ComputerHunter.org |
|
|
|||
|
 |
Alarm System: Contacts (Window & Door Switches)
Alarm Contacts- Contact switches are magnetic switches used to protect doors and windows for the most part. There are three main styles that are used by most alarm companies. They are recessed contacts, surface mount contacts and roller-ball contacts. Recessed contacts are hidden in the window tracks and door jams so that they can't be seen when the window or door is closed. The switch is on the fixed or non-movable side of the opening and a magnet is placed on the movable side. When the magnet meets the switch the circuit is complete and the control knows it is closed. Recessed contacts are more complicated to install unless they are placed during the construction phase of your home or business. A good installation technician can install recessed contacts in your home after construction as long as they have an unfinished basement, accessible attic or closet to run the wires in. Surface mount contacts function the same as recessed ones however they are visible when the doors or windows are closed. They come in three main sizes being large, small and micro. They come in the colors white, gray and brown so they can blend in to the door trim or window- sill they are mounted on. Roller-ball contacts are in the hinge side of your door jam and the spring- loaded ball is pushed in when the door is closed completing the circuit. These are more likely to need replacement in a few years as they are considered a moving part. All types of recessed and surface mount contacts can be hardwired directly to your control panel or you can get them in a wireless version. Wireless contacts have a transmitter tied to them or built into them that sends a radio signal to a receiver in the control. The transmitter is surface mounted and comes in two colors, white and brown. If white and brown are not your desired colors, you can paint the switches and transmitters to match your decor. Doors are the most common point of entry and should be protected by your system. I always recommend contacting every perimeter door in your home or business Window contacts can add up in a hurry as most homes have many windows. I have always felt that window contacts give the homeowner a false sense of security because of the fact that a window has to be opened in order for them to work. If your window is locked (and it should be) when you are away or sleeping, a burglar has to break the glass or remove the glass to unlock it. If they break the glass and the alarm does not sound, why would they open the window? Instead they would most likely clear the broken glass and climb in. That is why your money is better spent on motion detectors and/or glass- break sound detectors. If you have children, window contacts can be a valuable tool. They will keep your youngsters from opening the window for a stranger. And they will also make your teenager sorry you ever read this. (If they tell you all they want for the holidays is a magnet, the jigs up!) Window contacts are often better at keeping people in than they are at keeping burglars out. If you do choose to use window contacts you may like the fact that the surface mounted versions can be set up so that you can keep your window open a few inches for ventilation and still be armed. Matthew Francis Alarms@expertsknow.com 22 year veteran of the alarm industry Installer, salesman, licensed alarm company owner, monitoring station designer, promotions and marketing director with one of the worlds largest security dealers. He now works as a consumer advocate, teaching consumers how to buy or get systems for free (without being taken). He is committed to being unbiased. His web site is http://www.expertsknow.com
Google News - Top Stories
|
|
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
Estate and Mega-Yacht Security Systems and Safe Rooms Why do I need a "safe room? I really don't need one; I'm not that high profile". This is typical V.I.P. client frame of reference or attitude concerning security systems and safe rooms. Home Security System, You Are A winner Have you ever been to a local trade show or fair and filled out a raffle and later you find out you have won a Home Security System? Well, you are not alone. Sometimes everyone one wins. That's right you are not as lucky as you think you are. Well you are lucky in one regard; home security systems do work, not only do the little flags out front of the stickers near the front door help prevent crime, but an alarm sends the culprits running big time. Handling Weather Emergencies: Part 2; Home Security, Evacuation, and Emergency Kits Introduction Infoscams In this article I am going to talk about those infomercials that are obvious scams. Which ones are they? They are the ones promising you, that by following their system you will make thousands part- time and tens of thousands full-time. Or, they invite you to come to a free seminar where they can tell you about their secret money making system. Let's first look at the ones that offer a money making system, they go something like this. Stand Alone Keyless Access - How Does It Work? Security and convenience are usually delicately balanced. If something is secure it isn't convenient and vice versa. It's convenient to leave your keys in the ignition, but it isn't secure. Keyless access products offer both aspects in an attractive package. Turn Your Home Into A Fortress The best way to turn your home into a fortress is to carefully and strategically consider all your options. First you need to make a layout of your property and look at an aerial diagram of your home. Then you will need an aerial of the neighborhood, you can go to Google maps for this. Aerials pictures can provide you with possible escape routes of burglars. Drainage ditches, side roads, school playgrounds and wooded areas. You can also get an idea