Home Security

I have a lock too but the door has windows like pic related so someone could just break them and unlock it.
I thought about getting one of those deadbolts that needs a key on both sides but if someone's that determined, I also have a sliding glass door on my deck that's out of sight from the road so that would be a better choice and it doesn't have a deadbolt, just a latch.

My only real home security is living in a safe area that's mostly old white people. I left my car running unattended to warm up and Amazon came to bring a package and the driver didn't steal it so that's plus.

I do have some cameras but they don't record I just check the live feed occasionally when I'm away for more than a few hours, to make sure everything is ok.

I have cameras mainly so I can avoid talking to the neighbors. Security is a secondary benefit.

[...]
I also live on a safe area, and have locks (obviously), but I'd still like to improve things, as I already had a little scare in the past.
I also have one door with glass, and many windows that could be a problem, but I probably can't do much about that on a budget, so I'm focusing on (early) detection.

[...]
I didn't mind the work to set up the wires so mine are all wired (PoE). Still, it's interesting to know that those battery cams can have such a long battery life.
Two of my cameras are Hikvision with "AI detection" that can distinguish humans from insects flying near the camera, or trees moving with the wind, and in my experience (they have been setup for 1year) they work really well. I'd probably end up replacing the other cameras with others like these.

I don't even consider monthly payment alarm systems. No way I will be paying their price for some cheap sensors that I can setup myself. Motion sensors are $15 for a good one, and door/window sensors are even cheaper.

[...]
I completely agree with your last sentence, and that's the same thing I'm trying to do. I didn't go with an alarm system like the one you describe because using off-the-shelf sensors and components can be cheaper, and they can be used for other purposes too (like home automation). I already have a siren too; those seem to draw a lot of attention, and seeing one installed is probably a good deterrent on itself.

I have cameras mainly so I can avoid talking to the neighbors. Security is a secondary benefit.

break ins where the intruder is simply searching for amenities are surprisingly common and present a persistent issue anywhere near bars/clubs.
Sometimes the people breaking in are simply hiding, looking for somewhere to poo, somewhere to have sex or a drinking tap. I often advise small business owners who have problems with drunks urinating on their buildings or trying to have sex in external cupboards or behind fences or shoot up in alleys.
The solution is often to make entry areas insecure, so that someone walking past would tend to corner the pooing person. But the problem is often that lighting tends to attract rather than deter people, and for this reason I advise really annoying lights that flash irregularly. Cursed things.

Not to gloat but I live in a super rural "town" that isn't even a town in Australia directly across the road from a shitty violent pub and I don't lock my doors because I've only got one key for the back screen door and couldn't be bothered locking everything up when it just has to be opened again. I leave the keys in my car in my unlocked garage and this is pretty standard for everyone. If there's mischief sounds that wake you up you just shout "OI c**t!" and run naked outside with a maglite and a cleaver from the knife block. Is this not an option elsewhere?

> hikvision
Utter garbage. I have 4 of their cameras and supporting them is just too much. Shit breaks and fails to record etc. And you don't "own" the hardware, the homosexuals won't let you ssh into the thing, unless you do rather sophisticated wi so the botnet would keep going.

I'm not a huge fan of zoom cameras. Yeah, you can zoom in on whatever, but when you're not watching, they don't add anything over a normal one. They won't zoom in on something strange when you're not watching. Still, I agree that Hikvision makes pretty good cameras - even if I hate their software.

> hikvision
Utter garbage. I have 4 of their cameras and supporting them is just too much. Shit breaks and fails to record etc. And you don't "own" the hardware, the homosexuals won't let you ssh into the thing, unless you do rather sophisticated wi so the botnet would keep going.

Their software is shit, I concede that, but they implement ONVIF properly, including events, and are quite powerful feature wise (AI detection, etc...). If you skip their crap software and use them from any NVR, they are awesome pieces of equipment.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/OpenALPR

Even if it's a wifi camera, you'd have to either:
> - Pay monthly for the cloud service to store your videos
> - Setup your own NVR (which, if you're not a techie, can be a bit complicated)
> - ...or just remotely access the stuff on the memory card anyway.

cont.

