch is an inside home security and child safety device that mounts to the wood or metal frames of inward swinging doors. It’s supposed to be easy to install (no special tools required) and is available in 5 finishes (brass, satin chrome, antique brass, satin nickel, and white) so you can find a version that matches your decor. The lock is $22 and is available from Amazon where reviews are positive:

Door Guardian Home Security and Child Safety Lock

If you want to set up security monitoring as part of your home security system, there are lots of kits out there that make it easy to do it yourself these days. Wireless is definitely easier to set up than wired systems (which involve drilling into walls and running wires behind the drywall–unless you fancy cords all over your house), and today’s systems are much more reliable than older models.

This 4-camera kit from Smarthome lets you place 4 security cameras around your house, where they transmit their images to a central monitoring station (i.e. your PC). Footage can be recorded or viewed in real life. You can even get software that lets you check in on your cameras’ feeds while you are away from home.

Mini-Air Watch 4 Wireless Color Camera Kit