Marko @ X10 - A web producer blog

Have you heard of lock bumping? I hadn’t until one of the X10 community members emailed me an eye-opening news article (Thanks, Lynn!). Apparently lock bumping is becoming more and more popular among burglars and intruders.

What is lock bumping?
Well, from what I understand, a “bump key” is made from modifying a key blank (the one’s hardware stores use to make copies of your house keys). A thief files it down a certain way, and then he is ready to break into your home. By slightly turning the key a certain way and tapping the end of it a few times with a mallet, screwdriver, or even his hand, the thief “bumps” your lock and easily opens your door. It only takes a few seconds, and it doesn’t even look suspicious.

To make matters worse, there are instructions on how to bump locks all over the internet, and apparently, this technique works on 90% of locks. One story I read even said it is so easy to do that a child can learn the technique in only a few minutes.

Pretty scary stuff. So what can you do to protect yourself?

-Start a neighborhood watch program in your neighborhood.
Getting to know your neighbors and letting them know when you will be out of town is a great way to help keep an eye out for suspicious behavior.

-Make sure that the perimeter of your house is well lit.
We have the perfect solution at X10.com. Our Motion-Activated Floodlights are motion activated and weather resistant. And, right now they are at the low price of only $69.99! Click here for more information.

-Get a guard dog.
A barking dog will make that burglar think twice before he tries to get into your home.
My german sheppard makes sure of it!

-Replace your locks with “bump proof” locks.
They are available at many hardware stores starting at $140 for a dead bolt.

-Buy a home security system.
This is a great way to alert yourself and your neighbors in the event of a break-in. We have an extensive line of security systems at X10.com. Our wireless Protector Plus Security System offers complete protection including door and window sensors, siren and flashing light alarms, an infrared motion detector, easy, do-it-yourself installation, and it will even call your cell phone in the event of an emergency. All for only $99.99! Click here for more information on X10 Security Systems.

For more info on lock bumping WikiPedia is a good start: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lock_bumping

Posted by MarkoW at 04:58 PM | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBacks (0)

We've just got done adding our new Sentinel Surveillance multi-camera packages. Everybody that reads this blog knows, that I am not big on writing salesy copy, but I fear this will sound a bit like it! You honestly can make HUGE savings when you buy multiple camera packages at www.x10sentinel.com.

We divided the kits in wireless, wired and web controlled packages to suit every need. Go and check them out:

Wireless:
http://www.x10sentinel.com/multi-wl.html

Wired:
http://www.x10sentinel.com/multi-wr.html

Web Controlled:
http://www.x10sentinel.com/multi-pc.html

As always, I appreciate any comments and or feedback, so we can get even better!

Posted by MarkoW at 03:28 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Hi all.

Here’s the “Kraut” writing again. You may think, “Man, this guy is working late!”, but I am sitting home, drinking an ice cold beer on this beautiful summer evening. My choice of beer tonight is a Weinhardt’s Private Reserve, quite good beer I have to say. I believe the American beer situation has improved a lot since I first started visiting this country. Nothing beats self-brewed beer of course, but I got behind on my private little brewery for some weeks now.

I have quite a nice beer production setup in my garage, naturally fully automated. It not only switches the lights on as soon as I open the door, I even hooked up one of X10’s Protector Plus Home Security Systems to alarm me if someone gets the crazy idea to break into my brewery, uh, garage I mean. I still need a camera and some software to be able to check on it whenever, from wherever (I hope my boss reads this…cameras, alright?).
I could then hunt down possible thieves. Yeah, trust me, steal beer from a German and he’ll hunt you down!

When producing web sites the first thing one needs to do is to get to know the product. My first product was exactly that, a Protector Plus Security System. At first I thought, “What the heck am I going to do with it?”

Like many houses these days mine came with a security system. Of course, it's unmonitored. Who wants to pay $30 or more per month for some company to monitor the system? Still, at first, I tried to be good about using the preinstalled system anyway, but I could never remember the damn codes (there is one to activate it, and another one to deactivate!). In addition I had to rush myself, wife, and kids out of the house every morning, making sure the alarm wouldn’t go off, which it did frequently. Furthermore, my wife is very good at forgetting little things JUST after we are out of the house. So I had to rush back in, trying to remember the code, hopefully deactivate it, and then activate it again.

Well, then I started to play around with the Protector Plus system, which was a gift from my employer to get to know the product (Thank You!). I loved the remotes that came with it right from the beginning; now I could easily activate and deactivate the alarm (there even was an extra keychain remote for my wife). Setting it up was a breeze, took maybe 20 minutes.

The best of it though is that I have a supervised system now. I mean really, what does a monitoring company like ADT or Brinks do? Alarm goes off, they call, nobody answers, and they call authorities. My system calls up to four people, even cell phones, then the Protector Plus acts just like a two-way radio, you can actually hear what’s going on in the house (e.g. “Sorry honey, I forgot to push the button on the remote.”) . So, I avoid false alarm charges, I save those monitoring fees, and I know my beer is safe without having to remember any codes! I like X10!

I can’t go without linking to one of my sites. Seriously, compare for yourself. I and my team created some very honest comparison charts, telling the truth about monitored systems vs. Protector Plus. We’re Do-It-Yourselfers, right? Well, then monitor yourself!

Here’s the link:
http://www.x10securitysystems.com/compare.html

For an in-depth ADT comparison go here:
http://www.x10securitysystems.com/compare_adt.html

If you’re wondering about Brinks check this out:
http://www.x10securitysystems.com/compare_brinks.html

Here's a picture of the base system that I have:

Okay, that’s it from me for tonight. Try to enjoy this nice evening!

Marko

Posted by MarkoW at 08:31 PM | Permalink | Comments (6) | TrackBacks (1)