by Tommy Smith | Jul 5, 2021 | HOME SECURITY SYSTEMS, PERSONAL SAFETY TIPS
Feel like forever since you and your family had a real summer vacation? We get it. As the weather warms up and you’re finally getting ready for some quality time away, you might be a little rusty when it comes to fun in the sun. Here are some tips to keep your family—and your home—safe this season.
Safety Tip #1: Bring the right accessories
- You might have spent most of last summer at home, so here’s a reminder: sunscreen is still important. Don’t forget to replace your old bottle of sunblock if it’s more than 1-2 years old.
- Headed into the woods? EPA-registered insecticides protect against mosquitoes and ticks that can cause more severe diseases. Because you want to bring home souvenirs, not bug bites.
- Make sure the Alarm.com app on your smartphone is up to date. And set up Geo-Services before you leave to create automation rules and alerts, in case you forget to close the garage door or turn your lights off.
Safety Tip #2: Keep a watchful eye
- Your kids are ready to enjoy some fresh air and freedom. But safety comes first. Closely supervise kids in or near the water and make sure life jackets are worn in and around bodies of water.
- Keep kids properly hydrated and know the signs of heat stroke. Make sure your family takes breaks from being out in the sun too long.
- Keep an eye on your home from anywhere with video monitoring. An Alarm.com security system lets you see and talk to visitors at your front door, and remain watchful 24/7 for any unwanted guests (from burglars to bears).
Safety Tip #3: Hope for the best, prepare for the worst
- Take all the same safety precautions on vacation you would at home. That means helmets, seatbelts and masks if you’re planning to be around lots of people.
- Missed an emergency at home? If the unthinkable happens while you’re away, your Alarm.com monitoring system will contact your local police, fire or EMS.
Alarm.com will keep an eye on your home this summer so you can focus on keeping your family safe on vacation. Get started below!
by Tommy Smith | Jul 1, 2021 | HOME SECURITY TIPS, PERSONAL SAFETY TIPS
Home is where the heart is. It’s also where your family, your possessions, your pets—pretty much everything you hold dear—resides. Protecting your home is always a priority, but when you’re moving into a new house, renovating an old one, or building your dream home from scratch, it’s the perfect time to make some smart home security decisions with Alarm.com.
Smart Tip #1: Unlock your new home’s potential
Whether you’re on the move or your home is currently under construction, installing a smart, connected lock helps keep workers and movers on task and on schedule, while protecting your home from outsiders.
With Alarm.com, you can:
- Disarm your security system and unlock the front door from your smartphone.
- Allow easy keyless entry with access codes for workers or cleaners entering your house.
- Get immediate alerts if you forget to lock your front door or close the garage so you can react right away.
Smart Tip #2: Keep your eyes on the prize
Keeping an eye on your new home when you’re not there is simple with Alarm.com. Indoor and outdoor cameras give you a full view of your move, from the people involved to the overall progress.
- Know who’s approaching your home with Video Analytics—find out if it’s a vehicle, animal, or a person.
- Keep a close eye on your kids and pets inside your new home during the move with indoor cameras.
- Answer the front door safely with a touchless video doorbell that alerts you when someone arrives—you can answer via the Alarm.com app from anywhere.
Smart Tip #3: Come home to comfort
With all the comings and goings during a move, an energy-saving smart thermostat puts you in control of your home’s heating and cooling so everyone can feel comfortable.
- Turn up the heat (or the AC) on-the-go via the Alarm.com app.
- Connect your smart thermostat to your security system to automatically adjust temps for arrivals and departures.
- Explore intelligent energy-saving options to keep your bills lower.
Investing in a smarter home sooner rather than later can help save you time, money, and worry right away and down the road. A connected security system from Alarm.com is the smarter way to protect your new home, along with everything (and everyone) important inside it. Get started below!
by Tommy Smith | May 20, 2021 | BUSINESS SECURITY SYSTEMS, HOME SECURITY SYSTEMS
KMT Systems has started offering the new Alarm.com Video Doorbell Camera (ADC-VDB770) to our customers. The ADC-VDB770 is the newest video doorbell camera designed exclusively for use with the Alarm.com platform. It has Full HD quality video resolution, as well as an expansive field of view to capture more activity. It makes a great addition to any home.
The ADC-VDB770 is special because it is the first video doorbell built specifically with Alarm.com in mind. The advanced video doorbell offers the same great features and performance as the other Alarm.com Security Cameras. It even supports the Alarm.com Video Analytics feature, which will provide you with powerful customization tools in setting up alerts from Alarm.com based on camera activity and detection. With the press of a button, you can then go to the live full portrait video feed of the person at the door. The ADC-VDB770 supports two-way audio so you can have a real-time conversation with your guest. Burglars will often ring the doorbell to verify whether or not someone is at home. By being able to answer from anywhere, you may well foil a potential burglary by seeming to be at home, even when you are not. Please note that the camera does not have a built-in motion sensor, and it relies solely on Alarm.com Video Analytics for detecting activity.
Four Ways You Can Use the ADC-VDB770 Video Doorbell Camera
- Answer the door from anywhere.
When a visitor rings the doorbell, you get an Alarm.com smartphone alert. Open your Alarm.com app and you’ll see a video feed of who’s there, with a microphone icon that you can press to start a voice conversation through the doorbell.
- See and share suspicious activity
A visitor to your porch will trigger a motion-activated video recording, even if they don’t press the doorbell. You can have these clips delivered to your phone right away, where they’re easy to download and forward to your partner, neighbors or local police department.
