While the dangers facing our homes—fires, burglary, crimes- are at an al time high, it’s safe to say that security is top of people’s minds right now. I can’t tell you the number daily pings I get on my Citizen and Nextdoor app. Thanks to the rise of easily accessible smart-home tech, these new advances don’t just help with everyday inconveniences, but they can also significantly improve the safety and security of homes and those in it. All these connected devices help homeowners understand what’s happening at all times just like they’re at home.

Below are a few of the latest smart home devices built to keep your home—and those inside—safe and secure.

Smart lock your home. Putting a house key under a mat or rock, or even giving one out to a trusted neighbor, is risky business. That's why smart locks are a good idea. They are easy to install and include a ton of features in their compact frames. You can even grant access to all family members and they can enter through their fingertips, a code or the app.

With a smart lock, you can give each person an individual code and even set your lock so that certain people can only get in at set times. For example, if the dog walker comes every day in the morning, you could set her code to work between 6am and 9a.m. I have both the Kwikset Halo Smart Lock and the August Home, one to lock my front door and the other my office. The Halo Touch lets you lock and unlock your door with your phone, voice (Alexa and Google voice commands), keys, and fingerprint. Yes...There are other smart locks out there that let you lock and unlock your door using an app or your voice, but what’s unique is fingerprint recognition, so this is a win.

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Important to note:

Smart locks may be vulnerable to hackers, but good encryption and two-factor authentication make them tougher to crack. Hard passwords are a must.

Install a smart doorbell so you can see and record anyone who comes up with your door. Even the friendly neighborhood raccoon (these doorbells are pretty sensitive) or your neighbor who steals packages.

My choice for a doorbell cam is Ring. I can track movement at my door as packages or visitors arrive. Through the easy-to-use app and enhanced Wi-Fi, I get real-time notifications when visitors ring our doorbell or trigger Ring’s built-in motion sensors.

Safeguard your home with motion sensing exterior lighting. Lutron Electronics makes awesome exterior lights. What's great is that this smart product can be installed in FIFTEEN quick minutes. You can control multiple bulb styles like dimmable LED, incandescent and halogen all at once through multiple ways: You can adjust lighting directly from the Lutron app, the handheld remote, or if you decide to ditch the smart tech and go old fashioned use the dimmer switch directly.

If you are leaving for extended amounts of time, Philips Dimmable Smart Lightbulb lights are great. You can program the lights to go on and off during usual hours that you are home.

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Lock down your WIFI network. Your home wireless network is a doorway to your personal and financial information. Secure your wireless router and enable WPA (WIFI Protected Areas). I like the Netgear Orbi WiFi 6 Mesh System. It covers up to 5000 square feet and with a Mesh network, so every nook and cranny of my home is covered, and it comes with an extra layer of security. If you want to take it a step further, hide your home network so only the people you want can find and connect to it.

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Outdoor Cameras are a must. The Wire Free and battery powered, the Wyze Outdoor Camera records 1080P HD livestream & recording and holds up in ANY harsh conditions. It captures people with 12-second motion activated videos. A must in today's world of crime and the Citizen app notifications I get.

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