The spread of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) across the country has caused life as we know it to grind to a halt. With a majority of Americans being asked to stay at home, many people are taking shelter in their homes as schools and businesses close in an attempt to flatten the curve. COVID-19 concerns involve more than just health, however. With schedules and routines getting upended, it’s important to keep home and personal security at the forefront.
Even with the shift in daily schedules (working from home? homeschooling kids?) and strange new rituals (sanitizing grocery items?) many of us now face, a comprehensive home security system can help remove some of the complexity out of our current daily lives. From ensuring package delivery and monitoring the safety of loved ones to keeping tabs on cybersecurity and assisting with smaller tasks like light and temperature control, your home security system can provide peace of mind and convenience during this challenging time.
4 Ways a Home Security System Can Help with COVID-19 Concerns
Safe and Secure Home Deliveries
In an effort to stay at home and avoid contact with others, an increasing number of people are shopping online for household essentials and ways to keep their families entertained. In fact, online shopping has experienced such a huge upswing that Amazon hired 100,000 workers last month and announced 75,000 new hires this month to keep up with demand. Among the many COVID-19 concerns are “porch pirates” eager to take advantage of the increasing number of packages being left at front doors.
While video doorbells have grown increasingly popular in recent years, they’re particularly helpful in ensuring secure home deliveries – whether it’s items from online retailers or grocery deliveries. A doorbell camera allows you to see who’s approaching and ensure that packages arrive safely as well as deter thieves and capture evidence should a delivery go missing.
In the time of coronavirus, secure home deliveries mean more than making sure your package arrives and stays on your front doorstep. It’s also important to be able to communicate with delivery drivers while still practicing physical distancing. The speaker system on your doorbell camera allows you to communicate with anyone on your front step in order to offer instructions on where a package should be left or offer your thanks to your pizza delivery guy for saving your kids from another night of Brussels sprouts.
Remote Monitoring for the Elderly, Children, or Anyone Else in Your Home
While we often think of home security remote monitoring as a way to check on people and things while we’re away, COVID-19 concerns have made this technology uniquely useful. For many families, remote monitoring has become a way to keep tabs on and care for loved ones during the crisis.
With people over the age of 60 being particularly at risk for COVID-19 complications, video surveillance offers an excellent way to check in on elderly loved ones to ensure that they’re doing well and haven’t fallen or become injured. Smart lock devices can also allow you to easily let yourself in and out in order to drop off groceries, medication, or other essentials without interacting with elderly loved ones face to face.
Remote monitoring is also helpful for checking in on elderly parents or children who reside in your own home, especially if you work outside the home. Even if you’re working from a bedroom or home office, video surveillance allows you to easily check in on kids who are playing (much too quietly!) in the other room or backyard.
Business owners can also find some peace of mind from COVID-19 concerns through remote monitoring. Security cameras give business owners a look at what’s going on – whether their business is currently open or closed. Thermal cameras, for example, are seeing an increased demand in facilities with large numbers of employees. They allow business owners to quickly and easily monitor employees without individually taking temperatures.
The Mobotix thermal camera utilizes a thermal overlay that displays temperatures of all humans and objects appearing on the screen. Employers can opt to be notified of anything unusual via an audio alert, a video alert, or even have the alert emailed to various recipients. Thermal cameras can help employers take early action to keep everyone safe if it’s determined that an employee could potentially be ill.
Working From Home Safety
In response to government recommendations, many businesses are turning to remote work as a way to continue operations while keeping their employees safe. As a result of this, cybersecurity threats have become another item on the list of COVID-19 concerns. The sheer number of people working from home and going online for COVID-related information has given rise to people hacking into Zoom calls and sending out fraudulent phishing emails that appear to be from organizations such as the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) or Internal Revenue Service (IRS).
Just like other methods of protecting your family during these times, working from home and consuming online information safely involves taking steps to prepare and to keep danger out. When you set up shop to work from home, the first thing you should do is turn on your wireless router’s encryption setting; WPA2 is preferred for optimum safety. Also take the time to change the default passwords for your service set identifier (SSID), IP, and router, as those passwords are easy for Wi-Fi and BlueTooth hackers to guess. Make sure each password is unique and difficult to crack; a complicated strand of numbers, letters, and characters is most effective.
Finally, install antivirus, anti-spyware, and firewall software for additional protection. Be wary of emails and content from unknown sources, so you don’t fall victim to a phishing scheme. If your company has IT specialists, be sure to consult them about cybersecurity best practices. Be wary of clicking links in emails – especially those that demand passwords or personal information. Your home security company is another excellent source of advice when it comes to setting up your devices for working from home safely, as well as connecting your smart home devices together.
Home Security Conveniences
As life around us has transformed dramatically due to COVID-19 concerns, creating a myriad of obstacles and inconveniences, our homes are one of the few things we can control. This is especially true of the home security conveniences offered by our smart home devices.
With everyone hunkered down at home for both work and downtime, smart home security devices can be a source of both safety and comfort. Working (and schooling) from home means new schedules for the entire family, and home automation can be put to use to make life more convenient. This includes adjusting smart light and thermostats to align with your family’s new schedules – both to save time and create energy efficiency.
As previously discussed, video surveillance can help you keep an eye on children as you field conference calls from home. Meanwhile, voice-controlled devices allow you to lock doors, keep tabs on your security system, open and close your garage door for package delivery, or control your lights, thermostat, TV, and music without ever leaving your desk or couch.
Even though the coronavirus pandemic has greatly altered our way of life, people are finding creative ways to rise to the challenges being presented. Your home security system can be an effective piece of the puzzle when it comes to keeping your family safe as well as finding ways to make life more comfortable and convenient during a lockdown.
As the entire country moves through this situation together, video surveillance and smart devices can help keep you safe while in your family’s bubble. From secure package delivery and checking in on loved ones to preventing cybersecurity risks and creating automated convenience, your home security system is a valuable part of alleviating COVID-19 concerns as you work, play, and navigate this new way of life.
At ProTech Security, we have a strong history of experience, innovation, and customer service. The ProTech Security Advantage is more than 35 years of service in Northeast Ohio and a strong commitment to providing quality, cost-effective protection for homes, businesses, educational institutions, and government facilities. To see what ProTech Security can do for you, contact us today.