- Protect a package from thieves
With a smart lock included in your Alarm.com-powered setup, you can go a step further and unlock your door remotely. This is great for protecting valuable deliveries that would otherwise be left on your porch.
If you have a smart lock, you’ll see an ‘unlock’ icon in your app underneath your doorbell’s video feed. Once you’ve verified the delivery person visually, tap once to unlock your door and ask them to leave the package inside. When they’re done, use your app to lock your door and watch them leave.
Most activity at your front door is ‘good’ activity. For example friends visiting and family arriving home.
It’s easy to create a custom doorbell camera alert, triggered by your kids’ Alarm.com user codes, that sends you a video clip of your kids arriving home every day. It’s a great way to make sure they’re home safe and know who they’re with. Once your kids know they’re on camera, they might even give you a wave.
Want to learn more about Video Doorbell Cameras and Securing Your Home or Business? Schedule a free consultation with KMT Systems today!
by Tommy Smith | May 4, 2021 | HOME SECURITY SYSTEMS
In the last few years, the demand for smart locks, also known as access control, has skyrocketed. What is a smart lock? Smart locks are electromechanical locks that are designed to lock and unlock a door when it receives instructions from an authorized device. You can find many of these locks installed in office buildings or warehouses in areas that would need heightened security since it can be hard for one singular person or a team of people to check every single person that goes into certain places. Smart locks can be customized to grant access to a specific person at a specific time and can track when the person comes and goes!
These days everyone has a mobile phone, and not only does everyone have phones, but also tablets and other forms of “smart” devices. That is why the integration of smart door technology with added features such as biometrics scanning, keypad password, card swipe and other functionalities is so important to home and business owners. These functions give you the ability to carry on throughout your day knowing that the only persons who can go through the door are those that have been authorized to do so.
It can sound very complex and even intimidating, but it truly is a simple process. Smart locks are created to help efficiency and don’t affect how you’d go on with your day. Smart locks just add an extra layer of security on who arrives and who leaves using the advanced door lock that you have installed. In fact, many smart locks utilize apps that have a variety of features such as locking, unlocking, scheduling access, and notifying you through text messaging, e-mail or push notifications when someone has opened the door.
Smart locks are also beneficial to homeowners. Smart locks have the capability of being paired with devices such as Amazon Alexa, Apple Home, and Google Home. This increases connectivity in your home which makes knowing who is coming and going easy and secure. With a combination of sound-detecting software and advanced locking mechanisms, your home or office is protected with layers of security.
Now that you know a bit more about smart locks, schedule your free consultation with KMT Systems to see how smart locks fit into your security plan.
by Tommy Smith | Apr 3, 2021 | BUSINESS SECURITY SYSTEMS
A Business Security System protects your company in multiple ways. Not only does it help you look out for your buildings and assets, but it can also help you prevent, and even solve, criminal activity that can impact employees, vendors, and customers.
How Crime Impacts a Business
Businesses can be susceptible to a number of crimes including burglary, vandalism, robbery, theft, fraud, and shoplifting. Resulting costs of criminal activity can drain a business of thousands or even million of dollars each year.
Internal crime, like employee theft, threatens the very fabric of a business, and can impact the confidence that both customers and employees have in the company. Employees can steal property, supplies, and company trade secrets. When small businesses are victims of any kind of crime, the fallout can be so destructive that the future of the company may be put at risk.
With so much at stake, it simply isn’t good business to put off installing the security measures your business needs.
How Business Security Systems Prevent Crime
Cameras and alarms help you keep an eye on what’s going on, and just having them can be enough to make would-be criminals think twice. When you do install security measures, don’t keep it a secret. Be sure to let everyone know that your business is under surveillance and that there are alarms in place.
Security systems that include alarm codes or security badges to access buildings and offices provide the extra affirmation that only people who belong there can get inside your business. It also helps employees and clients feel safer while on the property.
When you monitor what’s happening, as well as who is coming and going, you minimize the opportunity for criminals to hurt your business. In fact, the right security system can virtually remove your business from scrutiny as a target all together.
How A Business Security Systems Can Solve Crimes
Unfortunately, sometimes even the most security minded business can fall victim to a crime. In the event that your business is targeted, a security system can help you gather evidence and catch the individual or individuals involved.
Security cameras that record and store video provide documentation of everything that happens at your business. This means that even if someone gets away with committing a crime on your property, you probably already have their face somewhere on video. This is a huge benefit to law enforcement when they conduct their investigation.
Video evidence not only helps police identify criminals, but it can also help them prosecute the offenders. It’s very hard to argue with a recording showing the suspect committing the offense.
Things to Look For in a Business Security System
Once you decide to install a business security system, you want to make sure you get a system that delivers everything you need. At a minimum, your business security system should include the following:
- Surveillance Cameras: Look for cameras that let you watch live video and record footage for review later. You also want cameras inside and outside of your business, and make sure that they also have night vision capabilities.
- Access Control: Keeping track of who can get into your place of business and when is critical to your security. Make sure your security system includes either card readers, access codes, or fingerprint readers at entry and exit points.
- Alarms: It’s important that you, and the perpetrators, are alerted when your security system is breached. Seek out an alarm system that includes video verification to help you see exactly what’s going on when an alarm is triggered. This helps eliminate false alarms and can help you stop criminals quicker.
- Monitoring: One of the best things a security system provides is an extra set of eyes on your business, even when you’re not there. For the most security look for a system that includes both remote monitoring via your smartphone, and professional, 24/7 monitoring from a monitoring center.
You have worked hard to make your business a success. Don’t put everything you’ve accomplished at risk by overlooking protection with a business security system. Contact KMT Systems today to find out how we can help keep you and your business from becoming a victim of crime.
