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Stay safe at home in Washington DC by staying away from these home security mistakes

October 23, 2023
Placing house keys under a welcome mat

Are you using your wedding date or birthday as your Wi-Fi password? Placing a key in a mailbox or under a mat for a neighbor or relative? Regrettably, people put their properties and families in danger daily by being slack or neglectful about security. Don’t be one of them. Instead, stay safe at home in Washington DC by staying away from these common home security blunders.

Mistake No. 1: Keeping windows and doors unlocked

Don’t you rejoice in the time of year when you can open doors and crack windows to welcome in a refreshing, cool breeze? Just remember to close them when you depart! You may be surprised by the number of homeowners who are lax about locking these key entry points, the most common areas for burglars to gain admittance.

Ever forget to secure the door? What if you could have your smart home lock your entrys for you? You can do precisely that. You’ll stay safe at home in Washington DC when you program your smart locks to secure automatically at specific times of the day or when they’ve been used. If you don’t want to program them, you may still access and activate your locks no matter where you are with your handy mobile app.

Mistake No. 2: Relying on self-monitoring in Washington DC

Emergencies often take place at the most inopportune times. Visualize being on a family vacation and splashing around in the ocean when a smoke detector is tripped. Or, what if something happens when your phone is off during a doctor’s appointment. When it comes to safeguarding your home, you need a backup. A reputable monitoring service won’t miss an alarm and responds swiftly to remedy all kinds of emergencies. Monitoring yourself can be problematic since you’re never going to be available at all times. Get the help and peace of mind you have a right to with skilled monitoring representatives.

Mistake No. 3: Letting packages gather on your Washington DC front porch

Letting packages gather on your doorstep is an invitation to prowlers. Don’t encourage them. As an alternative, retrieve your boxes the moment they get there with the assistance of your home’s security. The latest doorbell cameras will send updates via your mobile device app whenever a package is delivered and can even differentiate between packages, people, cars, and animals. This functionality is helpful in limiting nonessential notifications.

Mistake No. 4: Careless Wi-Fi security

Wireless security systems have provided a new world of remote access. You can examine video feeds, activate locks, and even adjust your thermostat from anywhere. But you need to be certain your home network is secured. Lax network security is among the most frequent blunders residents make. You can avoid this with the following:

  • Choose strong passwords and never use the default password on tools like routers.
  • Use current Wi-Fi security protocols.
  • Put home security sensors on a different network, away from the guest network that gives internet access to family and friends.
  • Make certain you run firmware or software updates available for your security sensors and router.

Stay away from security mistakes that put your Washington DC home at risk

One of the best ways to stay away from common home security mistakes in Washington DC is by ordering a full-featured smart home from Vivint. Features like smart locks, remote access, and 24-7 professional monitoring will help keep your property protected day and night. Neglect to secure your front door or miss an urgent security alert? No problem! Your system and its trained monitoring agents will have your back. Call (202) 780-3214 today to get started.