Fri, 18 May 2012 03:01:55 -0600WeeblyTue, 31 Jan 2012 13:43:55 -0600http://ussecurity.com/3/post/2012/01/us-security-home-security-information-and-alerts12.html High rise in Crime

Unfortunately, crime is on the rise in many areas of the country. Over 2 million burglaries occur every year - not to mention the potential harm to personal safety. Many experts point to the nation's current economic troubles and dramatic rise in unemployment as leading indicators for a continued rise in the crime rate.

Protecting your home is vitally important to the protection of your property and family. Properly placed exterior lighting and good dead bolts can help reduce your odds of being a victim - but unfortunately, an experienced criminal can generally get through nearly all locks within 60 seconds. As a result, most experts suggest investing in a home security system - preferably one that is monitored by a live service for the utmost protection.

Statistics show that the majority of criminals will choose a home without a security system and bypass those better protected. When you consider the discount you can receive from your home owners insurance company for having a monitored system, then the total cost to you for monitoring is very small.




_ ]]>Thu, 26 Jan 2012 14:42:12 -0600http://ussecurity.com/3/post/2012/01/us-security-home-security-information-and-alerts11.html_One company "only" security systems

    Some companies install systems only they can monitor. They install equipment that is programed at the factory to call only their monitoring station. What this means to you is if you ever want to change to a different monitoring company you must buy new equipment. (they don't tell you this when they sell it to you).
   This means that if you want to use a different monitoring company you must at least buy a new master control panel and all new keypads for your system. This could cost you anywhere from $350.00 to over $500.00 depending on your system. If it is a wireless system you may need to also replace all of your wireless equipment, this could cost you an additional $400.00 to over $1,000.00 to replace.
   At U.S. Security we install Honeywell Ademco and DSC equipment that is not locked out at the factory. If for any reason you are not happy with us you are free to change companies and you need not purchase additional equipment.
   In fact you you were unlucky enough to have had factory locked out equipment install, we will replace your master control panel, 1 keypad, and a new back-up battery for only $99.00 just for changing to our monitoring. ]]>Mon, 23 Jan 2012 15:27:52 -0600http://ussecurity.com/3/post/2012/01/us-security-home-security-information-and-alerts9.html__
Auto renewal built into your contract

If you signed a long term contract chances are it's longer than you think. Some companies include a 1 year auto renewal clause in their contracts, Some have even included a 5 year renewal! What that means is if you don't cancel your contract 30 days before the 3 or 5 years run out it automatically renews for another year or more! So the day you sign  your 3 year contract make sure to mark your calendar 34 months and 29 days from then, unless you think you'll remember. Your alarm company is betting you don't. Guess what your locked in for another year, at the higher price you paid to get your "Free" system.
]]>Wed, 18 Jan 2012 13:16:10 -0600http://ussecurity.com/3/post/2012/01/us-security-home-security-information-and-alerts8.htmlHome Security / Burglary

Your home is your castle...or is it? Are you really safe once you get home and lock your door? In an open society your home should be the sanctuary for you and your family. Your home is the only environment where you have control over who can get close to you or your family. Protecting your home and family from criminal intrusion should be high on your list of priorities.

By far, the most common threat to our home is burglary. Burglary, by definition, is a non-confrontational crime but being victimized can leave a family feeling vulnerable and violated. To prevent a burglary, it is important to first gain an understanding of who commits them and why. The majority of home and apartment burglaries occur during the daytime when most people are away at work or at school. Burglaries also occur at night when there are obvious signs that no one is home. Most home burglars are young males looking for things that are small, expensive, and can easily be converted to cash. Items like cash, jewelry, guns, watches, laptop computers, and other small electronic devices are high on the list. Quick cash is needed for living expenses and drugs. Statistics tell us that more than 30% of all home burglars gained access through an open door or window. Ordinary household tools like screwdrivers, channel-lock pliers, small pry bars, and small hammers are most often used by burglars. Although home burglaries may seem random in occurrence, they actually involve a selection process.

