Shopping for car alarms can be a little tough though. There are a number of different devices on the market that offer one form of protection or another. The prices vary greatly. The high-end devices can even track a stolen car to its current location and lower end options simply lock steering wheels. Some may be more effective than others in scaring off the professional thieves, but any type of alarm or lockout device is better than none.

In the car stealing game, law enforcement will say that anything that adds even seconds onto the time it takes a thief to steal a car will help turn them to the next car in the lot. That’s right, just seconds can count. The idea is that if another mark is easier to hit, the thief will move on to it instead. While this isn’t always so, any type of deterrant is really better than none.

As you shop for a car alarm, you’ll find there are a ton of different options available. Here are the two major types of systems:

* Passive alarms: These automatically turn on when the ignition is off and the doors are closed. If the car is opened incorrectly, i.e., without the key or the ignition is forced, an alarm will sound.

* Active alarms: These must be manually turned on by the user. The problem here is the user may forget.

Both types of alarms can come with a number of different features, depending on the alarm purchased. They can include such things as door sensors, motion detectors, air horns and more. The idea behind them is to make enough noise to scare off a would-be thief.

Some alarms and anti-theft devices even come with a tracking mechanism. Although more expensive than simple air horns, these devices can and do prevent a stolen car from making it to a chop shop. Think of it as a personal homing device for a car and you get the idea.

Alarms can be very simplistic or extremely complicated. No matter the type that’s purchased, remember they must be turned on to work. The idea is to deter – to make your car look less attractive to thieves than others in the lot. It sounds harsh, but it’s a dog-eat-dog kind of world out there. Just look at news headlines or police blotters and you’ll see.

Even a simple steering wheel lock is better than nothing, but to truly present a problem for thieves, more complex systems with horns, tracking devices and battery backups should be considered.

Buying a car alarm should be almost as important as buying the car in some locations. Considering the alarm protects a big investment, it only makes sense. Plus, alarms can provide some good discounts on insurance, too.

#1 Resource

Car alarms.

housealarmsworkdotcom

We assume the risk of our vehicle being vandalized or stolen every time we park it. According to statistics over one million vehicles are stolen annually which is one vehicle every 25 seconds. This has evolved into a multi billion dollar industry controlled by organized crime rings that work together and steal cars to fulfill orders for specific cars or parts. A stolen car can be stripped down and parted out to bring in more money than the actual value of the car itself!

Do you think that these thieves are targeting high end exotic sports cars like those depicted in the film, “Gone in 60 Seconds”? Think again. Out of the top ten most stolen cars different models of the Toyota Camry and the Honda Accord accounted for the first eight and Chevy and Ford trucks took the last two.

What happens is this, the auto theft ring gets an order for parts for a particular vehicle or vehicles which they dispatch out to their network of car thieves who in many cases know exactly where to go to find a car like the one being ordered. Sometimes you will see theft rings operate in particular areas for a length of time until it becomes to hot or risky for them and then they move their operation elsewhere.

Using the bars that go on your steering wheel like those advertised on TV is pretty much a waste of time and money. It takes a good thief less than 30 seconds to cut the bar off and hotwire the car.

The alarms that make noise when a thief gets close are just ignored. Additionally, I once heard of a theft ring in Houston that would take a cat and throw it on the car so the owner would come out and see the footprints and think it was just a cat. After a time or two of being awakened they just leave the alarm disabled. Thieves are well versed in cutting the wires and bypassing these systems as well.

Generally speaking almost all of the factory systems installed on vehicles can be overcome or bypassed so you should look into a proven aftermarket system.

Gregg Hall is a business consultant and author for many online and offline businesses and lives in Navarre Florida with his 16 year old son. For car care products to keep your vehicle looking new go to carcarewizardsdotcom

Rushing out and buying a security system right after a big incident, or even before one if fear is the motivation, can result in a purchase you might not be happy with. A home security system is a great way to make sure you home is protected year-round whether your in it or not, but buying a system that’s too complicated or one you won’t use certainly won’t do you any good.

Before heading out and investing in the first system you see, there are some things to consider.

