Austin Home Security is all about being prepared.

You have used the advice provided by your Home Security Blog. You have a home security system that you arm religiously. You have taken steps outside your home to provide an uncomfortable environment for intruders. 

And then you tell Facebook that you are going on a vacation to Asia next week...  Consider this, then read the following article Please Rob Me!

Here are some Home Security Austin Facebook Tips.

At NTX Security we offer free security related information and suggestions to our community and our potential clients in Austin Security, Dallas Security, and Fort Worth Security, security blog, news articles and our free on-site security evaluations. Please feel free to send this article to someone you care about or whom you feel could benefit from this information. Click here for Business Security or here for Home Security.

Recently Readers Digest featured an article with an insight in the criminal mind of a burglar. Here are 21 tips from assorted sources listed below:

1. Of course I look familiar. I was here just last week cleaning your carpets, painting your shutters, or delivering your new refrigerator. 
2. Hey, thanks for letting me use your bathroom when I was working in your yard last week. While I was in there, I unlatched the back window to make my return a little easier.
3. Love those flowers. That tells me you have taste ... and taste means there are nice things inside. Those yard toys your kids leave out always make me wonder what type of gaming system they have.
4. Yes, I really do look for newspapers piled up on the driveway. And I might leave a pizza flier in your front door to see how long it takes you to remove it.
5. If it snows while you're out of town, get a trusted neighbor to create car and foot tracks into the house. Virgin drifts in the driveway are a dead giveaway that no body's home. 
6. If decorative glass is part of your front entrance, don't let your alarm company install the control pad where I can look through the glass to see if the alarm is set. That makes it too easy.
7. A good security company 'alarms' the window over the sink. And the windows on the second floor, which often access the master bedroom and your jewelry. It's not a bad idea to put motion detectors up there, too.
8. It's raining, you're fumbling with your umbrella, and you forget to lock your door  - understandable! But also understand this: I don't take a day off because of bad weather.
9. I always knock first. If you answer, I'll ask for directions somewhere or offer to clean your gutters. (Don't take me up on it.)
10. Do you really think I won't look in your sock drawer? I always check dresser drawers, the bedside table, and the medicine cabinet.
11. Helpful hint: I almost never go into kids' rooms.
12. You're right: I won't have enough time to break into that safe where you keep your valuables. But if it's not bolted down, or not too heavy, I'll take it with me. 
13. A loud TV or radio can be a better deterrent than the best alarm system. If you're reluctant to leave your TV on while you're out of town, you can buy an inexpensive device that works on a timer and simulates the flickering glow of a real television.
14. Sometimes, I carry a clipboard. Sometimes, I dress like a lawn guy and carry a rake. I do my best to never, ever look like a crook. 
15. The two things I hate most: loud dogs and nosy neighbors.
16. I'll break a window to get in, even if it makes a little noise. If your neighbor hears one loud sound, he'll stop what he's doing and wait to hear it again. If he doesn't hear it again, he'll just go back to what he was doing. It's human nature.
17. I'm not complaining, but why would you pay all that money for a fancy alarm system and leave your house without setting it?
18. I love looking in your windows. I'm looking for signs that you're home, and for flat screen TVs or gaming systems I'd like. I'll drive or walk through your neighborhood at night, before you close the blinds, just to pick my targets.
19. Avoid announcing your vacation on your Facebook page. It's easier than you think to look up your address. 
20. To you, leaving that window open just a crack during the day is a way to let in a little fresh air. To me, it's an invitation.
21. If you don't answer when I knock, I try the door. Occasionally, I hit the jackpot and walk right in.

Sources: Convicted burglars in North Carolina , Oregon , California , and Kentucky; security consultant Chris McGoey, who runs crimedoctor.com; and Richard T. Wright, a criminology professor at the University of Missouri-St. Louis, who interviewed 105 burglars for his book Burglars on the Job. 

At NTX Security we offer free security related information and suggestions to our community and our potential clients in Austin Security, Dallas Security, and Fort Worth Security, security blog, news articles and our free on-site security evaluations. Please feel free to send this article to someone you care about or whom you feel could benefit from this information. Click here for Business Security or here for Home Security.

(Source: Lewisville Police Department / Dallas Morning News)

See full article here:

Here are three tips to reduce your risk of home burglary: 

1. Check all your doors and windows to ensure they are locked before leaving for work daily. Most burglaries happen during the day while you are away at work or school. 
2. Install "long throw" dead bolt locks on solid core exterior doors. Most intrusions happen through your front door.
3. Arm your monitored home security system in the away mode, activating all applicable motion detectors and reducing any delay times. 