of every possible way the burglars might try to park a moving van without being seen or without being noticed. Often burglars look for areas where they can park a van or pick-up undetected for hours while they load up your prize possessions. Emergency Telephone Numbers Emergency is a situation that poses an instant threat to human life or possessions though this description may be different in some areas. Deliberate bogus reports of an emergency are usually prosecuted as an offense. One should call for help any time there is a danger for life or public order. The emergency telephone number is a special case in the country's telephone number sketch. Surveillance Camera Positioning It is a known fact that advertising is made to attract our eyes. Marketers work very hard to plant visual memories in your mind. They use anomaly phrases, rhetorical questions, sexy images and ironic text. There are many reasons why this is done but the biggest reason is that it works. Our eyes are often caught and our brains captured for a moment while we digest the advertisement. Since the advertising world has done such a good job in making us look and think there is a slight hesitation in our gaze and direction of sight. This of course is the world's best time to snap a shot or grab an image of a human on a surveillance camera. Fire Safety Tips Did you know that fire is the third leading cause of accidental deaths in the United States, yet most people ignore it. More than 150 workplace fires occur every day. So many of theses untimely deaths could have been prevented if they only had a plan. Security Cameras For Your Peace of Mind The reasons for installing cctv cameras are the same whether you own a home or business. Protecting your property, family and employees is probably at the top of your list of priorities. You're not the only one that feels that way. Sales of home and business security systems have exploded in recent years. Even before 9/11, security system sales were on the rise. After the terrorist attacks, sales of home and business security cameras rose by as much as 20% over the course of three months. Essentials For Hurricane Season According to the National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration, the East Pacific expects 15 to 16 tropical storms. Nine of these end up becoming hurricanes with five becoming deadly major hurricanes. If you live in the southeastern part of the U.S. then you know that hurricane season started on June 1st. Are you prepared for Hurricane season? Did you know that Hurricane season lasts until the end of November? Have you gone out and bought all the supplies that you may need? This article is written to help you prepare for any kind of hurricane. It will also provide you with a list of items that are essential for any storm. Avoiding Pickpockets Every year, thousands of senior citizens fall prey to the quick and clever tactics of pickpockets and thieves. What may take thieves a moment to "lift" from your pockets (passports, credit cards, and airline tickets) may take weeks to replace. It is difficult to recognize these changeling thieves sometimes the well dressed businessman standing next to you who just dropped some coins, at other times the "friendly" group of young children with newspapers approaching you in a city subway. A thief may be hard to recognize, but their time tested tactics are not. When traveling or in your home area you can prevent the majority of common thefts by arming themselves with the knowledge of typical scams, following some basic travel safety tips. Alarm System: Contacts (Window & Door Switches) Alarm Contacts- Contact switches are magnetic switches used to protect doors and windows for the most part. There are three main styles that are used by most alarm companies. They are recessed contacts, surface mount contacts and roller-ball contacts. Where Does Safety & Security Begin? Security Expert Explains Personal safety begins with you. It is widely accepted that a wide-ranging personal safety strategy must incorporate prevention, deterrence and defiance. Alarm Systems & Automobile Tires? What do alarm systems and automobile tires have in common? This may sound like a strange question to the untrained ear, but lend me yours and I will make sense of it. Alarm System: Smoke and Heat Detectors Smoke & Heat Detectors- Smoke detectors are available that will interface with your security system. The smoke detectors that are already in your home can't be tied into your security system. The device that the builder put in your home is either electrical, battery operated, or in some instances both, if you have the better quality detectors. Lifesaving smoke detectors should be in every home. If you elect to add some to your system, your existing detectors should be left in place, as they are still able to help give early warning in case of a fire. Is America Safe? As the devastation and death toll from deadly Hurricane Katrina becomes more apparent, it is a grim reminder that we live in dangerous times. Hurricane Preparedness If you are about to get hit by a Hurricane are you prepared? Do you have enough plywood to board up your windows? Often the local lumber companies will be sold out. In fact if you wait till the last minute Home Depot will be out too. Do you own a portable generator? No? Get one. Do you have enough fuel to keep it powered up? Most generators can use up to 1.5 gallons per hour and thus you need spare fuel tanks as well? If you wait too long the gas stations will be closed and after the Hurricane the power may not be turned back on for up to two-weeks depending on the damage. If you are talking about a direct hit Category III or IV it is entirely possible that it will be at least that long. Infrared Goggle Pop Down in Hallways for Structure Fires Most people who are killed in structure fires die from the smoke not the