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Avoid Disaster by Testing Your Home Security System

14260888 - home security alarm monitorYour home security system is armed and keeping your home protected — right? But what if a burglar invades your home while you are on vacation and the alarm goes off, but doesn’t alert police or fire? The loud alarm will scare the burglar into quick departure, but the police will not realize the emergency unless your neighbors call.

Why Test Your Security System

While home security systems and their technology are impressive, anything can happen to an electronic device, especially one that runs 24 hours a day. Lightning and power surges can cause problems. Plus, phone, cable, and Internet service providers are always upgrading their lines and equipment. If you have something replaced or changed, or you see digging in your neighborhood, you might later find your system no longer works.

Some homeowners do not arm their systems each day and may not realize something is wrong. Even if you arm the system, you will not be able to tell if the connection to monitoring services is working. That means you won’t know your system doesn’t work until it’s too late.

How Often to Test

Secur-Tek engineers recommend testing your system each month to make sure everything is in order. In addition, if you have crews working in or around your house, it’s important to test the system before they start and after they are done. Even if your Internet provider is “just replacing your modem,” accidents happen. Newer security systems are programmed to send in a monthly test. If you aren’t sure whether your system does this, ask your Secur-Tek team.

How To Test

To test your home security system, call the central station or the office and ask for a test. They will instruct you to arm the system and open up a door so the alarm goes off. They will then verify the signal was received. The test takes less than 10 minutes.

Other Tips

Security systems provide peace of mind and alert emergency personnel when needed, but only if they work — and only if they are armed. We often hear from clients who forgot to turn on the system because they do not use it frequently. Less frequent use also means more false alarms. Once you install a security system, use it every day to get into the habit. It will seem like part of your routine in no time.

Finally, don’t forget to check the fine print on your security contract. Many security providers with monitoring require a three-year or five-year contract and some automatically renew. Review your contract so you know when it expires and when you need to cancel. Contact your Secur-Tek team with any questions.

Business Security Systems Need to Protect Inside and Out

Business owners all strive to keep their businesses safe. Installing security systems, cameras, and access tracking are all part of burglar prevention for your business.

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But what about protecting your company from inside threats? According to a recent study, 20 percent of employees would sell their work passwords to a competitor.

“The research by identity management company Sailpoint, found that of those who would sell their passwords, 44 percent would do it for less than $1,000, and some for less than $100. This is made worse by the fact that 65 percent admit to using a single password among applications and 32 percent share passwords with their co-workers.”

Less than $100. That could be all that’s standing between you and a hacker who takes down your business. While we all want to believe the people we hire are good, moral employees who would not do something like that, we simply do not know what people have been through, what life situations may drive their behavior.

Business security systems that keep intruders out are important, but just as vital are your internal security procedures. Take a look at this checklist of things to review to keep your data safe:

  • Employee access – Secur-Tek can help you control access to the business itself, and to certain rooms. But what about who has access to your important data? Of course employees need to have a certain level of access to data, and programs to do their jobs. Maybe you already track who has access to what while they are employed with you. But what happens after that employee leaves? The above survey found that more than two in five employees still have corporate account access after they leave their job. Do you have security procedures in place to revoke access or change passwords?
  • Uploads to the cloud – Well-meaning employees may be uploading data to the cloud using various storage programs. While it’s useful to backup information in case of a crash, be sure to confirm which information is uploaded where. If you don’t have a secure server set up, your data may be at risk.
  • Downloads – In large companies, employees are supposed to check with the IT department before downloading any software or installing anything. Studies show this does not always happen. Employees get impatient with the extra layer of process. As a small business owner, you may not have an IT department, or may not have oversight of what your team downloads. But one wrong program means a virus or malware or spyware, putting your business at risk. Make a list of approved programs and check all the computers in the office on a monthly basis. While this sounds big brother, your employee is not the one whose business is at risk.

Secur-Tek works to keep your business secure from the outside. Be sure to consider what security measures you take inside your company to keep it safe.

5 Security Features to Consider for Your Business

Security for your business is not the same as what you install at home. Your North Carolina business needs to be secure not just from outside intruders at night, but at different times during the day, or from different people. Secur-Tek, Inc. can design a security system customized for your needs, with both wired and wireless options available.