Common issues:
The entry and exit points are heavily fortified, without any consideration given to whether the entry and exit points can be secured. There's no point building a castle gate if you can't close said gate. Security threats are often far closer to home than people would like to consider, and heavy perimeter security can leave occupants trapped inside their own home with a threat and nowhere to run. The "Threat" here might be thief who's walked into your home when you were in the garden for example, it could be a stove that's on fire, it could be a snake, or a drunk family member, or a neibor who wants to talk about a trivial dispute

For this reason I strongly advise air-locking, and having a panic room rather than perimeter security.
rather than fortify your front door you might fortify a single bedroom door and the windows into that room, leaving you somewhere within the house to retreat to, an internal door which is easier to secure (you could sneak into it) and one which wouldn't tend to trap people inside.
Someone could break into the house, steal and TV, leave with the TV but not find or be able to harm the occupants. Is the TV really what you care about?

Another issue is whether CCTV should be internal, external or peripheral.
External CCTV tends to deter intruders, but being visible the only thing it might achieve is reminding a burglar to wear a mask.
Internal CCTV tends to catch thieves; but provides no protection, deterrent and is even a threat to occupants.
peripheral CCTV warns occupants, but doesn't catch or deter intruders.
For homes you generally want external CCTV, peripheral motion sensors and internal smoke detectors.

With safes the issue is again a compromise.
Do you want a safe that's hard to get into, one that is easy to secure, or a safe that's concealed?
How worried are you about the contents of the safe being destroyed by a fire? Why wouldn't you get a safe deposit box?

cont.

Common issues:
The entry and exit points are heavily fortified, without any consideration given to whether the entry and exit points can be secured. There's no point building a castle gate if you can't close said gate. Security threats are often far closer to home than people would like to consider, and heavy perimeter security can leave occupants trapped inside their own home with a threat and nowhere to run. The "Threat" here might be thief who's walked into your home when you were in the garden for example, it could be a stove that's on fire, it could be a snake, or a drunk family member, or a neibor who wants to talk about a trivial dispute

For this reason I strongly advise air-locking, and having a panic room rather than perimeter security.
rather than fortify your front door you might fortify a single bedroom door and the windows into that room, leaving you somewhere within the house to retreat to, an internal door which is easier to secure (you could sneak into it) and one which wouldn't tend to trap people inside.
Someone could break into the house, steal and TV, leave with the TV but not find or be able to harm the occupants. Is the TV really what you care about?

Another issue is whether CCTV should be internal, external or peripheral.
External CCTV tends to deter intruders, but being visible the only thing it might achieve is reminding a burglar to wear a mask.
Internal CCTV tends to catch thieves; but provides no protection, deterrent and is even a threat to occupants.
peripheral CCTV warns occupants, but doesn't catch or deter intruders.
For homes you generally want external CCTV, peripheral motion sensors and internal smoke detectors.

With safes the issue is again a compromise.
Do you want a safe that's hard to get into, one that is easy to secure, or a safe that's concealed?
How worried are you about the contents of the safe being destroyed by a fire? Why wouldn't you get a safe deposit box?

cont.
For safes I tend to recommend hidden drop safes, because the safe often poses the inadvertent risk that a thief would hold a occupant hostage in order to open it, whether the occupant could open it or not, and whether there was anything of financial value in the safe or not.
Drop safes are considerably less secure, but the advantage is that you don't have to be opening and closing them all the time and this lends itself to concealment. If you were trying to protect something like a family photo album you would be far better just putting it in a safe deposit box where it was protected from fire.

