Most residents of New York City wouldn’t want to live anywhere else. The Big Apple, with all of its people and excitement, can feel like the center of the universe. Of course, with all of that excitement comes danger, in the form of burglaries and home intrusions.

The New York Police Department (NYPD) publishes crime statistics weekly, and a quick glance at the data shows that continued vigilance is necessary. For the week of January 11-17, for example, there were more than 1000 grand larcenies and burglaries across the city. Avoid being one of those affected by adhering to the following home security tips for your New York City home.

Install a Home Alarm System: Alarms are important for New Yorkers, whether they live in apartments, townhomes, or houses. Installing an award-winning brand can make a real difference in your protection.

Change Your Locks: Many New Yorkers live in rental units. This begs the question: how many people had access to those keys before you moved in? Avoid a potential problem by changing the locks on your door each time you rent a new apartment. In fact, you can ask your landlord to perform this service for you, often free of charge.

Meet Your Neighbors: They’re not there just to socialize; the neighbors across the hall can be a powerful part of your home security plan. Have a candid discussion about what home security means to you. Encourage them to call you and the police if they spot suspicious behavior. It’s always better to respond to a false alarm than do nothing in the face of an emergency.

New York City is one of the most wonderful places on Earth. Don’t take any chances with your home security, and you’ll always be able to enjoy it.

Being a single parent is perhaps the hardest job on the planet. More often than not, single parents are mothers, and they face a unique set of challenges raising, providing for, and protecting their family. One of the most important issues faced by single moms in particular is home security. Luckily, with some simple measures, keeping your loved ones safe can be made much less daunting. Below, we’ve listed some tips for single moms who want to bolster their home security.

Install a Home Alarm System: For single mothers on a budget, an alarm system may not seem to be the most cost-effective way to secure the home. But for less than the price of your habitual cup of coffee each weekday morning, you can enjoy the peace of mind that comes with having the best name in security monitoring keeping you safe. Alarm systems can help protect your family from theft and burglary, fire, medical emergencies and carbon monoxide.

Talk to Your Community: Stay in contact with neighbors and friends to help keep an eye on your home and children. You and your family will benefit from the help you can get from the entire community. Carefully and gently explain your home security expectations with your children and let them know the difference between helpful neighbors and harmful strangers.

Put In Floodlights: No one wants to come home to a dark, empty house. With the installation of motion-detecting floodlights, you’ll ensure that your house is never pitch black. This improves your security at night while also deterring criminals looking to hide in the darkness.

Upgrade Your Locks: In this digital day and age, keys are quickly becoming a thing of the past. The latest high-tech solutions for securing your door include electronic keypads and fingerprint readers. These systems, a perfect addition to your home alarm, can be purchased at a local hardware store and take less than an hour to install.

The cold temperatures outside are no excuse to ignore your home security and safety. Property owners need to take special care to avoid potential disaster. Below, we’ve outlined ten of the top tips for keeping your home safe from the first freeze to the first thaw.

Don’t Be Afraid to Spread Some Salt: One hard fall can be the beginning of a lifetime of injuries. When the temperatures dip below freezing, spread rock salt liberally on walkways to avoid a tumble.

Have Your Home Inspected by an Expert: From faulty furnaces to blocked fireplace flues, there are hazards throughout your home. If you haven’t had an expert inspect your home yet this year, it’s not too late.

Drive Your Children to School on the Coldest Days: In the northern reaches of the United States, the coldest days of the year can mean a high risk of frostbite within minutes of exposure to the air. Drop your kids off at school rather than having them wait for the bus.

Have Someone Take in Your Mail: If you go away on vacation, have a friend or neighbor take in your mail and newspapers.

Protect your pipes: When the temperatures really start to drop, open a slow drip in a couple of faucets around the home to prevent burst pipes. The added cost to your water bill is nothing compared to plumbing expenses after a catastrophe.

Join a Carpool: Why drive if you can avoid it? Talk to neighbors and co-workers about carpooling. This not only saves energy but allows you to keep your car parked in your driveway; a clear sign to criminals that someone may be home.

Use Care With Fires: Your fireplace is a great way to stay warm during the winter, but take steps to make sure it is under control. Keep the glass closed, and don’t build the blaze past a reasonable level. Also look into a home alarm system that monitors carbon monoxide.

Install an ADT Monitored Home Security System: Short winter days give criminals the opportunity to take cover in the darkness. Make sure you have a home alarm you can trust.

College can be one of the most exciting times in a person’s life, but dorm life requires an increased sensitivity to personal and home security issues. Life in a residence hall can be lively and stimulating, but living with your fellow students increases your risk for falling victim to property crime. Below, find some tips to help you maintain safety while you live in your college dorm.

