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    Category: Tech Tips

    Saving Money with Energy Management

    Posted on by Mike Proudfit

    smart-thermostat-remote-temp-sensors

    In Arizona, we all know that July and August can be some of the hottest times of year in this hot hot desert state. Which means expensive energy bills to keep your house cool and in a comfortable environment to live in.

    Inside houses, the top floors of the house get extremely hot, which is caused by heat rising. When this happens it creates hot zones, which aren’t necessarily where your thermostat is positioned.

    This then will make it harder to keep your house comfortable and cool throughout the day and in the summer heat.

    Unfortunately most homeowners simply put their air conditioning units on full blast until the whole house feels cool, but that actually racks up the energy bills quite a bit and is extremely inefficient.

    Titan Alarm powered by alarm.com delivers a new way to keep your house at a comfortable and cool temperature, and we can help provide precision comfortability to your whole house.

     

    remote-temperature-sensor-1

    1: Place Sensors in Main Rooms.

    Temperature sensors that sync with your Titan Alarm system can and should be placed on the wall of high traffic and main use rooms in your house, that way it will give accurate readings sent back to your panel and thermostat to control the comfortability of the house.

    For example: if you want your kitchen cooled down to 69 degrees, you can set the thermostat to target the kitchen and cool down your house until the sensor you have installed in the kitchen reads that the temperature is 69 degrees.

    It’s worth the investment to have a temperature sensor in each other rooms in your house, that way you can have accurate readings of the temperature of the house as a whole.

    Pro Tip: If you have young children and you make sure to put one in their bedroom or nursery, put it out of their reach.

     

     

    remote-temperature-sensor-2

    2: Create a Schedule

    With the temperature sensors, you can now target individual rooms and their climate all from your smartphone and the Alarm.com app! You can now manually control targeted rooms but the easiest way to do it is all with a schedule!

    Based off of your family’s routine, you can make a schedule that will target all of the different rooms in your house as your family uses them and changes their routine around the house as the day goes on.

    A great example of how scheduling works can be something as perfect as follows: you can set your house’s schedule to change the climate of the house at around 9am when you take the kids to school and you head to work, and then around 5pm when you’re heading home you can have the house change climate again to fit what you want to come home to.

    Pro Tip: Schedule your house to change when you’re going to be gone for most of the day.

     3: Balance Your Smart House  

     

    With precision comfort it can help save money on your energy bill by delivering just the right amount of energy needed to keep your house at a comfortable temperature rather than blasting the air conditioning all summer long.

    Some of the amazing features and add ons you can get for your Titan Alarm Smart Home Thermostat are as follows:

    Auto-Setback: This feature monitors your doors and windows to make sure none of them are accidentally left open and you accidentally start heating or cooling the outside world. If anything is left open, your thermostat will alert you and it will automatically set your houses temperatures back as to minimize energy waste until the door or window left open is closed.

    Geo-Services: Using your smartphone’s location, your thermostat and smart home panel will use your phone’s location to control the climate and comfortability of your house. By using your phone’s location your house will go into “savings” mode once you leave a certain radius. To learn more about Geo-Services CLICK HERE.

    Extreme Temps: This feature gives you the possibility and options of setting your thermostat to change temperatures when the outside temperature gets too hot, so that your house won’t fry while you’re away on a hot Phoenix day.

    If you want to learn more about using Energy Management and how it can integrate with your Titan Alarm Home Security System, give Titan a call today! 602-680-4567

    Learn More About Energy Management

    Updated by Titan Alarm on November 5, 2018.

    Home Automation with Voice Control

    Posted on by Mike Proudfit

    Imagine controlling your whole house, with the power of your voice. Things like the air conditioning or the kitchen lights, all controlled with a mere voice command. It’s now easily accessible for you and your house! With the pairing of alarm.com and Amazon Echo’s voice control Alexa, you can now control your smart home with voice commands!