I'm also a big advocate for hedges. They conceal the presence of occupants and so deter crimes against the person, they are far harder to traverse than even a high metal fence, and can be installed places where barbed wire is a threat to occupants or a legal issue.
One of the best jobs I ever did was install ram-proof bollards, install a free standing wire roll fence with a floppy top between it, then plant a box hedge between the bollards. The wire prevents someone cutting through the hedge, the floppy top stops the wire being used to climb the hedge, was a double length ladder used it couldn't rest on the top of either the hedge or wire, and someone who got to the top couldn't either move the ladder, climb onto the hedge, or jump down cleanly. Nor could the hedge be rammed.
The only way to get in would have been to use two double length ladders tied together at the top, or hoist someone in with a boom crane. This hedge stopped no les than 12 forced entries in 6 months, with most intruders trying to force their way through it only to find the wire, two half-assed attempts to cut the wire failed, and two climbers making my personal fails montage.
A key consideration in my planning was to make the hedge appear weak in order to tip the hand of would-be intruders, we actually wanted these people to attempt to gain entry rather than staking out the doors

Thanks, man. Really appreciate your input, very well thought and actionable.

In my case, I'd go with A. I don't have anything particularly valuable at home, and I just want everyone at home to feel safe, and prevent a scary experience. That doesn't mean I wouldn't love to help catch the thief, and protect my things, but the main priority would be A.

My home is hard to "fortify" because there are lots of windows that could be used to break in. Still, I like your idea of securing a room or small area instead. That's something I could do, and I'll have to think about that.

Regarding CCTV, for now I've focused on external cameras covering the perimeter, so they can warn before anyone can try to break in. The yard is fully closed and the house is in the middle, so there won't be false positives: if someone is on the yard with the alarm on, it's an intruder. Family is not too keen on internal cameras, so I've left those aside for now.

Finally, the hedge was something I was thinking about already. The problem is, it's a big perimeter, so it would mean LOTS of maintenance. I'm not sure if it would be worth it... especially as I already have a wall all around. Any tips there?

Thanks again, anon.

cont.

Common issues:
The entry and exit points are heavily fortified, without any consideration given to whether the entry and exit points can be secured. There's no point building a castle gate if you can't close said gate. Security threats are often far closer to home than people would like to consider, and heavy perimeter security can leave occupants trapped inside their own home with a threat and nowhere to run. The "Threat" here might be thief who's walked into your home when you were in the garden for example, it could be a stove that's on fire, it could be a snake, or a drunk family member, or a neibor who wants to talk about a trivial dispute

For this reason I strongly advise air-locking, and having a panic room rather than perimeter security.
rather than fortify your front door you might fortify a single bedroom door and the windows into that room, leaving you somewhere within the house to retreat to, an internal door which is easier to secure (you could sneak into it) and one which wouldn't tend to trap people inside.
Someone could break into the house, steal and TV, leave with the TV but not find or be able to harm the occupants. Is the TV really what you care about?

Another issue is whether CCTV should be internal, external or peripheral.
External CCTV tends to deter intruders, but being visible the only thing it might achieve is reminding a burglar to wear a mask.
Internal CCTV tends to catch thieves; but provides no protection, deterrent and is even a threat to occupants.
peripheral CCTV warns occupants, but doesn't catch or deter intruders.
For homes you generally want external CCTV, peripheral motion sensors and internal smoke detectors.

With safes the issue is again a compromise.
Do you want a safe that's hard to get into, one that is easy to secure, or a safe that's concealed?
How worried are you about the contents of the safe being destroyed by a fire? Why wouldn't you get a safe deposit box?

cont.
For safes I tend to recommend hidden drop safes, because the safe often poses the inadvertent risk that a thief would hold a occupant hostage in order to open it, whether the occupant could open it or not, and whether there was anything of financial value in the safe or not.
Drop safes are considerably less secure, but the advantage is that you don't have to be opening and closing them all the time and this lends itself to concealment. If you were trying to protect something like a family photo album you would be far better just putting it in a safe deposit box where it was protected from fire.

