[citation][nom]CaedenV[/nom]where there is valuable stuff, crooks will try to find a way to get at said stuff. The #1 best protection anyone can have is window blinds to keep people from seeing the more valuable stuff. Most thieves know exactly what they are going for before they break in because they know they have at least 5 minutes before anyone will be there to stop them no matter how good the security system is. Sure, you want it to be a pain in the ass for a thief to get into your house (it is soooo easy to take a whole window out, completely bypassing most magnetic alarms mounted to the housing of the window instead of the window and the sil/wall), but if they know what they want and have a plan there is no alarm on earth that is going to keep them away.The #2 best protection anyone can have is good relationships with their neighbors who know you, know what your friends look like, and are not crooks themselves.#3, if someone really wants your stuff, they will get your stuff. Prevention is largely based on intimidation. The real trick is catching someone's face and/or actions on camera. Not having night vision on a $4000 system would have been a dealbreaker for me. That is just really dumb. Your average $20 piece of crap pinhole camera has night vision, there is no excuse to not have it in a $150 camera.#4 where prevention fails, recovery is most important. Everything of value that you own of value should have a marking on it that you can prove to be yours. Back in high school and college it was as simple as putting some nail polish in an obscure place that you document, but nobody else knows about. Then when your bike/laptop/whatever is stolen you can show the cops a picture and easily identify the item as yours. As you get older there are more advanced ways of doing this, but the general rule applies. I recovered my bike 3 times back in college with this method. Thankfully that was all that was ever stolen.Anywho, I think my point is that for the average person living in an apartment or 3 bedroom house in a suburb, the bulk of your security money should be in documentation and recovery, with just a little bit invested in prevention and active protection because the monthly premium that comes with that $4000 system will likely add up to more than would ever be stolen in the first place for most of us.[/citation]
#1 document everything
most people are lazy as hell in this regard, everything of mine of reasonable value that wont degrade (as in lose value fast or naturally be used up) i have the serial numbers, and photos, and a safty deposit box with a usb duplicate.
#2 insure everything for more than its worth
make damn sure everything you own is documented and insured for more than its worth. my speakers arent great, they cost me about 250$, but if they were stolen, it would cost me 1000$ to get an exact replacement.
#3 have a list of small items.
i'm in the process of finding software to record the bar codes of all my games, dvds, and other valuable coded items, dvds and games are easy to get rid of because no one really thinks twice that this may be stolen
#4 prepare for the worst
no mater the lock, no matter the security system, it can be broken in seconds by someone skilled.
no current lock that i know of is bump proof, most being broken into in less than 5 seconds.
#5 who wants your crap
the average theif who is an opertunist, or the master thief who spent time planing? a loud alarm may scare off the opertunist, but the master knows what they want, and will get it. do you want them gone, or do you want them to stay a while thinking they beat the alarm. silent alarm, or loud noise... its a tough choice.
#6 the one and only camera you need
a camera on the door, that activates the moment it sees more than 15% movement, and records sound, with a hq mic. this way you get the face, and the voice of who went in your home