    Amazon Echo 1

    Here is how this amazing technology works:

    Naming and Grouping Devices

    When it comes time to start configuring all of your devices with the Amazon Echo, make sure to use this pro tip and try to group together similar items into one name, that way it’s even easier to control with your voice. For example, if you have multiple smart lights that are configured in your living room, group them all together, then name them something like “Living Room Lights” that way when you want to control the whole living room, you just tell Alexa, “Living Room Lights off” and your whole living room with turn off. Make sure to try and apply this in multiple rooms that way you have an easier time controlling your smart home.

    When you have to name your group Amazon has a few times for truly utilizing Alexa’s full capabilities.

    • Make sure you use a different name for each group in your house.
    • Names that only have two or three syllables are the easiest for Alexa to recognize.
    • Use names that will be easy for you to remember and not take too long to say.
    • Set groups that will work together and not be effected by one another turning on or off.

    Be sure to really think about how you will use your house’s lights and thermostats on the everyday basis, and then build the groups in your Alexa app to match your lifestyle and house.

    Amazon Echo 2

    Say the Commands

    Once you have set up and configured your smart devices in with Alexa and Amazon Echo, turning on or off your groups are as easy as saying the command out loud. The Amazon Echo and Alexa are command specific and not voice specific, so if anyone in the house says the correct phrasing then Alexa will follow through and either turn on or off the grouping paired with that command.

    This set up obviously makes it extremely convenient to go and change out the settings without having to actually use a light switch or have to pull out your smartphone. Imagine how awesome that can be if you’re walking into a dark house with arms full of groceries and all you have to do is say out loud, “Alexa Kitchen Lights On” and your lights in your kitchen turn on, making it that much easier for you to bring your groceries in and see where you’re going in your house. We all know that walking into a dark house and stepping on Legos is the absolute worst.

    If this home automation sounds like something you could use in your life, or you’ve just stepped on far too many legos, then give Titan Alarm a call today, we can get you set up with a custom solution just for your house and your needs and really make the smart home your best friend.

    Learn More About Home Automation

    Tech Gifts for Dad

    Posted on by Mike Proudfit

    With Father’s Day right around the corner, why not get Dad an awesome Tech Gift this year? Whether your Dad is into gardening, cooking, or exercise, there are tons of awesome home automation and tech gifts to help improve your Dad’s life!

    Here are some of our favs over at Titan Alarm:

    1. Amazon Echo

    Echo

    List Price: $179

    Find it on Amazon

    This little guy is a powerhouse when it comes to home automation, the Amazon Echo is one of the most recently integrated devices into the alarm.com family, so if you’re looking for a useful but fun gift, then look no further. When using the voice service, also known as Alexa, the Amazon Echo can do so much! It can read you audio books, check the weather, and even turn on and off your smart home’s lights through the integration of the alarm.com application.

     

     

    2. Fitbit Charge HR

    FitBit

    List price: $149

    Find it on Amazon

    This FitBit is designed to track all of your activities, sleep, calorie intake and your weight, the FitBit Charge HR is the most advanced wearable device for those who love fitness. The small, but powerful wireless tracker uses your stats obtained throughout the day and the syncs it to your smartphone, that way Dad can keep track and monitor his progress throughout the day.

     

     

    3. Mr. Coffee Smart Coffee Maker

    coffeemaker

    List price: $115

    Find it on Amazon

    This is for those mornings where Dad just doesn’t want to get out of bed without a cup of coffee. With the Mr. Coffee Smart Coffee Maker, Dad can have his coffee brewed and ready to go before he even steps out of bed. This coffee maker is attached via wifi and a smartphone application and is easily accessible, even through the morning grogginess. This awesome 10-cup coffee maker, even has the possibilities to send notifications, reminders and alerts to your Dad’s smartphone.

     

     

    4. WORX Landroid Robotic Lawn Mower

    WORX

    List price: $999

    Find it on Amazon

    Let’s be honest, Dad probably has a few better things to do then spending his Saturday mowing the lawn, let Dad spend some time relaxing and pick up the WORX Landroid Robotic Lawn Mower. The lawn mower works off of a pre-programmed schedule, and can even run up to 7 days a week. This lawn mower is quiet and electric so you don’t have to worry about constantly refilling it on gasoline.