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Here are five features to consider to keep your business secure:

  1. Limit Access – You might want to limit access to a certain area, such as a supply room. Security systems can be set up to partition an area without affecting other areas.
  2. Front Door Access – You can limit access to the entire building. Some businesses do not have customers coming in and out and therefore can have extra security with badge-only access to gain entry. Your employees will also feel safer knowing that they are protected from uninvited characters.
  3. Access Tracking – Want to know who is accessing those areas and at what times? Set up opening/closing reports. These reports can include who arms and disarms the system each day.
  4. Limit Open/Close Times – This feature will notify you if the system is disarmed outside specified hours. You may want to limit your morning opener only to a window of time from 8 a.m. to 9 a.m. Preventing 24-hour access — even for trusted employees — is one more way to secure your business.
  5. Video – The U.S. Chamber of Commerce estimates that about 30 percent of all business failures are traced directly to employee theft. B2C business owners should consider installing video cameras to monitor both customers and employees. Systems today can be monitored from a smartphone or tablet.

Bonus: Fire Security

Keeping your business secure against burglars and theft is critical, but it’s also important to consider other hazards that affect your business, such as fire. Fire is a big disaster for a small business. Fire detection systems allow for affordable and reliable protection that complies to stringent fire codes.

Fire protection systems can include:

  • Automatic and manual activation
  • Supervised smoke detectors
  • Waterflow supervisory systems to prevent water damage

Make sure your business is secure by giving Secur-Tek a call for a free consultation. 919-387-1800

7 Ways to Tighten Your Home Security for the Holidays

Every year at this time, you’ll read stories about the increase in home burglaries while homeowners are away. Studies show that increase is not always fact. Instead, many factors affect burglaries in different communities and when they occur.

21908228_sStill, it’s smart to play it safe with home security around the holidays. After all, you may have extra valuables inside after buying all of your gifts, and you may be absent more often as you attend holiday parties or head to grandmother’s house.

According to FBI data, in 2010, there were an estimated 2.1 million burglaries in the U.S. Victims of burglary offenses suffered an estimated $4.6 billion in lost property, an average dollar loss of $2,119 each. In the Raleigh-Cary area, including Franklin, Johnston, and Wake counties, there were 628 burglaries per 100,000 residents in 2010.

Keep your holiday gifts and your home safe this season with a few simple measures:

  • Light your home. The strings of Christmas lights may bring good cheer, but they don’t keep burglars out. Mount exterior lights on your home, out of reach. These can be put on a timer or used as motion detectors. Put indoor lights on timers.
  • Burglars don’t want to spend all day trying to break in. Keep your doors and windows locked and install deadbolts on exterior doors, making it tougher to gain entry.
  • Check your doors. Your lock might be amazing, but if your door is weak, a strong kick will give a burglar easy access. Make sure your door is solid wood or has a solid wood core. You can also consider a fiberglass or metal door.
  • Trim the shrubbery. Don’t make it easy for burglars to hide behind bushes as they work to open a window. Keep the landscaping trimmed so it’s easier for a neighbor to spot the suspicious person standing outside your home.
  • Install a home alarm system. More than 90 percent of burglars say they would avoid a home with an alarm, according to the Insurance Information Institute. Effective alarms don’t just make noise, but alert emergency services. Many insurance companies offer a discount on homeowners insurance if you have an alarm.
  • Hide and lock your valuables. Once inside, a burglar doesn’t want to take too long. He or she knows to check the desk and the bedroom for important documents and jewelry. Put your important papers and expensive items in other locations and hide them well.
  • Heading out of town? Be sure to:
    • Have your mail held, or have a neighbor pick it up.
    • Schedule deliveries. Packages are at risk this time of year sitting on your front porch. Try to time deliveries so that they don’t arrive when you are out of town.
    • Leave blinds in their usual positions so it appears you are home.
    • Ask trustworthy neighbors to keep an eye on your home. Letting a few people know you are gone will help keep them on alert for something amiss.

Questions about home security? Give us a call: (919) 387-1800.

KEEP YOUR CENTRAL VACUUM SYSTEM WORKING FOR YOU!

Woman sneezingDoes the mere thought of Spring leave you with a running nose and the sniffles?  After that horrible, cold Winter, everyone is excited about the Spring season with its beautiful flowers, yet for those of us with seasonal allergies along with all of that beauty, the itching nose and watering eyes are sure to follow.