The burglar's selection process is simple. Choose an unoccupied home with the easiest access , the greatest amount of cover, and with the best escape routes. In most cases a would be thief will bypass a home that is shown to have a monitored security system. They know that if they break in the police will be on the way. They are more likely to go on down the street and find a house without a monitored security system._ ]]>Mon, 16 Jan 2012 13:11:44 -0600http://ussecurity.com/3/post/2012/01/us-security-home-security-information-and-alerts7.html_ Professional Installation Vs. Do It Yourself

      Before you decide to install an electronic system yourself consider these factors:

•    Are you aware of all the codes and standards that govern how your system is installed and operated?
•    Are you aware of all of the options and features of the equipment you plan to install?
•    Have you considered the value of your time to learn about and install the system in calculating the cost of your do it yourself
     installation?
•    Is the equipment you have access to at retail outlets of equal quality to the professional grade equipment?
•    Do you own all the tools you will need to install, test and calibrate the equipment you plan to use?
•    Will your insurance policies cover you if you are injured or do damage to your property during the installation?
•    Does the company you bought the equipment from provide sufficient help in the event something goes wrong during the     
     installation?
•    In the Oklahoma City area you are required to have a security system alarm permit. Without this the police will not respond to 
     your alarms.
•    Make sure the system you are thinking of installing will meet the requirements you need in order to get a permit; otherwise the
     money you spend for the system could be totally wasted.
•    Contact a local alarm company, chances are they can install a system for you for about the same price as a do it yourself
     system. Keep in mind you will then have someone local to service your system should it need it.

]]>Thu, 29 Dec 2011 16:51:19 -0600http://ussecurity.com/3/post/2011/12/us-security-home-security-information-and-alerts6.html_ Save your laptop and flat screen: We take renters!

US Security will install a security system in a rental home or apartment. Not sure about the area you’re moving into to be close to campus? Why take a chance?  We can protect your new home and belongings with a monitored security system for just $199.00 for a wireless system, and monitoring of just $19.99 a month. No long term contract to sign.

Most alarm companies won’t take renters. We will! If there is already a working system there we will monitor it for just $19.99.

You are 3 times less likely to be broken into with a monitored security system. Thieves will skip your place because they know that when they break in the police are on the way there.

Don’t take a chance on loosing your computer and all your reports, notes, and hard work.
It could also be a real downer if you had to get through the semester without a flat screen to chill out with and don’t forget about your games.

Also, if you have rental insurance you should get a discount for having a monitored system.

 

]]>Wed, 28 Dec 2011 15:23:13 -0600http://ussecurity.com/3/post/2011/12/us-security-home-security-information-and-alerts5.html_
Home security: What you need to do for better security.

Doors and Locks

The first step is to "harden the target" or make your home more difficult to enter. Remember the burglar will simply bypass your home if it requires too much effort or requires more skill and tools than they possess. Most burglars enter via the front, back, or garage doors. Experienced burglars know that the garage door is usually the weakest followed by the back door. The garage and back doors also provide the most cover. Burglars know to look inside your car for keys and other valuables so keep it locked, even inside your garage. Use high quality Grade-1 or Grade-2 locks on exterior doors to resist twisting, prying, and lock-picking attempts. A quality deadbolt lock will have a beveled casing to inhibit the use of channel-lock pliers used for forced entry. A quality door knob-in-lock set will have a 'dead latch' mechanism to prevent slipping the lock with a shim or credit card.