     

     

    5. Tile

    Tile

    Find it on Amazon

    Dad’s can be forgetful, especially when mom isn’t there to find his keys. So if this is the case, then the Tile is going to be the best gift you can get for him on this Father’s day. When Dad loses his keys all he has to do is access the app on his smartphone, and then choose to locate his keys, the Tile will then start chiming so Dad can find his keys. The nice thing is, Tile can easily attach to most devices, like keys, Dad’s wallet or even his smartphone. If Dad loses his smart phone, but has his keys or a device with a Tile on it, all he has to do is tap his Tile and the smartphone linked to the Tile will start ringing.

    One of the best gifts for dad this year, that didn’t end up on the list, is a smart home automation system from Titan Alarm, if you’re really wanting to give dad a gift that is cutting edge in technology and is focused on home improvement, making your home safer, and making your whole house tech savvy, then contact Titan Alarm today, we’d love to get your dad the perfect smart home automation system today.

    Learn More About Smart Home Technology

    Updated by Titan Alarm on November 5, 2018.

    Prevent Phoenix Bicycle Theft

    Posted on by Mike Proudfit

    Bicycle

    Downtown Phoenix is such a great area to spend the weekends biking around going cafe to cafe and bar to bar. Which means your form of transportation, your bicycle, is important to enjoy the nice weekends out. Every year there are approximately 1.5 million bicycles stolen throughout the U.S. and that’s just the bikes that are reported stolen. Over 5000 bicycles were reported stolen in Phoenix last year alone. Check out this blog we’ve put together for you on how to prevent bicycle theft in Phoenix.

    How To Prevent Bike Theft

    In Phoenix, there is a local bicycle shop that took it upon themselves to create the Phoenix Stolen Bicycle Registry. Aside from that, there is also the National Bicycle Registry also known as the NBR. The NBR helps combat bicycle registration, and it’s so helpful that if a bicycle is stolen, it is nine times more likely to be found than if you hadn’t registered the bicycle. When you register the bicycle, it will then be entered into it’s database that your local and federal law agencies have access to.

    For $10 you can use the NBR’s services for 10 years, that’s $1 a year, which is a pretty cheap investment to add a layer of safety and protection for your bicycle. If your bicycle is unfortunately stolen and is registered with NBR and it isn’t recovered, the NBR will provide you a free 10-year registration for your next bicycle.

    Buy a tamper-proof bicycle lock.

    One of the strongest and most common bicycle locks you can get is a U-lock. The shape of the “U” makes it so that potential bike thieves are unable to pry it open and the steel cabling inside makes it almost impossible for them to cut. Bicycle U-locks are surprisingly affordable too, when you weight the cost of a lock to the cost of your bicycle, it’s completely worth the investment. Don’t know where to find a bicycle lock that fits your needs? Check out Amazon.

    Bicycle Stolen

    Lock your bike to something secure and in a high traffic area.

    Let’s be honest, you’re probably not really wanting to keep your bike for too long if you lock it in an alleyway away from the public eye or locked to a parking meter on the main streets. Lock your bike to a place that someone can’t lift it off of or easily break or cut whatever your bike is latched onto as well. A parking meter or street sign might seem secure but all it takes is for the thief to lift the bike higher than the sign or meter and off comes the bike and there goes the thief off with their new bicycle.

    What To Do If Your Bike Is Stolen

    While we are hoping that this is never your fate, there are many possible ways you can help recover your bicycle:

    Contact the police.

    If your bicycle is stolen make sure you file a police report as soon as possible, call the non-emergency phone number of your local police department and file a police report for your stolen bicycle. Make sure you follow up with the police a few times to see if there has been any progress made toward the recovery of your bicycle, or just to remind them to keep an eye out on the lookout for your unfortunately stolen bicycle.

    Pawn Shop

    Alert local pawn shops.

    Most pawn shops around Arizona actually run the serial number of your bicycle against police records and stolen bicycle records before they’ll buy a bicycle from you, so if your bicycle is stolen, there is a good chance a pawn shop can recover it as well, even if a pawn shop doesn’t run the serial number, make sure you visit the local pawn shops and ask around and alert the employees of your stolen bicycle.