You may think you are safe staying inside. You might even reason you are safe from that pesky pollen indoors, right? Guess what? You’re still at risk. The pollen spores can travel through the screens, in fact when you come in from outdoors, tiny bits of pollen can travel inside with you on your clothes and then onto your furniture and linens. That is why it is so important to keep your Dirt Devil Central Vacuum in optimum working order and at maximum capacity.

The Benefits of your Dirt Devil Central Vacuum:

  • Vacuumed dirt, allergens and odors are removed 100% of the time
  • A Dirt Devil® Central Vacuum extends the life of carpets and furnishings
  • Using the central vacuum regularly improves your indoor air quality
  • Having the most well-known brand of central vacuum system (Dirt Devil) adds resale value to your home

Here is how to keep your Dirt Devil Central Vacuum doing it’s job, working for YOU

Be diligent about replacing your filters once a year, as suggested by Dirt Devil and schedule your routine service calls. The service call includes not only replacing the filter, as needed, but also cleaning the Dirt Devil Central Vacuum piping system with the Wincor Tornado cleaning cloths.

Make a Plan:

  1. Empty the canister of your Dirt Devil Central Vacuum system when it’s half-full.
  2. Check your filter regularly – every time you empty your canister.
  3. Mark it on your calendar and schedule your Dirt Devil Central Vacuum service today!

Plan to enjoy your Spring season.  Breathe easy knowing the Dirt Devil Central Vacuum system is working at optimum capacity for YOU.

Hurry – schedule your spring cleaning service with Secur-Tek by June 30, 2015 and receive a $20 discount on the normal service fee.

What Is Sonos?

Sonos 2What Is Sonos?

Sonos is a wireless audio system of HiFi speakers and components that lets you listen to music in any room with no skips, delays, or drops. You place the speakers throughout your house and then use the Sonos app to combine and access your music collection. Individual songs can be listened to on each speaker or the whole system can play the same song.

Sonos works with a variety of music sources. Wherever you like to get your audio—iTunes, podcasts, radio stations, Spotify, or Pandora—you can find it and file it into a dedicated local Sonos network through wireless or Ethernet connections and stream it to any Sonos device on the network. The Sonos system creates a dedicated path for playing audio which means you get smoother playback.

The Sonos system can be controlled by PC or Mac desktop applications, or apps for iOS or Android. Having a computer-based system means that you can customize all the playlists and music you want to hear. It’s like having an iPod in every room of your house that plays all the music you like—with great quality.

How It Works

The Sonos system consists of Zoneplayers and Controllers. “Zoneplayer” is the Sonos name for an element which outputs audio either via digital or analog connections or via speakers. Zoneplayers can be set up through wired or wireless connections. The Controller is the Mac/PC or mobile phone that runs the Sonos app.

If you have a home where WiFi doesn’t reach everywhere, you can use the Sonos BRIDGE to extend the range of your Sonos network. The BRIDGE also creates a dedicated wireless network for your Sonos system. The BRIDGE plugs into your router with an Ethernet cable. If you’re in an environment where the WiFi has performance challenges, you can use a BOOST—it’s like a super-charged BRIDGE.

For speakers like the PLAY:1, PLAY:2, or PLAY:3 you can simply plug them into the power outlet and they will wirelessly connect to your existing WiFi network or your dedicated Sonos network (if you have the BRIDGE or BOOST).

Place your speakers in the rooms where you want to listen to music. Then download and install a Sonos Controller app. You can access your entire music collection from anywhere in your house with the Controller. Follow the quick set-up guide that comes with the system and simply tell the Sonos app where the Zoneplayers and music library are located.

Last, but not least: play music! You can use any Sonos Controller to make music selections. Choose a music source from the Sonos music menu on a handheld controller, or from the MUSIC pane if you’re using the Sonos Controller App for Mac or PC.

You can tell the system to play the same thing on every stereo that’s linked to it or you can have a different playlist or source going in every room of the house.

Once you’ve got your system set up, you can easily add more Sonos products whenever you want. Only one part of the Sonos system needs to be linked with your home network; the other components link together directly. Since the Zoneplayers each transmit individually, each player you add increases the range of the Sonos network.

