I have reason to believe that someone was in my apartment within the past few days. It is just another sign over the years that has made me unsure of my security in this apartment.

I need to set something up for security. I just don't know what to do. I'm thinking I will just have to spend the money and get a security camera of some sort, and install it facing my apartment door (from inside the apartment).

Are there any tricks that I can do without spending so much money? Any sort of systems (camera or alarm) that are recommended for a small area?

All info is appreciated.

 

get ya a no flash game camera and place it somewhere out the way and when you leave set it on pic or video and it will capture footage of whoever it is you can the wildgame innovations one for around $100 and they are pretty good or you can spend all the way up to $500+ for one

 

Hey Justin, Im thinking that a camera is like putting the cart in front of the mule. Its only going to give you a pic of the ahoal who came in. Spend the money on a good lockset and window locks, secure anywhere you think they might get in. Live in a big crappy crime ridden city here, thats what I would do.

 

You have crime up there?? I thought it would be too cold for tomfoolery...Maybe just an old gurlfiend or a homeless person looking for a place to stay warm. Why do you think someone was there?? Anything missing or broken??

 

Unfortunately 88grand stated they live in an apartment. Generally speaking, you aren't allowed to just change your locks on an apartment. Even if you are allowed to, I believe that management would have to be given a copy of the key.

OP, is it possible someone from the management company made entry for one reason or another and failed to notify you?

 

Good chance they work for the apartment complex. If it is a thief, they are probably good enough to pick whatever lock you put on. I say password protect your computer, order an X-10 system that can send the video to your cellphone or an e-mail address in real time.

Or go for a game camera as mentioned and hide it well. They may have already installed a camera and are spying on you, just thought I would mention that.

 

I don't understanding wanting to install a camera. What are you hoping to accomplish? Let's be realistic. You need to either move to a better neighborhood or stop giving copies of your key out.

 

If you don't mind my asking.......why?

 

Webcams are cheap or free, harddrives and flash drives nearly so.
If you have one you can use a video->storage transfer device so even if they steal your computer they won't have your surveillance.

Pinnacle makes one: Digital video transfer made easy with the Pinnacle Video Transfer

 

subscribing..

paranoid = me

 

Not allowed to change the locks. As far as I know, apartment management are the only one's who have keys to access my apartment. If management entered without my permission, they would have made an illegal entry. There's never been a reason for them to enter my apartment without notification or per my request. I wouldn't doubt, however, that other apartment locks would match mine. If not this building, then maybe one from another building in the complex. I keep my mind open enough to understand that there are people who are pathetic enough to go around trying to access other people's homes.

I have NEVER given key copies of anything of mine (home or vehicles) to anyone.

As for why, I won't go into details 'cause there will no doubt be a bunch of nay-saying towards what I think has been done to cause my suspicions to arise.

 

Or you could dust off an old dvd copy of Home Alone. The kid had some pretty creative paint can over the front door type "gotchas"

 

Generally speaking, someone who breaks into an apartment is not going to want to broadcast that he/she is doing it - Nor are they going to want to be filmed doing it...

That being said, 2 options come to mind - dummy cameras and an alarm... You can find a dummy camera that looks realistic for a decent price - I find that the tinted dome "cameras" work well... As for the alarm, around 120db should be good to get the neighbor's attention - even something like this: WIRELESS DOOR ALARM - Magnetic Door/Window Alarm at MyPreciousKid.com would work and it wouldn't break the bank...

You could even put up a dummy as the visible "camera" and still use the game camera that was mentioned earlier. Get some stickers that have something like "Protected by JoeBlow's Security..." or something like that and stick them to your door... You don't necessarily need to have a fully functional security system - you just have to make people believe you have a fully functional security system...

I just recently built a DVR security system using a card from here : 1st distributor Security Cameras, Security Camera Systems, cctv, wholesale, distributor, & cctv World EYECAM distributor of digital surveillance systems, home Security Cameras Bullet Security Cameras, LCD Monitors, Remote Video Monitoring CCTV survei - By using an existing computer, a DVR card, and a 1Tb hard drive, I was able to build a fully-functional DVR system with 1 roving dome camera and 5 fixed cameras for less than would cost to buy a standalone DVR unit - and it can store up to 3-months of video at a time on the Tb drive...

I've played around with using webcams for this purpose but the main problem a webcam has is it is useless in low-light/no-light conditions so, you would need to have a light source going at all times to get any kind of decent picture from a webcam - the main advantage to a webcam is they are cheap and you can use the software bundled with it to record video - some (not all) webcams have motion-sensing capabilities so it will only record when it detects movement which saves on hard-drive space...

 

Cameras are worthless to try and identify the thief when they have a mask on. But they do come in handy when you file a claim with the insurance company. You can confirm what was taken.

 

I know nothing about you or your life but I would rather have a root canal than live in the city. If you are living in an apartment then why not live in the country in a camper or bus conversion? Are you a student? I know this is none of my business. I have no stop lights where I live and there is next to nothing for crime, nothing but us red necks out here. Besides you can have as many old Ford trucks as you want in the country and you can leave the keys in them.