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View Security ONE Alarm Systems Blogs. News updates, Home Health blogs, and business security information will be displayed in order to help you…

  • Who Deserves To Win?

    Who Deserves To Win?

    We’re grateful for the business you’ve given us over the years, and that’s why we’re looking to give back to you this holiday season.

    Do you know someone who has been the recent victim of a break-in, fire, or flood?

    Security ONE, along with our partners at Honeywell, are giving away a fully loaded Smart Home Security System.

    We’ll install a brand new, state-of-the-art Lynx Touch 7000, all the necessary contacts and sensors, a smart thermostat, a smart door lock, IP Cameras, and our award-winning app Total Connect to control and view all of those devices from a smart phone, tablet, or PC in time for Christmas.

    Oh, and we’re including our 5-diamond Certified, ULC listed monitoring for a year.

    There’s no hook, there’s no catch. We just need YOU to tell US… Who Deserves To Win!

    Submit your nomination today by clicking HERE!

  • It Can Happen To Anyone

    It Can Happen To Anyone

    It might be time for Keanu Reeves to upgrade his security system.
    The actor had an uninvited guest stroll into his Hollywood Hills home last week, making it the second intruder in two days.
    Police confirm that Reeves was not home at the time of the incident and that his staff called the cops. Once apprehended, the female suspect was taken in for mental evaluation.
    According to TMZ, the woman entered Keanu’s home through an unlocked door. A cleaning crew was supposedly inside the house and left the front gate open, but never flagged the stranger. Apparently, she proceeded to get naked, jump in his shower, and go skinny dipping in the pool. The crew then got suspicious and phoned the 50-year-old actor who called 911.
    The incident came days after Reeves calmly subdued a different woman he found sitting in his house. The John Wick star was awakened around 5 a.m. and investigated a sound he heard coming from his library where he discovered a woman in her mid-40s relaxing in his chair. She said she was there to meet him. He reportedly spoke to her in a calm manner and then dialed 911. Once on the scene, police detained the female and determined she should be placed in a 5150 (involuntary psychiatric) hold. According to reports, Keanu forgot to set his alarm.

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    Reeves purchased his home next to Leonardo DiCaprio in 2003. The 5,600-square-foot gated abode has glass walls with ocean and city views, an infinity pool, and at the time, the listing boasted how it had “state-of-the-art security.” The actor described it years ago as “chateau modern.”
    “It’s got two bedrooms, 13-foot ceilings, and French oak floors,” he told the Daily Mail. “It’s very rectangular with a lot of straight lines, but there’s also a lot of limestone tile. I used stone, glass, steel, and wood.”

    To schedule a free evaluation of your security plan, please call 1-800-265-5317, or JUST CLICK HERE.

  • Protecting Your Jewellery

    Protecting Your Jewellery

    Jewellery is a common and easy target for criminals. It’s valuable, easy to smuggle and hard to trace. After cash, jewellery is the most common target for criminals, as Police estimate that jewellery accounts for as much as 70 percent of all stolen property.

    In 2012, a whopping $1,884,197,755 of jewellery was stolen in the United States. Police say only 4% is ever recovered. It can easily be sold at pawn shops or on the black market. That’s why it’s important that you take steps to protect your jewellery and keep it safe and secure inside your home.

    Jewellery and other valuables should never be left out in the open where criminals can easily see them. If a criminal can see your diamond necklace sitting on your nightstand or your gold watch placed on your coffee table from a window, it greatly increases the likelihood of a break-in. Keep your jewellery where it can’t easily be spotted. If a criminal breaks into your home, he or she will almost immediately begin looking for your jewellery. Leaving it out in the open (or in a common location that is easy to access, such as a jewellery box) will make it much more likely that it will be stolen.

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    The ideal place to keep jewellery and other valuables is inside a safe.

    Purchase a safe that can’t easily be tampered with. You’ll It should be large and heavy enough that a criminal can’t simply pick it up and carry it out of your home. The more difficult it is for someone to break into or move your safe, the more secure your jewellery will be.

    If you install a safe, try not to put it in the master bedroom. Criminals almost always go through the master bedroom looking for items like jewellery, since they know that this is where most people keep their valuables. If your home already has a monitored alarm system, your home is already three-times less likely to be broken into.

    If you do keep a jewellery box in your bedroom, as most of us do, add an asset protection to it. This device can be monitored by your security system, triggering an alarm when the it is opened.

    To learn more, call 1-800-265-5317 or JUST CLICK HERE.