The first thing to do is take an inventory of your home. Look at windows and doors and decide how many and which ones need to be included in the system. Scout the house for the best locations for control panels and keypads. Many people put these right by the front door, but there are locations that are great for secondary ones, too. Imagine being caught in your bedroom late at night and hearing what sounds like a burglar … wouldn’t a panic switch come in handy?

Now’s a good time to also decide if you want a system that’s monitored around the clock and to think about what kind of monitoring will be done. There are some services that keep an eye on your home around the clock and there are basic services that simply dial for help when there’s a problem. Things that can be watched include security, fire and even carbon monoxide.

If your family is active and has people afoot at all hours of the night, this will likely determine what kind of system you choose. Motion detectors will likely cause problems if you’re up a lot or animals are around that can trip them when there really isn’t a problem. However, there might still remain locations where motion sensors would be beneficial.

Once you have determined the basic layout a system should take, it’s time to shop for the best home security system you can find. Shop around and see what different companies are offering and how close they come to meeting your needs. Some companies will sell you the security equipment and offer monitoring on a monthly fee basis. Others give the equipment out for free if a monitoring contract is signed.

Shop around and go with what system makes you comfortable. Remember, a security system that makes a lot of noise or even one that turns on lights at set times of the day or night can help further deter burglars. The best system, however, is the one that gives you peace of mind and enables you to contact help quickly in the case of an emergency.

#1 Resource

Home security systems.

homesecuritydesignsdotcom

But running a business from home using a home wireless local area network (WLAN) with your computer may lead to thievery of confidential information and hacker or virus penetration unless proper actions are taken. As WLANs send information back and forth over radio waves, someone with the right type of receiver in your immediate area could be picking up the transmission, thus acquiring access to your computer.

Here is a list of things that you should consider as a result of implementing a home wireless network setup used your business:

Viruses could be loaded onto your laptop which could be transferred to the company’s network when you go back to work.

Up to 75 per cent of home wireless network WLAN users do not have standard security features installed, and 20 per cent are left completely open as default configurations and are not secured, but are made for the users to have their network up and running ASAP.

It is recommended that home wireless network router/access point system setups be always done though a wired client.

Always change the default administrative password on your home wireless network router/access points to a secured password.

Enable at least 128-bit WEP encryption on both card and access point. Change your WEP keys periodically. If equipment does not support at least 128-bit WEP encryption, consider replacing it. Although there are security issues with WEP, it represents minimum level of security, and it should be enabled.

Change the default SSID on your router/access point to a hard to guess name. Setup your computer device to connect to this SSID by default.

Setup router/access points so as to not broadcast the SSID. The same SSID needs to be setup on the client side manually. This feature may not be available on all equipment.

Setup your home wireless network router to block anonymous internet requests or pings.

On each computer having a wireless network card, network connection properties should be configured to allow connection to Access Point Networks Only. Computer to computer (peer to peer) connections should not be allowed.

Enable MAC filtering. Deny connection to wireless network for unspecified MAC addresses. MAC or physical addresses are accessible through your computer device wireless network connection setup and they are physically written on network cards. When adding new wireless cards / computer to the network, their MAC addresses should be registered with the router /access point.

Your home wireless network router should have firewall features enabled and demilitarized zone (DMZ) feature disabled. Periodically test your hardware and personal firewalls using Shields Up test available at Gibson Research Corp. web site. All computers should have a properly configured personal firewall in addition to a hardware firewall.

Update router/access point firmware when new versions become available.

Locate router/access points away from strangers so they cannot reset the router/access point to default settings. Also, locate router/access points in the middle of the building rather than near windows to limit signal coverage outside the building.

You should know that nothing is 100%. While none of the actions suggested above will provide full 100% protection, countermeasures do exist that will help. The good collection of suggested preventative actions contained herein can help you deter an intruder trying to access your home wireless network. This deterrant then makes other insecure networks easier targets for the intruder to persue.

Greg Lietz is an internet business man and computer enthusiast. His websites provide information on wireless internet networking and personal computer hardware that may be of interest to you.