    Check Craigslist.

    Would you be surprised if we said that not every criminal is the sharpest tool in the shed? A lot of criminals steal stuff and don’t know how to make money off of it so they go straight to Craigslist to try and sell the stolen loot. If you find your bicycle on craigslist or another online selling website, do not try to retrieve it yourself, contact the police immediately and inform them of the craigslist advertisement and they will recover your bicycle for you all while keeping you safe and away from the criminal.

    In the meantime, your safety and well being is one of our biggest concerns here at Titan Alarm, we want to make sure your house or business is just as safe as your bike is, let us get you a customized solution for your needs. Give us a call today 602-680-4567!

    Learn More About Home Video Surveillance

    What You Need To Know About 2G Sunset

    Posted on by Mike Proudfit

    If your current alarm system is using 2G cellular technology, there’s a very unfortunate possibility that your security system will no longer communicate effectively with a monitoring station. Here’s what all of Titan Alarm’s customers need to know about this extremely important update:

    This is out of our control. An extremely large number of home and commercial wireless security systems use AT&T’s 2G cellular network to communicate with the co-inciding monitoring stations. Unfortunately AT&T has announced that by the end of 2016, they will be shutting down their 2G network and change all of their cell towers over to 4G cellular. AT&T is calling this transition the 2G Sunset and that is why your system is going to need to be updated. To put it in basic layman’s terms, 2G and 4G do not communicate the same language.

    Update NOW. AT&T is starting to shut off many cell towers throughout the different markets and regions throughout 2016, that’s why it is so important to do the update immediately. Titan Alarm wants to keep your security system always on the cutting edge of technology. If AT&T turns off the 2G network in your area before your security system has been updated then your security system will stop communicating with the monitoring company without any notice to you. We want to keep you safe and keep your security system working, so make sure you contact Titan Alarm today to make sure that your security system gets the required update.

    It’s not just Titan Alarm’s customers. Believe it or not, not just Titan Alarm and our customers are being effected by this fade out. Every security provider that uses wireless security systems is facing the same issue. We’re trying to be extremely proactive because nothing is more important to Titan Alarm than our customer’s safety.

    What is 2G, anyway? It’s just a fancy way of saying “second-generation.” So it’s not hard to guess what 3G and 4G stand for. It’s all part of the same technology your smartphone uses.

    Smartphone not affected. If you control your keypad or home automation from your smartphone, that’ll still work once your keypad is updated. You won’t need to do anything to your phone.

    If you’re a Titan Alarm customer and you’re unsure if you have a 2G system, please call 602.680.4567 and we can assist you and help you figure out what you need to know about your Titan Alarm Home Security System.

    Learn More About Home Security

    Smart Home Interaction

    Posted on by Mike Proudfit

    Four Ways to Interact With your Titan Alarm Smart Home

    If you’re always on the lookout for the newest and most innovative ways to increase your technology in your home, then here are four amazing ways to get it even more integrated into your life, by connecting the following devices to your Titan Alarm Smart Home.
    Smartphone and Tablet: 
    The application for Alarm.com on iOS and Android can turn your mobile phone or tablet into a central command station for your home, using portability and convenience to make the application extremely useful.

    With everything from instant security notifications and one touch commands, to setting custom rules and commands that can access multiple smart home devices at the same time, the Alarm.com smartphone and tablet applications give you a complete solution to smart home control whether you’re at home, or away at work.

    Apple TV and Amazon Fire TV 

    If you’re watching TV when the door bell rings you can use your remote for either device to navigate quickly to the native Alarm.com application and see who’s at the door and check your other cameras around the house as well.
    Alarm com Apple TV App.jpg
    Both of these applications have been designed by Alarm.com to make viewing all your live feeds from your house painless. That way you have a larger screen to view more detail from the cameras rather than using a smaller smart phone screen to see everything. The tv applications allow up to four live feeds simultaneously to stream to your tv.
    Smartwatch Apps

    With the Alarm.com application for the Apple Watch, it allows awareness, control and visibility all at a quick glance of your wrist, which makes it an amazing part to integrate into your smart home system. With the taptic feedback responses programmed into the watch, it can let you know when something is happening with your smart home automation system.

