Empty homes are like the kid at school who always had the “kick me” sticker on his butt. They are a target for all sorts of problems: burglaries, vandalism and flooding, just to name a few.
The US Dept of Justice backs me up with some stats on seasonal crimes. Not to make you paranoid about leaving home, but there a few things you could do to keep your home safe, some high tech, some not.
Know Thy Neighbors
Neighbors are the low tech, but high touch solution. One of the best indications of an empty house is an overflowing mailbox, packages left on the doorstep or flowers that look bedraggled. Promise to reciprocate, but arrange for someone to pick up your packages and mail (or pay one of the neighborhood kids to do it).
No friends? No problem. Use a service like TaskRabbit where you can find someone to do just about anything. If you’re a little iffy about TaskRabbit, read the laugh-out-loud Outsourcing Yourself or the more sobering look at the gig economy, both in The New Yorker Magazine.
Security Cameras
Once the purview of state penitentiaries or corporate America, web security cameras today are low cost, easy to install and fairly reliable. Be sure to buy from a reputable source and a known brand, because no-name security cameras can be insecure, and the last thing you want to do is add to your problems. So avoid non-name security cameras on deep discount at sketchy sites, because they are likely to be easily hackable.
If you’re going to do the install on your own, we really like Arlo from NetGear. It’s a wireless HD camera that stores 7 days of video (and will continue to do that with no extra storage plan fees). It has a wide angle view with night vision. It’s available in a number of different configurations, and having more than one is pretty good idea. It also has one of the most adorable or irritating video commercials depending on your taste.
Logitech’s Circle 2 Security Camera
I’m also a fan of Logitech’s line of smart home cameras, the Circle 2. I like it because the entire line of cameras can be intermingled, kind of the way Tupperware containers and tops can intermingle. The camera’s brains are the same but the casings give them different capabilities. The entire line is indoor and outdoor, weatherproof, high definition and gives you a wide 180-degree field of vision. You can buy wired or wireless, wall mounted or window mounted. Where it get pricer than Arlo is that you only get 24 hours of recorded storage. When that’s over you can purchase different storage plans.
Comcast user? Here’s a tip. They are now in the home security business. They’ll do the installation for you, and you already know and trust them in your home. You can get home security through Xfinity Home’s 24/7 Video Surveillance. You can record, rewind and review up to 10 days of footage in and around your home from an app or web portal.
But Scout’s honor ...promise you won’t spend your vacation watching video feeds of your home.
Lighting
Logitech also makes a simple POP Smart Button that lets you control lighting remotely. Belkin also makes a suite of home control products called Wemo. One them controls your lighting and it even has an “away mode” that will turn lights off and on around the house in random manner so it looks like you’re home.
Heating
One of the best investments I’ve ever made is installing the First Alert Thermostat, a thermostat that I can access remotely via web browser or phone app. Especially during the winter months, it’s saved me many times the cost of the device by letting me adjust the temperature in my home remotely. I like the First Alert system because I’m a frugal shopper. I also don’t need all of the Nest’s ability to learn about behaviors in each room. Honeywell’s Total Comfort is another frugal solution. For a good overview see: http://bestreviews.com/best-smart-thermostats.
The Internet of Things
If your home is Internet of Things laden then you definitely want to keep your IoT devices separated from your data, banking, and other important hackable files. On newer routers you can connect IoT devices to your “Guest” WiFi and keep your main router address for your PCs and devices.
Personal Firewalls
If you have a lot of sensitive data on your devices you might consider investing in Cujo. It’s the home owner’s equivalent of a private firewall that checks every bit of data before it enters your home and blocks anything suspicious. You simply plug it into your router using an Ethernet cable. You can check Cujo remotely for any suspicious activity.
Don’t Over-Share
I grapple with this one because I like sharing those photos of far-flung travels, but think about whether or not you want to put an “out of office message” on your email account, or whether you want to publish the fact that you’re touring Dubrovnik on your social media feed. Personally, I deal with the risk of doing both of these but you should at least give it some thought.
Most of all, happy summer. Stay safe.