Author: Kimberly Alt

Did you know you can save $2,000 on a home automation system by installing the system yourself rather than getting it professionally installed? Wemo has an easy DIY setup and is much less expensive than professionally installed home automation systems. You can use that $2,000 to rig your home with Wemo home automation devices and have some money left over (depending on how big your home is). Read our Belkin Wemo review to see if this company has all the features you want in a home automation provider…

Equifax was recently the victim of a colossal data breach that affected 143 million Americans. Hackers got records with credit card numbers, names, addresses, social security numbers, and other sensitive personal information that could easily be used for identity theft.

To combat this breach, Equifax is giving people the opportunity to sign up for free identity theft protection and credit monitoring. That sounds like a good deal from the outside, but should you sign up?

Installing sensors in your home doesn’t have to be an overwhelming or frustrating task—it’s usually as easy as peeling a sticker and placing the sensor on just about any surface. However, it does take some planning to find the perfect place for each sensor to ensure that the sensor is as effective as possible. In this article, we’ll help you determine the best place for different types of sensors and give you some installation tips…

We’ve all been there: you log in to your email and see that one of your favorite websites has been hacked. Fortunately, your account information wasn’t among the list of those compromised this time, but without identity theft monitoring, you’re putting yourself at risk for identity theft next time…

As an Airbnb host, does it freak you out to give your house key to countless strangers? What’s to stop them from making a copy for themselves and coming back to enjoy the amenities, or worse, steal from you? Airbnb has partnered with Vivint to help prevent this type of activity as well as assist hosts with managing guests checking in and out, save money on energy consumption, and increase overall security for their properties…

Link Interactive is our second pick for best home security system, while LiveWatch is our eighth pick. Why is there such a difference between these two? That’s what we’re going to cover in this article. We’ll break down reputation, contracts, installation, warranty, monitoring, and more in this head-to-head comparison…

If you’re looking for a reasonably priced home automation system that is easy to set up, SmartThings is a system worth considering. It connects to ZigBee, Z-Wave, IFTTT, and other Wi-Fi enabled devices, so you can automate your lights, doors, outlets, and more while you’re away from your home. Because of its wide range of equipment, stellar customer service, and reasonable pricing, SmartThings is our top pick for best home automation system…

You don’t have to pay for a traditional security system to feel like your home is safe. While we definitely recommend full systems, we recognize that they aren’t right for everyone. Many families are turning to IP cameras to help secure their homes and feel like they’re at home when they’re away. IP cameras can let you check in on your loved ones, be alerted in case of a burglary, and even read your kids a bedtime story. We’ve compared some of the best IP cameras and ranked them below…

Closed-circuit television (CCTV) systems may seem more old-fashioned than cloud-based security cameras, but CCTV systems have several upsides. For starters, they allow you to connect all your cameras to one device. CCTV systems also use cables to connect directly to the hard drive, often leading to shorter loading times than you would get with a DIY system that connects to Wi-Fi…

Want to keep an eye on every angle of your home while you’re away? PTZ (pan, tilt, zoom) cameras are popular home security devices because they allow you to view multiple angles of your home with one camera. These cameras have apps where you can adjust the camera’s view angle, and one network can support multiple cameras. We’ve selected three of the best indoor cameras and two of the best outdoor cameras to give you a view of every inch of your property…