flames or fire. Generally they are overcome by the smoke and lack of oxygen as the fire takes all the oxygen and replaces the airspace with smoke. There needs to be a way to get these people out of the fire situation and structure immediately to prevent loss of life, however without good visibility one cannot see to get to a fire escape, stairway or exit. Eavesdropping and Counter-Measures: Technology and Techniques You need to know how to protect yourself, since your security department or any consultant may not be truly aware of these threats and therefore not dependable. Since September 11th, a number of businesses entered the security field with little to no knowledge of the trade itself; only of its profit potential. Even outfits that have been around for some time and well-established have not been able to stay current with the latest innovations. Realistically, viewing your threat level has to be considered since everyone should expect some sort of impending privacy issue no matter how small. Thanks largely to the Internet you can arm yourself with much of the knowledge and equipment that the so-called experts use. If a respected agent of computer crimes for the Secret Service in NYC had his T-Mobile Sidekick hacked, who knows what else happens out there to others in any business. Realistically, viewing your threat level has to be considered since everyone should expect some sort of impending privacy issue no matter how small. Thanks largely to the Internet you can arm yourself with much of the knowledge and equipment that the so-called experts use. If a respected agent of computer crimes for the Secret Service in NYC had his T-Mobile Sidekick hacked, who knows what else happens out there to others in any business. We'll start acoustic ducting evaluation is the inspection of air ducts, baseboard heaters, coffee rooms, lounges, bathrooms or any way the architecture of a building can transfer sound. A simple example is to put your ear to a wall and listen. Basically anything that requires the use of the naked ear is called an acoustic bug. Softer surfaces can help muffle sounds but there are more efficient means out there. So be aware that the way an office site is designed can act as a conduit for conversations. Also, be aware of any changes can have adverse affects. Simply playing music can do wonders for masking conversations. Inspection of telephone equipment and wiring is called line analysis. This is trickier than it seems since sometimes a possible weakness has an actual purpose to the telecommunication system. Especially if it requires constant maintenance and software upgrades. All instruments should be opened and inspected. Ideally they should be compared with a known safe phone or device. If you're not sure, just remove that piece of loose components and wiring and see if the phone still works. The wiring can be modified in a switch within the handset that essentially turns it into a microphone. If you bypass this hook switch, you can listen in from anywhere on the landline. Technical equipment won't be able to detect this. Time Domain Reflectometry is the sending of a pulse down a telephone line. If there is some sort of disruption; a wall outlet or wiretap; a portion of the pulse will be sent back to the device called a Time Domain Reflectometer (TDR). Then the time difference between the reflection and the continuous run is measured. This helps in determining the distance to the anomaly. These devices can perform all sorts of diagnostics including mapping a wire network. That can be useful in locating a hidden phone. Hidden phones have several obvious uses such as making long distance phone calls to being placed in an office across the street to receive betting requests by bookies; a practice called back strapping. If you open up the modular jacks where you connect your phone, you'll usually see four wires. In most cases only two wires are connected; commonly known as ring and tip. If you see all four connected, be aware that is not usually consistent for most wiring situations, especially in homes. The other two wires could be used for a bugging device. For instance, the microphone you use in a voice recorder can be cut in half. Connect the mike head to one set of unused wires anywhere on the phone wire. Then, so long as there are no breaks in the wire, connect the other end to the jack that connects to your recorder. Now place your recorder to be VOX (voice) activated and now you have an extremely reliable bug. By the way, this should be manually inspected for since using a specialized bug detector may see nothing wrong or inconsistent. A bug such as this that connects to a wire is called a direct tap. The other general type is called an inductive tap. This is when an instrument is outside a wire but can still distinguish what's transacting over a wire. They are harder to detect since they don't draw power from the line such a standard telephone would. These are referred to as snuffle bugs. A simple probe used in hunting wire signals has a speaker, which can display sounds. By accident one day I was working on an apartment intercom system while using a probe. I could hear conversations throughout the building quite clearly just through the intercom boxes mounted on walls from the master unit in the basement. If you're using wireless headsets or cordless phones, the radio signals can be intercepted. A cordless phone acts like a radio, but depending on the frequency and a few other factors, can make interception extremely difficult. With some manufacturers, you can buy the same model as your neighbors or the office and have it join their phone system. Double check Caller ID boxes to see if they also record numbers dialed besides obviously those being received. If you're using VOIP (Voice Over IP), remember that calls can be recorded in a fashion identical to intercepting