I'm also a big advocate for hedges. They conceal the presence of occupants and so deter crimes against the person, they are far harder to traverse than even a high metal fence, and can be installed places where barbed wire is a threat to occupants or a legal issue.
One of the best jobs I ever did was install ram-proof bollards, install a free standing wire roll fence with a floppy top between it, then plant a box hedge between the bollards. The wire prevents someone cutting through the hedge, the floppy top stops the wire being used to climb the hedge, was a double length ladder used it couldn't rest on the top of either the hedge or wire, and someone who got to the top couldn't either move the ladder, climb onto the hedge, or jump down cleanly. Nor could the hedge be rammed.
The only way to get in would have been to use two double length ladders tied together at the top, or hoist someone in with a boom crane. This hedge stopped no les than 12 forced entries in 6 months, with most intruders trying to force their way through it only to find the wire, two half-assed attempts to cut the wire failed, and two climbers making my personal fails montage.
A key consideration in my planning was to make the hedge appear weak in order to tip the hand of would-be intruders, we actually wanted these people to attempt to gain entry rather than staking out the doors

break ins where the intruder is simply searching for amenities are surprisingly common and present a persistent issue anywhere near bars/clubs.
Sometimes the people breaking in are simply hiding, looking for somewhere to poo, somewhere to have sex or a drinking tap. I often advise small business owners who have problems with drunks urinating on their buildings or trying to have sex in external cupboards or behind fences or shoot up in alleys.
The solution is often to make entry areas insecure, so that someone walking past would tend to corner the pooing person. But the problem is often that lighting tends to attract rather than deter people, and for this reason I advise really annoying lights that flash irregularly. Cursed things.

interesting ish business model. you want them to check all boxes? or at least one?

What would you say about my proposed setup?
scene: private land, house in middle surrounded by 1/4mi of land on all sides, zero permanent residents for 2 miles, fricking public dirt road right through middle about 40-50 yards from the house.

I want to set up camera based detection 200y up and 200y down the road from the house, detection if it is a bicycle, motorcycle, or car/truck, then I want a timer so that if they do not cover the 400y distance between the two at a reasonable time, it throws an alarm.
Some form of fence crossing detection, which then turns on tons of IR light near the perimeter.
from there one beef camera on the house itself which can do human detection, if it gets the alert and sees a human, I want it to turn on enough lighting to see more than just their teeth when I go out there and confront them with an AR.
No I am not larping, my cousin has caught two different people at gunpoint before in the last few years.
Then also just a few shit cameras all over not part of intrusion prevention and more evidence collection.

Problems I keep having when thinking how I will do it though are pretty abundant since I do not want any false alarms.
most of the problems being cows, deer, authorized people, allowed people (elect company, cattle manager)

Also any suggestions for active intrusion prevention? tbh I think a sort of automated search light would be worthwhile in preventing further lead based prevention. The whole yard being lit up would also scare off a few coons too I feel. But none of that helps in the daytime.
Passive intrusion prevention is out of the question, the more it looks like something to hide, the more advanced theft may occur.

what do you think about fake boobytraps? real ones are illegal but what about ones that only look real enough to scare the shit out of people so they run away when they're triggered? like inert landmines or an indiana jones boulder made out of styrofoam?

https://www.amazon.com/s?k=package+safety+box+for+outside&sprefix=package+safe%2Caps%2C189&ref=nb_sb_ss_ts-doa-p_2_12

Clans=vlans *

Haven't messed with that but yeah just depends on what you want. I have mine send an sms relay so it just texts my phone.

I have chink poe cameras and they are great. I bought them when they were like $20 but now they are $40 I think, might as well get an amcrest or something at that point. Anyways the key is having a good network. I have them on their own vlan with inability to go to internet and just a port on my monitoring pc forwarded. The chink cameras, I kid you not, try to phone home to China every 10-20 seconds when I watch them on my firewall.