  • Dumb Criminal: Butt Dialer

    Dumb Criminal: Butt Dialer

    This story comes from ABC news in Fresno, CA…
    Accidentally butt dialing someone is embarrassing or inconsequential to most, but for two Fresno, Calif., men, their cell phone mishap landed them in jail.

    The call, which went to 911, started like any other call to the police dispatcher, with the operator asking, “What is your emergency?”

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    But when no one answered, the operator didn’t hang up, instead staying on the line and listening to the pair, who police identified as Nathan Teklemariam and Carson Rinehart, both 20, as they talked about wanting to do drugs. It wasn’t long before the conversation turned to breaking into a car.

    “Get the bolt and give me the hammer just in case,” one of the two voices on the phone said.

    Shortly after that statement, the dispatcher heard a window shatter and the people on the phone started yelling that they found prescription drugs.

    As the two were driving away, police were already in the area searching for the men based on clues that the 911 dispatcher was feeding to them.

    The police finally tracked the suspects down and pulled them over. The suspects acted confused and questioned what why they were being pulled over, police said.

    “Oh, he’s following me, dog,” one of the suspects said in the recording. “Wow, what the [expletive] did I do?”

    As they were being questioned, the suspects allegedly denied any wrongdoing, but after searching the car, police said they found items that allegedly were taken from the burglarized vehicle.

    After being cuffed, the suspects were finally told how they were caught.

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    “This fool really called 911?” one of the suspects said. “Damn.”

    Damn indeed. That’ll land you in the Dumb Criminals Hall of Fame!

  • Commercial Security

    Commercial Security

    Certainly banks seem like obvious targets for burglars, but any business is a potential target. In order to protect your business, secure your valuables and keep your staff and customers safe, your security system and the plan you’ve implemented must to be effective, up-to-date and adequate for your needs.

    The potential risks to your business must be identified and a solution determined to reduce that risk.

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    Determine where your security is weak and where you may be exposed to loss. Look to restricting or preventing access to sensitive equipment or stock by improving access permissions.

    Evaluate your surveillance when you are both open and closed. You need to know who has access and to what areas.

    Ask yourself how you will be notified if there is a problem and who else needs to be made aware of the security breach.

    To create a sound security solution for your business, you have to fully analyze your security plan and understanding the advantages of different types of security tools, equipment and software.

    Here are some pointers:
    • Install good name brand locks on all exterior doors, stock room doors, IT room doors, etc. Consider installing door frame reinforced in steel.
    • Put a layer of 12mm transparent film on all ground floor windows. Window bars are also an excellent deterrent to entry.
    • Install a 24 hour monitored alarm system that will notify you by phone and email.
    • Use a loud siren and flashing light that will draw attention to your building if it is ever compromised.
    • Install video surveillance cameras that capture everything that takes place on your property and that can be easily accessible from wherever you are.
    • Use an access control system that both prevents unauthorized entry and records permitted access to sensitive areas within your business.

    Contact our friendly and knowledgeable security consultants to schedule a full risk assessment on your property. We’ll work with you to suggest effective and convenient security solutions that will keep your business secure. Call 1-800-265-5317 or JUST CLICK HERE.


  • Why Monitoring Works

    Why Monitoring Works

    One of the best ways to protect your property and your belongings is to install a monitored security system. Monitored security systems ensure that your home is watched over 24-hours a day by our trained staff at the central monitoring station. In the event of a break-in attempt, our central station operators are able to quickly react to the situation to dispatch the authorities so that the appropriate actions can be taken.

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    Security ONE’s central monitoring is not only ULC listed, it one of only 50 in North America to be Five Diamond Certified. Video surveillance cameras make an excellent addition to a monitored alarm system, because it can be used to identify, arrest and even sentence criminals in connection with their crimes. Criminals do not want to be caught at the scene of a crime, and security cameras ensure do just that. Video footage can place an individual at the scene and determine exactly what role he or she had in the crime. For those same reasons, cameras act as a great deterant.

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    Of course, properly installing these security tools is critical. Security ONE offers free security evaluations and custom design. We want to be sure that you receive the best security advice available and that the security tools that you choose to have installed are the right ones for your home. To learn more, call 1-800-265-5317, or JUST CLICK HERE.

  • Apartment And Condo Security

    Apartment And Condo Security

    Contrary to popular belief, apartments and condos are common targets for criminals

    It’s easy to think that living in an apartment or condo means that you don’t have to worry about security. Nothing could be further from the truth. Apartments and condos are repeatedly targeted by criminals. What makes it easy for criminals is that people living in apartments and condos don’t dedicate enough resources to security, so once a criminal gets inside a building, he knows that it will be fairly easy to break into and rob multiple units.

