The Top 10 Ways Protect Your Home Office

With more people working from home, the need for business home security is becoming more and more important. Here’s what you need to know to keep your home office safe and secure.

1. Protect your home office with a security alarm as well as locks on all doors and windows.
2. Lock important documents such as payroll information and confidential business documents in a secure file cabinet.
3. Avoid giving keys to colleagues and employees. If you have to give a key, you really want to be sure you can trust them.
4. Meet with work-related people in public places such as restaurants. This prevents people you don’t know well from entering your home.
5. Create a password for your Wi-Fi Internet. Protecting your wireless Internet with a password prevents hacking and other criminal activities.
6. Have passwords for computers and email. This prevents against someone gaining access to important documents and email conversations.
7. Close binds and shades when you’re not working. Offices have valuable equipment in them. Don’t let people see what you have.
8. Separate your office from the rest of your home with a locked door. Don’t let visitors, such as neighbors and repairmen, into your home office.
9. Back up computer data with an off-site back-up service. This helps to protect your files if your computer breaks or there is a fire.
10. Install a smoke detector to alert you of fires. Many people neglect fire safety in their home office. There are a lot of things that can catch fire.

Finally, natural surveillance is helpful for deterring would-be thieves. By keeping your home office well lit and clearing away shrubs or areas where someone can hide, you will significantly decrease your risk of a home office burglary.

Following these tips will help protect your office as well as your home. Be sure to keep your home life and office life separate. You’ll be more productive in the long run.

How to Test Your Alarm System

As the owner of a security system, it’s important that you periodically check your system to make sure that it is working properly. Because your security system is responsible for monitoring the safety of your home and family, you should make sure that your alarm system is communicating with the monitoring station. There are a few simple guidelines that you can follow to perform a successful check of your alarm system.

1. Call your home security system provider. Let them know that you will be performing a test on your system. They will make sure that the authorities are not dispatched to your home during the test.
2. Make sure that your alarm system is armed.
3. Open several doors and/or windows to trigger the alarm system.
4. Your system will trigger the alarm and send a signal to your alarm’s monitoring station.
5. Disarm your system as you normally would.
6. Contact your alarm system provider and let them know that you have concluded your test. Make sure to ask them to reactivate your monitoring.

It couldn’t be easier to test your alarm system. This step is important in making sure that your alarm system is fully functional. You should perform this test monthly and contact your home burglar security alarm systems provider if you experience any abnormal operation.