Lock the Door: It’s tempting to leave your door unlocked, but don’t assume that everyone is a trustworthy as you are. People you think are your friends may not hesitate to “borrow” items.

Don’t Let Strangers Into the Building: Exit doors in your dorm building require a keycard for entry. This is to ensure your safety as well as the safety of other residents in your building. Never prop a door open or let a stranger into the building with you.

Be Aware of Emergency Telephone Locations: Colleges are mandated by law to place emergency communication systems throughout the campus. Indeed, you’re supposed to be able to see at least one of the distinctive blue lights from any outdoor location. Know where the telephones are around your campus, and don’t be afraid to pick it up if you feel threatened at any time.

Limit Alcohol and Drug Intake: Pressure can quickly mount to partake in alcohol and drugs, but never consume any substance to the point where you lose control. Intoxication is one of the leading factors when it comes to injury and crime on a college campus.

Go Out in Groups: Especially important on campuses in an urban setting, never go out by yourself. Traveling in a group of at least two or three people is a significant deterrent to someone who might think about perpetrating a crime.

Home security isn’t just for your parents’ property. As you get older, you’ll realize that staying safe is a huge part of living on your own.

Have you been contemplating 2010 improvements for your Houston, Texas home? One of the most important improvements you can make is the installation of a home alarm system. In these uncertain times, there’s simply no better way to protect your family and precious possessions. With over 130 years of experience, ADT offers Texas residents the peace of mind that comes from knowing your home alarm system is the product of over a century of experience in the home security business.

As one of the largest cities in Texas, Houston has a relatively high incidence of crime, especially in the downtown area. The latest monthly statistics show over 12,000 acts of theft or burglary in the month of November 2009 alone. This is clearly a statistic that every homeowner needs to take seriously.

How can the installation of a home security system help keep you protected against crime in Houston? The first part of the equation is deterrence. When a criminal sees the familiar ADT decal, he knows that your home is not going to be an easy target.

The main benefit, of course, is ADT’s award-winning technology. Standard ADT monitored security systems come equipped with innovative, cutting-edge features that lead the industry. Two-Way Voice, for example, is perfect for older Houston residents. This feature allows a homeowner to communicate with a trained home security professional from nearly anywhere in the house in the event of an emergency.

Have you recently ditched your landline in favor of your cell phone? Texas homeowners without access to land lines can still enjoy ADT products. Unlike other home security companies, ADT accommodates these customers with CellTech, eliminating the need for a hard line through the use of cellular technology.

Protect your Houston, TX home with the most powerful solution on the market — ADT. No other security system can offer the same level of protection.

A home security alarm is primarily designed to keep residents safe. The power of a home alarm, however, goes beyond mere wires and hardware. One of the most important factors to think about when it comes to a home security system is the risk of human error. Indeed, there is a much greater chance of failure on our part than that of the technology. ADT’s equipment is designed to be easy to use, greatly reducing the chance of a human making a potentially costly mistake. Below, we’ll run through each of the devices to show you why ADT leads the home security industry.

Digital Keypad: The brain of your home alarm system, the keypad, offers one-touch access which immediately puts you in touch with a trained technician, who can in turn dispatch the appropriate authority to your home. When it comes down to it, in a worst-case scenario you are separated from help by just the push of a button.

Keychain Remote Access: Keep this clicker with your home and car keys, and you’ll be able to disarm and arm your system easily from anywhere in the home, as long as you’re within 50 feet of the receiver.

Audible Alarm: Perhaps the most common error homeowners make when it comes to home security is leaving a window or door open when rushing out of the house. Every ADT home monitoring system comes with three points of protection installed, and the system is easily upgradeable to cover more entry points. If you leave a protected point of entry open, an audible alert will let you know that the system is not armed.

Professional Installation: You don’t have to take out a single tool. When you sign up for ADT monitored home security, a trained installer will take care of every detail, and end the installation with a comprehensive explanation of how your system works. You can also ask questions; your installer isn’t satisfied until you are.

ADT designs systems easy enough for a child to use. For a simple, user-friendly solution, choose ADT.

Like any given household, your home likely contains valuables such as electronics, jewelry, furniture and antiques. These items are personal to you, and it is sad to think that these most precious items could be taken away at any time. The fact remains, though, that criminals are out there, waiting to do just that. Here is how a home alarm system can help you keep your precious property safe.

The mere sight of a home alarm system decal on a window is enough to send most burglars scurrying. Criminals operate according to a relatively simple model: there are so many homes — why try to break into one that has a home security alarm?

