For criminals, porch piracy is one of the easiest types of theft because they can carry it out swiftly and silently. In the winter, when valuable gifts are being delivered and the sun goes down earlier, porch piracy is in full swing. In the cover of the dark, criminals speed toward victims’ porches, grab their targets and duck out of sight. In November and December, you need more protection from package theft than any other time of year. Here’s how you can acquire it.

It’s that time of year when scary things become fun for a little while. But if you’re a burglar, there’s nothing fun about the one thing that scares you the most: getting caught in the act. This Halloween, you can use your smart home security devices to make their fears become reality. Here are three ways to do it. 

If you’re still using (and losing) house keys, it’s time to think about modernizing the way you access your home. That means upgrading your traditional doorknob to one that’s protected by a smart lock. With a smart lock, you can stop worrying about where you put your house keys, because you won’t need them anymore. Instead, you’ll enjoy the safety and convenience of managing access to your home from wherever you are.

Who remembers what life was like before we had caller ID? These days, most of us can’t imagine answering the phone without knowing who’s on the other end. Likewise, the same should be said for answering the door at home. If you don’t have a doorbell camera that shows you who’s paying you a visit, that’s like life before caller ID.  

Although “safe at home” is an important refrain right now, kids who are attending school remotely from home while parents are at work need extra help to be safer at home. Your home security devices, including your doorbell security camera, can provide that extra help. 

83 million American households have at least one smart home device, and that doesn’t just mean home management systems like Alexa and Echo. It also includes devices like doorbell security cameras.  With a smart doorbell camera device, you can achieve all kinds of vital home security measures. Here are four of them.

Even if the area around your front door is protected with a home security system and doorbell camera, the door itself needs extra fortification. Fortunately, there is a smart home security device that can provide this: a smart lock, which is a keyless entry device that not only turns your modest front door into a high-tech access point to the home, but also protects it like one.

Only a few decades ago, people thought we’d all be driving flying cars by the year 2020. That wasn’t meant to be, but we have plenty of technology to boast about nonetheless. Computers were just the tip of the iceberg; we now have our smartphones, tablets and virtual assistants as well, and most of us believe we couldn’t live without them. We rely on these intelligent devices to help us manage our schedules, our photos, our communication with others…and now, we can even use them to help us manage our homes. That’s what’s possible if you elect to have a smart home system, powered by artificial intelligence. 

Slowly but surely, our doorways are becoming busy places again; family members are starting to come and go more, friends are beginning to drop by, and many of us have grown accustomed to getting our meals delivered regularly. It can be great, but it can also leave the door open for home security risks: package theft, burglary and even home invasion. To greatly reduce these risks, you need something that can watch over your doorway 24/7 and put your mind at ease.