    Amazon Echo

    The future is officially here, with the Amazon Echo, your smart home automation system is controlled by voice control! Starting later this year you’ll be able to control everything with simple commands like “Alexa, turn off the kitchen lights.” and your kitchen lighting will turn off without you having to move a muscle. So sit back and enjoy your movie night when you forget lights on.
    Want to learn more about how to control your home with amazing applications on devices like the ones mentioned above? Contact Titan Alarm today 602-680-4567 or text us 623-523-4849.

    Learn More About Smart Home Technology

    Updated by Titan Alarm on November 5, 2018.

    Public Building Surveillance

    Posted on by Mike Proudfit

    In larger cities like the Phoenix Metropolitan area, and the surrounding cities, there is always a lot of vandalism, traffic violations and crime, all of which put neighborhoods and properties at risk. With the latest technology from Titan Alarm, we can help these cities avoid and decrease their risk of these problems happening.

    Security cameras although unable to stop a crime, can help prevent crimes by scaring off a potential criminal if they see the cameras.

    Downtown Phoenix

    How to Help Deter Local Crime.

    With Video Surveillance in Phoenix, city surveillance can help local officials identify and respond to incidents that happen wherever the city has video surveillance cameras installed.

    With the help of Titan Alarm, the local law enforcement and the local city officials can all monitor the activity that occurs in the public spaces remotely, with the Alarm.com application.

    If your city needs a surveillance camera monitoring system, consider getting them for the following locations:

    • Public City Buildings. Avoid vandalism, and prevent crime and break ins at city owned public buildings.
    • Parking Lots and Parks. With Titan Alarm you can carefully keep an eye on the wide open areas of your city, like parking lots and public parts. With multiple cameras you can keep the best watch in your control.
    • Stoplights. Video Surveillance cameras at stoplights can help you make sure that traffic flow is smooth and you can check on intersections before emergency vehicles need to cross intersections.
    • Restricted City Areas. Set motion-triggered cameras and video surveillance to receive notifications if movement is detected in restricted areas of the city.

    Security Camera

    Custom Solutions for Your City’s Needs 

    Although most larger cities face challenges similar to each other, no two city’s needs are going to be the same. Titan Alarm offers a fully customizable solution for your city and it’s needs. Make sure to think about the following questions when you call Titan Alarm to meet with one of our amazing Sales Associates.

    • In what areas would video monitoring be helpful?
    • How many surveillance cameras are needed?
    • What is the proper bandwidth and storage needed for functionality?
    • Will cameras be used indoors or outdoors?
    • Are cameras compatible with current network connection(s)?

    Contact Titan Alarm today and let us help you secure your city! Call us: 602-680-4567 or Text us: 623-523-4849.

    Learn More About Commercial Video Surveillance

    Smart Home Security For The Working Parent

    Posted on by Mike Proudfit

    A recent study stated that a majority of households in the United States are dual income. Around 68% of all married mothers and 94% of all married fathers are all in the labor force and working to provide for their families.

    For the working parent, they’re overwhelmed by busy schedules, school trips, business trips and often are stuck with hours at work that are unfortunately not flexible, which leads to managing the home being a daily challenge.

    With the advances of technology, home automation has become a life saver for parents who are not able to be home as much as they would like. Things like remote monitoring, notifications for when your front door is opened and so much more have opened the door for parents to be able to keep a better eye on their house and family when they’re away.

    1. Automated Lights

    With Automated Lights you can help shrink your electric bill and really control and conserve energy with the use of your smart phone. If you forgot a light on? Go ahead and turn it off remotely via the Alarm.com application, saving you money on your electric bill rather than paying for lights to be on when they’re not needed.

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    2. Remote Locks & Access Control 

    When people think Access Control they think about commercial businesses using Key FOBs and coded cards to enter into the facility, but what most people don’t know is that you can have Access Control at Home as well. When you have Access Control installed at home, you can set a code for your family, friends and trusted people to enter and exit the home securely and to receive notifications when it happens as well. Through mobile alerts, you can instantly know if a child or family member has entered your home, it’s a great way to have accountability especially when they get to the age where they have a curfew.

