Going away for the holidays? Have fun—we’ll be right here. But meanwhile, we do have some ideas for protecting your homestead while you’re out of town. These tips all involve technology: some high, some low, some an investment, and some free.
Secure Your Social Media
Have you checked your privacy settings for Facebook, Twitter, Google+, or your other social media profiles lately? If you’ve got your default setting as public on Facebook, or if your tweets are (like most people’s) public, all those check-ins to seaside restaurants in Santorini or Cabo San Lucas are visible to potential bad actors. Take a moment to set your default Facebook post setting to private and go to Twitter and choose the “Protect My Tweets” setting. Don’t forget to be aware of location-broadcasting apps like Foursquare or Swarm.
Monitor Your Home Via Your Smartphone
You can buy a D-Link wireless security camera with night vision for about $40 on Amazon, and here on our blog we have tips to help it email you photos when motion is detected. No setting up a DVR, no running wires through the attic, no paying for a monitoring system… that’s about as easy and cheap as you can get right now. But regardless of whether or not you choose to set up the camera to email photos, you can still readily monitor spots in your house via the D-Link app. Though you won’t have any record of what’s gone awry to pass on to the authorities, at least you can know whether or not anything has been disturbed, or you can check on a pet or packages at your doorstop.
Deal with Your Mail
Step 1 is to put a hold on your mail via the USPS website. If there’s any chance you might be receiving FedEx packages while you’re away, we also recommend creating a fedex.com account and, when you have a package on the way, choose to have it held at a FedEx location. Similarly, you can sign up for a MyUPS account (you don’t have to choose the paid subscription version) and when you are alerted via email that a package is on the way, you can choose to have it held at a UPS location for up to 5 days.
If you’re going to be away for a long trip, you might even consider having your mail digitized. There are quite a number of services out there that will receive your mail and deal with as you request. For example, travelingmailbox.com will scan the front of each envelope. You can then choose to have them open and scan the mail, forward it, or shred it. You can securely view your mail online as a PDF anywhere in the world (well, anywhere with Internet access).
Who’s at the Door?
Think about taking your peephole to the next level with the Ring WiFi Enabled Video Doorbell. It has an embedded camera, and if someone rings your doorbell, a chime is activated on any connected device, whether you’re at home or visiting your in-laws in San Luis Obispo. It’s got great reviews on Amazon. We love that it’s designed to operate wirelessly for over a year before needing to recharge (or it can be powered by your existing wiring). It’s built to withstand humidity, rain, sleet, snow—and most importantly in north Texas—extreme heat. It’s easy to install and comes with a “security screw” to prevent theft. If it’s ever stolen, the manufacturer will replace it! But best of all—when it rings on one of your devices, you can access a live video feed (with night vision) and you can see and talk to visitors wherever you are. You can actually ANSWER your own door when you’re out of town.
We hope this gives you a few options to increase your peace of mind while you’re away, and in some cases, even when you’re home. Happy holidays… and if you’d like to talk about security, contact us any time!
