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Four Reasons to Rely on 24-Hour Security Monitoring

Affiliated Central - Monitoring Center

Whether you’re fast asleep in your own bed in Raleigh or away on an international vacation, it’s important to know your home security system will work the way you expect.

One expectation most people have for home or business security systems is a response to the alarm — no matter what time it occurs. This 24-hour security monitoring means authorities will be notified as needed when the alarm is activated at your home or office.

Monitoring isn’t just to alert the police or fire departments. Here are some other advantages to making sure 24-hour monitoring is part of your security system:

  • True Protection — Some homeowners assume a burglar alarm making a lot of noise is enough protection. In truth, like car alarms, home alarms are often ignored by people nearby, who assume it is going off by accident.
  • Other Home Issues – While not as urgent as a fire or break-in, a gas leak can cause serious problems in your home. Monitoring systems can be set up to alert you in case of a gas leak or to let you know your freezer is no longer on — indicating a power outage.
  • Assistance — Monitoring systems can also notify people that you need assistance in case of a fall or other personal accident.
  • Sleeping Easy — Monitoring means someone is always keeping an eye (and ear) on your home or business. Many security system clients say knowing someone is there offers peace of mind, making it easier to sleep at home and while away.

How Monitoring Works
Secur-Tek works with Affiliated Central to monitor your home or business. The team at Affiliated Central is CSAA Five Diamond Certified and uses the most up-to-date technologies including live digital video. The company has installed a redundancy system for its telephone and automation, ensuring dependability.

Secur-Tek, Inc. does not require a long-term monitoring contract when you have your home or business connected to our monitoring services.

While most security companies offer 24-hour monitoring, some companies may consider it an add-on feature. When contacting a security company to keep your home or business safe, be sure to confirm you are receiving the service you deserve.

How secure is your home network?

hackersWe call it The Internet of Things. And it’s very likely that you have it in your house: you know, the connection of electronic devices to the Internet so that you can have access to them. It could be your baby monitor, your home security network, your heating/cooling system, your coffee pot or your refrigerator—all these things can be connected to the Internet so that you can check in and/or make adjustments to them via your computer or smart phone. The Internet of Things allows us to be connected to most everything these days, making it more convenient for us to access and control our devices from almost anywhere there is an Internet connection, as well as monitor our homes and the goings on inside.

No doubt the Internet of Things gives you peace of mind, knowing that you can check in on your baby from another room or while you’re out. It allows you to adjust the temperature in your- home, so that it’s that perfect 68 degrees when you get home from work. Or you can lower the temperature of your refrigerator so that your favorite beverage is chilled when you walk in the door. You can lock or unlock your doors from another location. The ease of it all is amazing, isn’t it?

Let’s take a minute, however, to play devil’s advocate. If you can access your home, others can, as well. The Internet opens the doors for many great things; yet at the same time that it opens the doors for you, it also presents the opportunity for hackers to get inside your home and take control just as you would. A hacker could take control of your home security system and disable your locks or cameras. A hacker could take control of your baby monitor and speak through it. That same person could take control of your computer and use the installed camera to spy on you.

A recent article in the News and Observer highlighted the risks to using companies that don’t  know what they’re doing – the non-experts that have got into the security game purely to make money.  So, how can you protect yourself and your family against these invasions of privacy?

To protect yourself from hackers, you need to make sure you have a system that is secure. Choosing a professional security company to install your systems is the best route. Security professionals can make sure that the equipment you use in your home conforms to safety standards and that any data you transmit over the Internet in order to control your devices is encrypted. They can set your system up so that the Internet of Things is convenient and secure, minimizing your risk to a hacker’s intrusion.

For more information on securing your family and home, contact Secur-Tek at 919-387-1800.  All consultations are complimentary.

How Music Affects Your Business

Bose SoundTouch™ 20 Wi-Fi® music system Wireless streaming music speakerStudies have been done to show that music is uplifting to the spirits. But we really don’t need to read official papers on that. We all know that. We love music. That’s why there’s such a huge industry for it. There’s music in our homes and in our cars. There’s music on our phones and computers, in our video games, in our toys, in television shows and as the main topic of shows.

Music is pleasurable.

But did you know that music can affect your business?

For business owners, knowing that music can have a positive effect on people, would steer you to have a system in place to provide music to your business. For employees, it can help put them or keep them in a good mood. Happy employees are good employees.

Music can have an effect on your sales as well.

Consumers tend to recall brands that have music connected to them, music that is fitting to the brand. Among younger consumers, aged 16 – 24, more than half stay longer in a store if there is appreciable music in the background. Business owners know that the longer a person stays in a store, the greater the chances that that person will make a purchase.

The key, however, is not that any type of music be played, but the appropriate music ought to be played to reflect your brand and the opinion consumers will have of your brand. Having the wrong music play overhead can be extremely detrimental to your business.

If the music chosen doesn’t match the product or face of the business, this can yield negative results. If the volume of the music is too low, too loud or is absent, this can also have an unwanted effect on consumers. However, if you think about your brand and your target audience, and you have the right music playing in the background that your customers would enjoy and appreciate, then you are headed in the right direction.

Again, people enjoy music. It’s uplifting. For both your staff and your customers, there are very good reasons to have music at the business. Bose offers a music system that allows your place of business to discreetly have music throughout.

For information on the Bose Music System, contact Secur-Tek at 919-387-1800.

CCTV By Secur-Tek: Keeping the Triangle Safe and Secure

CCTV imageIf you live in Apex, NC or across the surrounding Triangle region and you own a business of any size, Secur-Tek Inc. has the product to have on-site that just might make all the difference in the success of your company.

Secur-Tek knows that business owners can always benefit from a closed circuit television system (CCTV).  Whether it’s an issue of trust, safety or just for peace of mind, CCTV can provide an aspect of protection to any business.  Just the presence of security cameras in customer and employee areas will often minimize issues ensuring the safety of your operation.

Secur-Tek of Apex, the premier installer of CCTV systems in North Carolina, offers any size system, from one to one hundred cameras that can be installed and configured by our installation team!  Custom specifications make each system unique and tailored to each and every business.

CCTV systems are highly effective in:

  • Monitoring and ensuring safe practices in an industrial or warehouse setting.
  • Discouraging theft within a business from both external and internal parties!
  • Reviewing performance of employees in action, both in real time and in replay.
  • Reviewing inconsistencies in normal operation.

If you have any doubts about your employees, or feel like heightening security could positively affect your business, do not hesitate to call today for an estimate of the cost of your custom developed system.

At Secur-Tek we offer:

  • Customizable specifications that allow total flexibility of your system.
  • PC based systems that easily monitor and keep track from the computer and related devices!
  • Remote video transmission systems to make it even easier to review the video
  • Strictly observation systems, for an affordable protection option.

Choose the system and functions that work best for your operation, and we take it from there!  You will benefit greatly in safety from the addition of every level of added protection.  Call Secur-Tek Inc. today to explore the options and make a change for the better!

Secur-Tek proudly serves the North Carolina communities of Apex, Cary, Fuquay-Varina, Chapel Hill, Clayton, Garner, Holly Springs, Durham, Raleigh, Morrisville, and Pittsboro

Security & Home Automation