    One of the main forms of Access Control at home is to have Automated or Remote Control locks installed on your door, these locks can be controlled with the touch of a button from your smart phone and the Alarm.com application. It’s an  awesome feature to have installed on your home especially if you have a lot of people coming and going through your house, or if you’re going on vacation and you have a house sitter and don’t want to have to make a copy of your key.

    locks

     

    3. Sensors

    When you’re a busy parent, you can have issues keeping track of areas of the house that you don’t necessarily want your children in, such as medicine cabinets or alcohol cubbards. With a sensor installed in high risk areas, you’ll receive notifications when the sensor is triggered and it will allow you to check in and make sure the restricted areas are accessed by the right people at the right times.

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    4. Video Surveillance

    Using your smart phone, tablet or computer, you can keep an eye on your house, home and family, anywhere you are, remotely with Titan Alarm’s Video Surveillance for Home. Keep an eye on your kids, tutors, caregivers and babysitters with the touch of a button on an extremely amazing application.

    If someone arrives at your front door, motion triggered notifications can let you see who’s knocking on your door with a live video feed from a Home Security camera installed on your front door or porch.

    SECURITYCAM

     

    Titan Alarm has the solution for busy parents and the parents who just need an extra hand keeping an eye on their home. If any of these solutions sounded like a great fit for you or you want an even more customized solution call Titan Alarm today! 602-680-4567 or text us! 623-523-4849

    Learn More About Smart Home Technology

    Updated by Titan Alarm on November 5, 2018.

    Prevent False Alarms On New Years Eve

    Posted on by Mike Proudfit

    New Year Eve

    False alarms are annoying no matter when, where and how they happen, unfortunately New Year’s Eve has one of the highest volumes of false alarms. Normally during New Year’s Eve there is a rather large amount of alcohol and very small amounts of attention to detail, both of these will affect how your Titan Alarm Home Security System is utilized.

    The issue that is ran into the most, is when people are having parties and they don’t realize someone was messing around with the control panel and the control panel is accidentally triggered and can cause a false alarm, which then throws a huge damper on the holiday festivities that everyone was enjoying.

    Another scenario is when a customer returns home after a night of celebrating the New Year and they forget that they had armed their system when they left the house, or in some cases they forget they even have a system, and it can then trigger a false alarm, again ruining their night out celebrating.

    Intrusion Alarm Keypad

    Tips To Keep New Year’s Fun:

    Here at Titan Alarm, we’re all about having a good time, so this New Year’s Eve, follow some of these tips to really make your night enjoyable, and to keep the hiccups out of your plans!

    • Keep The Party Going – If you’re decorating for your New Year’s Eve Party, make sure to keep the decorations away from key and crucial parts of your security system. Balloons, streamers and other decorations that are hung in the air, can trigger motion detectors and if you armed your system and have a balloon float in front of a motion detector, that will trigger a false alarm. The last thing you need on the last night of the year, is having the police show up and have to deal with a false alarm.
    • Home James – If you have a designated driver who’s sole responsibility for the night is to get you home and safely in bed, make sure you have filled them in on all the information they need to get you inside your house safely and securely. Set up a new user if needed, and give them a password and code to arm and disarm the house so that when they’re trying to get you home they don’t set off a false alarm.
    • Get Home Safe – If you’re going out for New Year’s this year, make sure to have a safe ride home, if you don’t have any friends that want to be a designated driver, try using Über to get you home! We want all of our customers to get home safely and be with us next year!

    How To Celebrate The New Year Safely.

    Believe it or not, every single minute, there is a person injured in an accident involving drunk driving. According to MADD (Mothers Against Drunk Driving) Drunk Driving is an issue all year round, but during the holidays, the number of people involved and the risk of being involved in an accident caused by drunk driving is greatly increased. If it is possible for you and your friends on New Year’s Eve, avoid driving. Even if you haven’t been drinking, there is no way to control the actions of other drivers.

    New Year’s Resolution.

