Re: $20 'Toy' Deactivates Cheap Home Alarms, Opens Doors

[JoeRaisin <joeraisin2001@xxxxxxxxx>]

On 9/15/2013 10:25 AM, Ant wrote:
> On 9/14/2013 8:57 AM PT, JoeRaisin typed:
>
>> Question is, how many average, everyday consumers have the ability to
>> know what a "decent" alarm system is...
>
> Are the non-home made ones from ADT and others considered decent or cheap?

At first blush I'd be prone to class them into the cheap variety -
simply because they couldn't sell them for the price they want if they
were decent.

I have never looked into them, in detail, but I'm certain there are
aspects to them that would make them easily defeated.

The biggest issue with most of them is that you just plug them into a
phone line like a regular telephone.  All a thief has to do is kick in a
delay door, take the nearest phone off-hook and the system cannot dial
out.

Now that the system cannot call out, it is easy to track the beeps to
the main unit (since it is all-in-one) and smash it in any one of a
hundred ways.

Of course, a crook with any savvy is going to clip the phone lines at
the side of the house or out at the street.  Which is why manufacturers
of real security systems have cellular and Ethernet communicators.

If you still want to by something from home depot, try their $8 security
system yard signs.