• Use a solid core or metal door for all entrance points
• Use a quality, heavy-duty, deadbolt lock with a one-inch throw bolt
 
• Use a quality, heavy-duty, knob-in-lock set with a dead latch mechanism
 
• Use a heavy-duty strike plate with 3-inch screws to penetrate into a
         wooden door frame  
• Use a wide-angle 160° peephole mounted no higher than 58 inches
 

The most common way used to force entry through a door with a wooden frame is to kick it open. The weakest point is almost always the strike plate that holds the latch or lock bolt in place. The average door strike plate is secured with only one-half inch screws set into the door frame molding. These lightweight moldings are often tacked on to the door frame and can be torn away with a firm kick. Because of this construction flaw, it makes sense to upgrade to a four-screw, heavy-duty, high security strike plate. They are available in most quality hardware stores and home improvement centers and are definitely worth the extra expense. Install this strike plate using 3-inch screws to cut deep into the door frame stud. This one step alone will deter or prevent most through-the-door forced entries. You and your family will sleep safer in the future.

• Sliding Glass Doors
  
  

Sliding glass doors are usually installed at the rear of a home or apartment making them good candidates for entry by a burglar. In warm climates, an experienced burglar knows that sliding glass doors are often left standing open for ventilation or for pet access. Since they slide horizontally, it is important to have a blocking device in place to prevent sliding the door fully open from the outside. This can be easily accomplished by inserting a wooden dowel or stick into the track thus preventing or limiting movement. Other blocking devices available are metal fold-down blocking devices called "charley bars" and various track-blockers that can be screwed down.

Sliding glass doors are notorious for failing to prevent a forced entry attempt especially in apartment buildings. This is because of the wear and tear they receive and due to the inadequate nature of many of the latching mechanisms. Sliding glass doors usually do not have locks on them, only latches. The latches are often made of aluminum and can become worn or out of adjustment. The most common methods used to force entry, aside from breaking the glass, is by prying the door near the latch or lifting the door off the track. The blocking devices described above solve half the equation. To prevent lifting, you need to keep the door rollers in good condition and properly adjusted. You can also install anti-lift devices such as a pin that extends through both the sliding and fixed portion of the door. There are also numerous locking and blocking devices available in any good quality hardware store that will prevent a sliding door from being lifted or forced horizontally. Place highly visible decals on the glass door near the latch mechanism that indicates that an alarm system, a dog, or block watch/operation identification is in place. Burglars dislike alarm systems and definitely dogs.

• Use a secondary blocking device on all sliding glass doors
• Keep the latch mechanism in good condition and properly adjusted
 
• Keep sliding door rollers in good condition and properly adjusted
 
• Use anti-lift devices such as through-the-door pins
 
• Use highly visible alarm decals, beware of dog decals or block watch decal 
  

• Windows
  
  

Windows are left unlocked and open at a much higher rate than doors. An open window, visible from the street or alley, may be the sole reason for your home to be selected by a burglar. Ground floor windows are more susceptible to break-ins for obvious reasons. Upper floor windows become attractive if they can be accessed from a stairway, tree, fence, or by climbing on balconies. Windows have latches, not locks, therefore should have secondary blocking devices to prevent sliding them open from the outside. Inexpensive wooden dowels and sticks work well for horizontal sliding windows and through-the-frame pins work well for vertical sliding windows. For ventilation, block the window open no more than six inches and make sure you can't reach in from the outside and remove the blocking device. These window blocking devices should be capable of being removed easily from the inside to comply with fire codes. Like sliding glass doors, anti-lift devices are necessary for ground level and accessible aluminum windows that slide horizontally. The least expensive and easiest method is to install screws half-way into the upper track of the movable glass panel to prevent it from being lifted out in the closed position. Place highly visible decals on the glass door near the latch mechanism that indicates that an alarm system, a dog, or block watch/operation identification system is in place.

• Secure all accessible windows with secondary blocking devices
• Block accessible windows open no more than 6 inches for ventilation
 
• Use anti-lift devices to prevent window from being lifted out
 
• Use crime prevention or alarm decals on accessible windows

]]>Sat, 24 Dec 2011 13:33:35 -0600http://ussecurity.com/3/post/2011/12/us-security-home-security-information-and-alerts4.html_Some Companies have Timed response delay   

   Some security companies have a policy of waiting up to 3 minutes before responding to your alarm. They wait to see if someone is going to call back and cancel a false alarm. While this is within the limits of the alarm industries standards, we disagree with the delayed response practice. We believe that whenever your alarm is activated seconds matter.
   By waiting for you to call back to cancel an alarm they save personnel time for cancelling an alarm and dispatching the police, while this saves them money over time, we believe it is not the right way to respond to your emergency.