Bonus Tip: Contact NTX Security for a free Home Security Analysis where a trained security professional can assist you in designing an effective security solution to meet most any budget. 

At NTX Security we offer free security related information and suggestions to our community and our potential clients in Austin Security, Dallas Security, and Fort Worth Security, security blog, news articles and our free on-site security evaluations. Please feel free to send this article to someone you care about or whom you feel could benefit from this information. Click here for Business Security or here for Home Security.

Beginning March 1, the Frisco Police Department will begin enforcement of the city's new residential and business burglar alarm ordinance. The city council passed the ordinance late last year, but officials held off on enforcing it to give residents and business owners time to comply.

Full Story Here

The city council passed an ordinance late last year that requires residents and businesses to pay a $35 annual fee for their alarms and imposes fines up to $100 for excessive false alarms in a calendar year.

Frisco Alarm Permits Here:

Frisco Alarm Permit.pdf (152.32 kb)

At NTX Security we offer free security related information and suggestions to our community and our potential clients through our website, security blog, news articles and our free on-site security evaluations. Please feel free to send this article to someone you care about or whom you feel could benefit from this information. Click here for Business Security or here for Home Security.

Residents with alarm systems in their homes or businesses that are designed to summon the police in case of an emergency must have an alarm system permit.
Alarm system permits are $50 annually for residences and $100 annually for businesses.
Alarm system permits expire on Dec. 31 and must be renewed by completing an alarm system permit application and returning it with the fee to the building permits office at Burleson City Hall.

On the Twelfth Day of Christmas:

Over the past eleven days we hope that you have enjoyed the tips on how to secure what you cherish most. This Christmas season it is our wish that you have a safe and fulfilling celebration with friends, family and loved ones. 

Our tip for day 12 is to remember the true meaning of Christmas:

“And behold, an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were greatly afraid. Then the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people. For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be the sign to you: You will find a Babe wrapped in swaddling cloths, lying in a manger. And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying: “Glory to God in the highest,   And on earth peace, goodwill toward men!”

Luke 2 8-12

Merry Christmas from the NTX Security family.

NTX Security offers 12 days of Christmas Security and Safety - Day 11 - Time to Wrap it up

It's almost time time to "wrap it up" but we have 12 more tips to help you this and every season.

1. A quality deadbolt lock on all perimeter doors is always your first line of defense. A door is most often the point of entry for an intruder. If you don’t have a quality lock the perpetrator knows that a good blow will break the non-fortified wood that is holding the door lock cylinder in place. A quick entry and closing of the door hides the damage, as it will be on the inside.
2. If you just moved in to your home or business, you should change the key cylinders on all locks, as you don’t know who has a copy of the key.
3. Cut the cord handle off your electric garage door openers. It’s easy to push the top of your garage door in enough to put a wire hanger in and hook the release handle. By pulling on the handle, a burglar will override the screw or chain drive and be able to manually lift the overhead door. Once protected by the privacy of your garage, entry to the home is inevitable. Be sure to leave just enough cord so that you can use it from inside if needed, but not enough to reach the top of the overhead door! 
4. Turn down the volume on your answering machine so that burglars can’t hear that no one’s home if the phone should ring. 
5. Leaving ladders and tools outside your home can trigger a burglar’s impulse, even if that was not on the schedule today.
6. Remove or place a light on shrubs that can easily conceal a waiting burglar from site.
7. Install a peep hole viewer, if you do not have a convenient window to check who is at your door before opening it to a stranger.
8. If someone asks to use your phone for an emergency take the information through closed doors and inform them that you will make the call for them.
9. If you see signs of entry, DO NOT ENTER the house. Go to the neighbors, to call for help and be on the lookout for strange cars or people near your home.
10. Always keep your cell phone in your bedroom with you. If the phone lines are cut you will need it to call for help.
11. Don’t leave a purse, wallet or laptop on the counters that can be seen from a window. This will almost always trigger a forced entry.
12. Generic security signs without corresponding security company stickers on the windows, may lead a passing burglar to believe that you don’t really have an alarm system installed.

Become a Hard Holiday Target! Perform a perimeter check of the property. Make sure that you have target hardened your home by installing the proper hardware - hardware like deadbolts, strike plates, window locks, door hinges, door viewers, and especially alarm systems. Burglars know to look for the hidden door key near the front entrance. Don't hide spare keys under rocks, in flowerpots, or above door ledges. Instead give the spare key to a trusted neighbor.

To be Continued...