Why it’s Great

The main benefit of the Sonos system is that it delivers HiFi audio while really simplifying wireless streaming. The Sonos app lets you easily control the system and access a variety of music sources. There’s no need to link your phone with any of the individual speakers—all the speakers are controllable through the same app, no matter where in the house they’re located. Sonos uses their years of wireless networking know-how to make sure your music is in perfect sync and skip-free. It’s also super easy to get it going and new features are constantly being developed that work even with some of the oldest components.

Contact Secur-Tek today to find out more about the benefits of Sonos in your home.

IP Video Surveillance—A Step Above CCTV

IP CamerasWhether for your home or your business, knowing that you have the right security in place will help give you peace of mind. CCTV systems are one of the preferred security measures for both residential and commercial use and may be set to operate continuously or for a specific time period, with the video feed(s) can be controlled from one central location.

CCTV systems have been used in such applications as crime prevention and traffic monitoring for motor vehicles or for people (such as in schools or office buildings). Studies have found that the use of surveillance systems has a definite impact on negative activity.

With technology ever on the move, surveillance systems have changed for the better. IP video surveillance is one of the newer types of surveillance systems available to residential and commercial users.

What is IP Video Surveillance?

Like CCTV systems, IP video surveillance records events. However, IP video surveillance is completely digitized, using an IP camera with the video distributed over an IP network. Benefits of an IP surveillance system include:

  • Easy installation and user-friendly
  • Better quality images than standard CCTVs
  • Easily distribute recordings via email
  • Easily store video contents
  • Viewable, storable and manageable via mobile applications or web applications, from anywhere, anytime

To learn more about how your home or business can benefit from using an IP surveillance system, contact Secur-Tek at 919-387-1800.

Boost Your Network Signal!

Smart TV

First the laptop, then the smart phone, then the tablet, even the newer refrigerators, and now the smart TV. Technology and the Internet have become entwined with so much of our lives (and electronics). If you’re a smart TV owner, you can appreciate the beauty, the ease, the reach of your technologically savvy television. You can stream movies and videos, watch Netflix and YouTube, check your email, update your social media accounts, and surf the Web, all on a large screen. Convenient, easy on the eyes, crisp and clean clarity… unless you get the message that you cannot connect to the Internet.  However, a smart TV’s inability to connect to the Internet through a poor network signal, even though all our other wi-fi devices are connected, defeats the whole purpose of having one.

 

There are several reasons why your smart TV may fail to connect to the Internet or have a poor network signal.  Most homes with wi-fi can accommodate standard devices (smart phones, computers, laptops) getting online; but smart TVs require more bandwidth than your standard devices. And multiple devices drawing from the same network signal source could affect the speed of the signal. Other obstructions to your smart TV gaining access to the Internet can be metal objects or walls in the house.

 

Fear not. There is a solution. You can boost your signal strength using a range extender, which can extend the range of your wireless network by 10,000 feet by repeating and amplifying the signal. The increased strength not only allows you greater distance, eliminating those dead spots in your house, but also allows the wireless signal to penetrate walls and other obstructions.

 

With a range extender, your smart TV should have no trouble getting a signal; and, of course, once online, you’ll be able to take full advantage of all the wonderful features of the TV.

 

For more information on signal boosting, call Secur-Tek today at 919-387-1800.

The Power of A Great Music System

Bose In-Wall SpeakersWe’ve all found ourselves tapping our toes or fingers, swaying our hips or humming to the sounds of music. It’s fun. It’s uplifting. And studies agree that listening to music can and does indeed lift spirits.

It doesn’t matter what type of music you listen to: jazz, pop, rock or new age. Listening to music can improve your mood, or if you’re already in a good mood, it can intensify that good mood.

Wouldn’t it be nice to have music all around you all the time? And if that music makes you feel good, what could be better? Good music, good feelings. Wow. Your quality of life just skyrocketed.

One way to infuse music into your home is to install a music system.

Invisible to the eye, Bose music systems allow you to listen to different music in different rooms at different levels throughout your home. The system is created to complement your style. You can use your favorite CDs or your iPod library. There are no large speakers hanging from the walls, but rather in-wall speakers are installed for a clean look and feel without losing the beauty of music in each room.

There’s a reason we listen to music and we naturally move to it. There’s a reason we use phrases such as “music to my ears.” And there’s a reason we have music at festivities. It makes us feel good! For more information on the Bose Music System, contact Secur-Tek at 919-387-1800.

And it’s not just for your home. Click here to learn how music can have a positive effect on your business!

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.

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