    Every year people make New Year’s Resolutions, and a lot of the time, those resolutions aren’t even carried out past 24 hours! Here are some of our top 3 resolutions to help you improve your life in 2016!

    • Lose Weight – With all the amazing food that has been consumed over the holidays, I’m sure we all could lose a few extra pounds and get that beach body ready by the time summer rolls around!
    • Save More, Spend Less – After the holidays our pockets and wallets are always hurting, between buying presents for our family and friends and spending money eating out and going to holiday parties, we all could use a few more commas in our bank accounts. Open up a savings account and see how much you can save this year!
    • Stay Safe – With the world in the crazy state it is in, everyone could use more security at home. With Titan Alarm we offer custom solutions for you and your home and even your business!

    Titan Alarm is ready to help you out with that last resolution! Let’s at least follow through on one resolution this next year! If you’re interested in a Titan Alarm Home Automation or Titan Alarm Home Security System contact us! Give us a call: 602-680-4567 or TEXT US: 623-523-4849

    Learn More About Home Security

    Is Your Smart Watch At Risk?

    Posted on by Mike Proudfit

     

    With all the new technology coming out, the smart watch is one of the faster growing industries. The “Smart Watch” can do so many new things that your smart phone couldn’t. From tracking your fitness needs, to running your home automation, the possibilities are limitless.

    HP recently conducted an assessment on the security systems that are running in smart watches, and the assessment concluded that nearly all the smart watches that are available on the market are vulnerable to possible security breaches and security hacking.

    HP’s research also uncovered that a lot of the sensors in a smart watch that track the wearer’s activity can also be used to monitor hand and finger gestures, which having that information in the wrong hands and wrong applications could lead a software hacker to uncover keystrokes to your sensitive information and sensitive websites such as online banking.

    How Your Smart Watch Might Be At Risk?

    HP’s research team has identified a few vital areas where devices like your Apple Watch, Android Wear or any other competitor’s smart watch might be at risk.

    • Authentication – Every smart watch that was tested by the HP Security Team had all demonstrated “insufficient user authentication and authorization,” and many of them lacked the ability to lock a user account after a reasonable amount of failed password entries. 30% of devices were open to account harvesting according to HP.
    • Encryption – In the report provided by HP, the team found that every device they tested had device encryption, although 40% of the devices showed vulnerabilities to hacking the encryption and they had a “lack of transport encryption protocols.
    • Privacy – According to HP, many of the smart watch user’s personal and professional security and privacy are all at risk. Smart watches collect data and information just like a normal smart phone does. With the above two risks no one can be confident that all of their data is secure.

     How To Secure Your Smart Home and Smart Watch?

    Believe it or not, smart watches are not main stream for consumers just yet, what many security, app developers and tech developers suggest is to have tech and app developers invest more time and money into improving the security of smart watches before they take over and control the mainstream market for consumers. Once the appeal of smart watches and the availability of smart watches increases, it will become a high profile target for many cyber criminals and software hackers.

    Until the technology is where it should be for your data and personal information to be secured, there are plenty of steps that smart watch owners can all take to protect their data, identities, and sensitive information. For Titan Alarm customers who own an Apple Watch, this is extremely important if you arm and disarm your home and use your watch on your Titan Alarm Home Automation systems.

    Keep Your Information and Smart Watch Safe.

    Follow these steps to keep your smart watch and personal information secure:

    • Password Protected – Make sure you use strong passwords to access your smart watch, smart phone, their applications and your security systems. Install an application that is solely for security to encrypt sensitive and personal date.
    • Sharing is NOT Caring – Be careful of any links you share, click on, or download things from, primarily in the world of social media, this can help keep you safe from phishing and spam.
    • Keep it Jailed – Don’t jailbreak your devices, jailbreaks are often the quickest way for hackers and cyber criminals to get into your devices and to your personal and sensitive date. There’s a reason Apple is against jailbreaking any of their devices, it’s for your own safety.

    If you’re a smart watch owner and want to learn how to implement your new smart watch with a Titan Alarm Home Automation or Titan Alarm Home Security System contact us! Give us a call: 602-680-4567 or Text us: 623-523-4849

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