Of course, deterrence is just the beginning. What makes a sign even more daunting is a strong brand behind it. A company that has been in business for a while and that has established itself as an industry leader is an even stronger deterrent. The technology employed is the best in the industry, and the highly trained agents at the other end of your control panel don’t sleep. They can reach the appropriate authority in moments, and have a response dispatched almost instantaneously.

There are also measures on-site to protect your valuables. When the security of the property is breached by a criminal, a high decibel alarm is activated, alerting the entire neighborhood to the intrusion. And no need to worry about a power outage; the entire system is backed up battery, so it will remain online regardless of whether your home has electricity or not.

You’ve worked hard your whole life to surround yourself with the things you love. For more than 100 years, ADT has kept homeowners’ valuables protected from harm. By installing ADT home monitoring, you’re taking a huge leap in keeping your family and possessions safe and sound.

There has never been a more pressing time to install an ADT monitored home security system. Your family deserves the added protection that ADT can offer, and now is the perfect opportunity to deliver. Look below for the five reasons why January is the month to make your move.

Crime is On the Rise: The FBI continues to report an increase in burglaries and break-ins due to the recession. Don’t let others’ misfortune become your misfortune. Invest in a home security system to keep your home protected.

Great Deals from ADT: The installation of a security system is a home renovation that won’t break the bank. Current deals from ADT mean that you can have a system put in and coverage maintained for less than the price of your morning coffee, spread over the course of a month.

Winter Vacation: Many families go away in January to escape the cold weather. With Martin Luther King weekend and Presidents’ weekend just around the corner, potential criminals are likely to take the opportunity to enter empty homes. Set up a home alarm system before you leave for vacation.

Carbon Monoxide Detection: That same blazing fire that keeps you toasty during the cold winter months could pose a danger to your family. With ADT’s carbon monoxide detection you can greatly reduce the chance of hazardous smoke causing a catastrophe. If you already have ADT, call today to make sure that this coverage is part of your protection.

Keep Your Holiday Valuables Safe: Your home is filled with wonderful presents and gifts from the holiday season. Keep them away from the prying hands of criminals with an ADT home security system.

Don’t let another day go by without bolstering your security with the addition of an ADT home alarm. Your family and possessions are just too important to leave unprotected.

Cameras are everywhere. Security companies offer cameras small enough to fit in your phone and affordable enough for almost everyone to own. Because of this, security cameras have become a more popular option for consumers, offering clandestine surveillance of almost any location.

Today customers can choose from many innovative technologies with which to protect their property. Retail stores can use visible, tamper-proof cameras to help deter robbery.  Banks and ATMs can use tiny cameras to record every transaction. Many cities are also turning to traffic light cameras to help enforce speed limits and traffic laws.

Cameras are also playing a bigger role in home security nowadays. Although many homes use cameras for outdoor security, more and more families are taking this technology inside.  A carefully placed camera inside the home can give parents peace of mind when they are away. Live video feeds offer a home view almost instantly. With the touch of a button parents can check up on their children, pets, or even monitor a babysitter or housekeeper.

With the Baby Boomers generation coming into retirement, families that have aging parents to care for are also using video surveillance more frequently. Quality home security cameras can be highly beneficial as well as potentially life saving. Monitored security systems and home alarms have the power to greatly reduce the time it would take for a fire, health, or other emergency professional to get to a loved-one’s residence.

In the end, it really doesn’t matter what your home situation is or what you are most concerned about protecting or monitoring.  There are a number of useful security technologies available from reputable companies. Invest in the home security options that make you the most comfortable, and the safest.

Although there are many options when it comes to home alarm systems, only one company is the undisputed industry leader in home security. Below, discover five of the many reasons behind ADT’s continued success.

Pedigree: No other home alarm monitoring provider can match ADT’s 135 years in the business. For over a century homeowners across the United States have counted on ADT to keep burglars at bay.

Value: ADT offers its customers a variety of packages to fit any household budget. Even the most basic installation comes with the components necessary to deter and deflect criminals from gaining entry.

Customer Service: Year after year, ADT garners the highest marks from experts in the field for customer service. The company is proactive about your security; rather than waiting to hear about a problem, they’re out fixing it before it becomes an issue.

Technology Out of the Home: Most monitoring companies have a central facility that handles all of their reports. But what happens in the event of extreme weather or a power outage?  With ADT, you never have to worry, because five connected command centers spread across the United States offer secure backup protection.

Technology Inside of the Home: ADT’s technology solutions inside your house are just as powerful as the brains backing it up behind the scenes. Leading advances like CellTech, designed to eliminate the need for a land line connection, continue to set ADT apart from the competition.

Among the many reasons why ADT is the best choice for your home’s security, these five stand out. This holiday season, make the right call for you and your family by calling ADT.