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Ask Slashdot: Anti-Theft Products For the Over-Equipped Household?
First time accepted submitter Dufflepod (3656815) writes "After yet another hardware purchase last week, I realized with some alarm just how drastically an enterprising burglar could increase the crapulence quotient of my life if they ever made off with my hardware. The house is alarmed, but much to my annoyance it isn't always set when people go out for any length of time. Ideally I want to 'alarm' the expensive items among my various PCs, UPS, NAS box, test equipment, and some of the sundry other gadgets & gizmos I require to stroke my inner geek. Over the past few days I have spent hours Googling for every combination of "anti-theft perimeter alarm radius motion detector vibration wireless" etc etc.. I have found various possible solutions, though the cost of some of them does make my eyes water (eg SonicShock @ €150/box). Has anyone out there decided to bite-the-bullet and protect their kit with decent alarms, and do you have any suggested 'do's & don'ts'?" So how would you secure valuable items, as opposed to securing the entire place?
does not mean what you think it means. If you don't know what it means, don't use it.
http://www.acetonestudio.com
Try to get the other occupants to set the alarm when you are away. Get an alarm that has the ability to set it via a cell phone. Keep your bushes and shrubs cut back and don't give would be thieves a place to hide. Also choose prickly bushes up close to the house. Good out door lighting. Motion detector activated lights are good as it won't piss off the neighbors as much and save electricity. Also make sure the lights are high enough that someone can't just unplug or disable them.
Don't put stickers on your house advertising you have guns, or what brand alarm you are using. Guns are a popular theft item. More so than your computers I would guess. Having an ADT sticker (or what ever brand alarm) simply tells a good thief what they need to do to circumvent your alarm. Most ADT alarms can be defeated by simply cutting the phone line. Almost none have a cellular card in them.
I don't know if you or your family are dog people, but dobermans are fantastic family dogs. I have one who is very well trained. He's very friendly to people when I tell him it's OK. But Allah, God, Buda, Eris, Xenu help you if you come in the house uninvited. I also have two other dobermans who are not as well trained as he is, but they follow his lead. When he doesn't like something, they don't either.
Alarms simply tell you you've been robbed.
A far more effective strategy is to ensure that anyone entering your house uninvited will find it impossible to stay long enough to steal your stuff.
To do this, you want lots of *internal* sirens that run at 120dB+.
If the intruders ears start bleeding as soon as they enter the building, they will retreat at a very hasty pace.
That's how my alarms are configured. They ring me over the cellular network and generate an internal sould level that is intollerably loud (as I have discovered on the two occasions I forgot to disarm the system myself) :-)
If he's going to get your iPad he might as well take some life-long hearing damage with him :-)
Thieves look for targets of opportunity. Make your home less friendly. Place a camera in plain view and out of reach.
Here are a few more tips:
Keep in mind the 4 D's: Deter, Defend, Delay, Deceive
* Install motion sensor lights on the front and back of your house.
* Install a fake camera. For deterrent value, a fake camera will work as well as a real camera, but will cost far less. It should have a bright blinking LED to make it more noticible. You can buy realistic decoy cameras for less than $10 on Amazon.
* If you install a real camera, make sure it is good enough to actually identify the perp. Otherwise, what's the point? Install several fake decoy cameras as well. If the perp is trying to avoid the fakes, he is more likely to be seen by the real camera.
* Put a "Beware of Dog", "Vicious Dog" or "Dog on Premises" sign on the gate to your back yard, whether you actually have a dog or not.
* Put up a security alarm yard sign and window stickers, even if you don't have an alarm system. Yard signs and stickers are available on Amazon, eBay, etc.
* Get some old, well worn work boots, size 14 or larger. Leave one pair on your front porch, and another by your back door.
* When you leave home, leave a radio playing on a talk station. Set the volume so it is slightly audible from outside your home.
* Set up timers to turn lights on and off when you are not home.
* Using an alarm company is a waste of money in my experience (most police depts will not respond to their calls), but you can install your own sensors and alarm.
* If you have an alarm that frequently goes off accidently, get it fixed. Otherwise your neighbors will ignore it.
* Valuables should not be visible from any door or window.
* Put wood dows or PVC pipe in the slide track of each window and sliding door. These should fit snuggly, so they are not easy to dislodge by someone reaching through the broken window. Make sure everyone in your home knows how to remove the stop in case of a fire.
* When not home, lock internal doors. This will prevent an intruder from moving quickly around your home.
* Leave out some decoy valuables, such as an old laptop with no HDD, or some fake jewelry. Decoy valuables should be left in a conspicuous place, but not visible from outside.
* Frost or laminate your garage windows, so a perp cannot see if your car is gone.
* If you have a safe, bolt it to the floor with a bolt that is only accessible from inside the safe. Cut the bottom out of a cardboard box and put it over the safe to hide it.
* If you have a an usused safe or lockbox, fill it with bricks, lock it, and put it in a conspicuous location.
* If you have a second story, don't store a ladder in your yard or shed.
* Trim any trees that can be climbed to reach a second story window, or make sure those windows are secure.
* Use plants with thorns, such as roses, in front of your windows. Keep them trimmed below the window sill, so neighbors can see anyone breaking in.
* Go through your wallet and purse. Do you really need to carry more than one credit card? Write down the account number and phone number for each card, so that you can cancel them quickly if they are stolen.
* Make your possessions easy to identify. Paint the handles of your tools bright orange or lime green. Laser etch a custom design on the back of your phone or laptop.
* Take photos of your valuable possessions, and recored any serial numbers.
* Scan any important documents, and save the images off site.