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    Breaking and entering is one of the most common offences in Canada. On average, there is one break-in every three minutes in Canada.

    Here are some crucial tips that will help you prevent apartment and condo crime.

    • When you move into a new apartment or condominium unit, change your locks.
    • Securely lock your doors and windows when you’re not at home. Especially if you live on the ground floor or have a balcony.
    • When you’re entering your building make sure that no one sneaks in behind you.
    • Some condos and apartments come with alarm systems installed. Be sure to use it. A home with a monitored security system is three times less likely to broken into.
    • If your unit doesn’t have an alarm system, you should seriously consider getting one. Wireless alarm systems are easy to install and can further protect you against fire and water damage.

    To schedule a free, no-obligation review of your home security plan, call 1-800-265-5317 or JUST CLICK HERE.

  • Back to School Routine

    Back to School Routine

    And so the end of summer is upon us. For parents everywhere, it’s the most wonderful time of the year! But it also means it’s time to get back into the school routine. Going from lazy summer days to the full-on mad dash out the door can be a serious shock to the system. Here are a few ways to make the transition from summer to school a little easier.

    Bedtime

    I can already hear kids everywhere complaining! But,  start with moving back bedtime. Try starting with small increments like 5-10 minutes a day. This will give kids’ bodies a period of adjustment. It should also help combat the  “IT’S NOT FAIR” argument!

    Bringing back bedtime rituals that may have slipped over the summer such as taking baths and reading. That should also help kids hit the hay a little earlier. Oh and no TV/Computer/Smart-Device time before bed. It’s too stimulating.

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    Set the Alarm

    In addition to reinstating the bedtime rule, start setting the alarm clock. Do this gradually. Again, try work in 10-15 minute increments. This will help the transition from lazy summer mornings to early wake-ups easier. Open up the curtins.. Natural sunlight is much better to get the troops up-and-at-‘em than repeating the “get out of bed.” incantation!

    Be ready for the school lunch

    Whether  you pack your children’s lunches or have them pack their own,  start stocking the fridge and cupboards school food — water bottles, juice boxes, lunch boxes, snacks, fruits and veggies. Repackage items like grapes and carrots in baggies. This will makes lunches easier to throw together as the kids jet out the door.

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    Getting Dressed

    Here’s one more thing that can help mornings run more smoothly the first week or two back—put outfits together ahead of time.

    Getting back into the school routine doesn’t have to be a major production with a little planning and by easing into it.

    Our award-winning app Total Connect from Honeywell is the perfect addition to your security system, allowing you to see in real-time on your smart device or PC when your kinds get home from school. You can even have 10 second clips of it emailed to yourself if you happen to be busy at that moment.

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    To learn more about Total Connect, call 1-800-265-5317 or JUST CLICK HERE.

  • Dumb Criminal

    Dumb Criminal

    We just LOVE stories of Dumb Criminals, and this one’s a doozy! We found this guy in England…

    Bumbling Zach Jackson, 19, will be wishing he just made a mental note after his list found its way into officers’ hands and contained other such words of wisdom as ‘warm up before doing it’.

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    Jackson assaulted his victim, also 19, and stole her phone when she was returning home from a night out with friends in Blackpool.His victim’s father used her phone signal to track its location before informing the police who, while arresting Jackson, found his step-by-step guide to the crime.

    Preston Crown Court was told that Jackson was hiding in a doorway pretending to talk on a phone and attacked the victim when she asked him for a cigarette.

    To schedule a free, no-obligation review of your home security plan, call 1-800-265-5317 or JUST CLICK HERE.

  • 2014 Dinner To Remember

    2014 Dinner To Remember

    Security ONE was proud to be a sponsor of the 2014 Dinner To Remember in support of the Canadian Mental Health Association. Kim Willis, Senior Manager of Fund Development & Community Engagement, says the special evening that honoured three families. “The evening was a great success, raising over $8000 in support of the bereavement programs at the CMHA Windsor-Essex County Branch,” she said.

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    Last year, CMHA-WECB counselled over 700 adults and children. The bereavement programs receive little government funding, so Security ONE was thrilled to play a part in this inspirational event.

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    To learn more about the bereavement programs – or any of the other services offered at CMHA-WECB, please visit them online at www.cmha-wecb.on.ca.

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