At U.S. Security we believe that seconds matter

   U.S. Security averages one of the fastest response times in the nation. Our response time week after week averages 10 seconds. How do we do this? We always strive for excellence, we train and drill our operators to respond to each alarm as fast as possible.
   When your alarm is activated our responders will be calling you (usually within 10 seconds) to see if you opened a door by mistake. If you answer and give the correct password and tell us it was a mistake we don't dispatch the police. However, if no one answers we immediately dispatch the police and follow up with a call to your call list to let you know there was a break in and  that the police are on the way.
   We believe that when an emergency arises seconds matter !   ]]>Mon, 19 Dec 2011 16:46:53 -0600http://ussecurity.com/3/post/2011/12/us-security-home-security-information-and-alerts3.htmlWhat are Carbon monoxide (CO) Detectors?

    Carbon monoxide (CO) is a deadly, colorless, odorless, poisonous gas. It is produced by the incomplete burning of various fuels, including coal, wood, charcoal, oil, kerosene, propane, and natural gas. Products and equipment powered by internal combustion engines such as portable generators, cars, lawn mowers, and power washers also produce CO.

   CO alarms always have been and still are designed to alarm before potentially life-threatening levels of CO are reached. The safety standards for CO alarms have been continually improved and currently marketed CO alarms are not as susceptible to nuisance alarms as earlier models.

What is Carbon Monoxide and How Can it Harm you?
  
   Carbon monoxide is harmful when inhaled because it displaces oxygen in the blood and deprives the heart, brain and other vital organs of oxygen. Large amounts of CO can overcome a person in minutes without warning—causing them to lose consciousness and suffocate.

   A CO detector monitored by your home security system could be a life saver. When the CO detector alarms it also sends a signal to the monitoring station and they  immediately dispatch the fire department. We offer both the wired and wirelesses types of CO detectors for your alarm system.
  
   Both the wired and the wireless detector consists of an electrochemical carbon monoxide sensor assembly.   The wireless detector is coupled with a wireless transmitter. The transmitter can send alarm, trouble, end-of-life, tamper and low battery condition messages to the alarm panel.
_ ]]>Sun, 18 Dec 2011 14:16:58 -0600http://ussecurity.com/3/post/2011/12/us-security-home-security-information-and-alerts2.html_The life saving advantages of monitored Smoke Alarms.

    In the event of a fire, a smoke alarm can save your life and those of your loved ones. They are a very important means of preventing house and apartment fire fatalities by providing an early warning signal -- so you and your family can escape. Smoke alarms are one of the best safety devices you can buy and install to protect yourself, your family, and your home.

   Studies demonstrate that smoke alarms save more lives than any other fire prevention measure. Smoke alarms provide the earliest warning of both fire and smoke. Industry experts at the NFPA have determined that in a typical home fire, you only have three minutes to escape. Help protect your family and belongings with a monitored smoke detector.

  Having monitored smoke detectors is a great way to protect your family and home. If there is a fire and your monitored smoke detector trips, your monitored alarm system will communicate to the monitoring station and they will dispatch the fire department. This can save valuable time in a fire emergency. Also if you’re not home you can have peace of mind knowing your home is protected for fire.

   Monitored smoke detectors are also a good way to protect the family pets when you’re not home. Many pets die in fires. Seconds count when there is a fire, the faster the fire department are dispatched the better. If you have monitored smoke detectors you may also be eligible to receive higher discount on your home owners insurance policy.

   Monitored smoke detectors can be installed using wired or wireless technology. Depending upon the layout of your home. Wired is less expensive to install but unless you pre wired your home at the time it was built or unless you have a large attic it may be to difficult to install the wiring needed. If wires cannot be installed then the wireless option is best.
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