data between two computers. These packets of data can reassemble an audio file. Obviously electronic devices possess semiconductor components such as diodes, resistors and such. The method to hunt for these components is called Non-Linear Junction Detection (NLJD). The NLJD unit emits a radio signal while listening for the return signal from an electronic device. This becomes very useful when a bug is embedded in a picture frame or wall. The eavesdropping device doesn't have to be active for it to be discovered. If a device is active and transmitting wirelessly (or even on a wire), you can detect it with a Radio Frequency Spectrum Analyzer. Depending on the detection device used, you can determine whether voice, data or video is being sent, and possibly listen to the data. Try to use different size antennas or buy one that collapses. Different frequencies can be detected more efficiently by using various sizes. The use of filters with antennas can also help pinpoint devices on specific frequencies. Electronics such as computers, FAX machines and especially CRT monitors can radiate electromagnetic signals or pulses that can be received by other equipment. This is known TEMPEST. One way to complicate the surveillance of this is to use certain fonts and line walls or equipment with different gauges of copper mesh wire. You can further enhance this posture by using special paints, which block radio transmissions. Radio waves will look for a leak or break, so be careful of defensive applications. One-way window tints can help in blocking signals. Since an electronic device could generate some heat they can be detected in another way. The use of a thermal imagery device can detect and actually see minute amounts of heat radiated for your viewing. You can hide the heat signatures by using creams or neoprene. Technology exists to collect information from blinking LEDs of modems, routers, print servers and similar devices. You can only see some general blinking but with the use of properly tuned optics, filters, oscilloscopes and good timing you can discern much more. One of the LEDs on your keyboard can be altered to blink while you are typing in a fashion similar to Morse Code. You can also use a tap in the keyboard that sends out radio waves again similar to Morse Code and no anti- virus software will ever be able to find it. Even when a CRT computer monitor is facing a wall the light can be in a sense read by its flickering emanations from some distance. A good defensive measure is to buy new LCD flat panel types. Another approach to attacking FAX machines is to simply record the noises it makes and play it back to another machine. I used to do this for a client so they could keep a record of all the faxes they made and received. There are creative and potentially illegal defenses against wiretappers and Peeping Toms. One is to transmit an extremely high pitch down the wire, thereby rupturing the listener's eardrums. I knew someone who once sent a powerful electrical spike down his phone wire thereby destroying his divorced wife's recorder. By the way, this leads to another topic-expect the device to be discovered someday. Don't leave your fingerprints on it. He found it and had it dusted, thereby producing some prints. My friend used this as leverage against the Private Investigator that planted it. Advice to Private Investigators, a word to the wise: if you do this part-time, hire someone who does this full-time. This P.I. lost his license and almost went to jail. The lawyer who recommended him got into a lot of trouble as well. He received some unwanted attention from the Feds because of his telephone dealings went across state lines and also happened to involve the Post Office. There is another budding field related to this topic called Protective Intelligence. Currently there are only a few experts who do this kind of work. A laser or an infrared beam can be used at a considerable distance from a target building. Conversational sounds can vibrate unto solid objects such as windows. The beam's reflection varies in relation to the movement to the window, which is received and converted back into something audible. To mask the sounds, you could attach a vibrating device (basically an altered electric razor) to the window. Of course if the window is open, then a laser can target another object instead of the window. A beam of light or laser can be directed to go through a window onto a solid object thereby nullifying such defensive measures again. Generally you really can't detect such attacks unless the laser, infrared or light beam is being used that moment. Certain materials can be used to detect IR emissions, as well as the use of passive night vision gear. Certain fabrics or even a curtain may actually show the spot where a beam of light or laser is being focused. Unless the room is dusty or you have an artificial can smoke, you can follow the beam up to a point and guesstimate it's location. One type of optical bug is an infrared transmitter. When placed in the area of interest for transmission of the conversation to an infrared receiver which will then translate the conversation into an audible format. Many of these same procedures used can be applied to locating hidden cameras. A relatively new device uses a series of lasers to seek out optics. This was originally intended to locate snipers by bodyguards. I have listed the techniques, counter-measures and then the counter to the counter-measures to prevent any false sense of security. Usually constant vigilance is your best weapon besides knowing what to look for. Even if you find a "bug sweeper" with good credentials, certifications and experience, ask them detailed questions. Not just to test them but also for your own peace-of-mind. This makes our job easier and we appreciate greatly when dealing with knowledgeable customers.
|
|
|
|
|
