Alarm Myth Busting #1: Home Alarm Systems are Only for Rich Homes

False! Today’s home alarm systems are affordable and can even help you save on your homeowners’ insurance.

When alarm systems first came on the market, the equipment was expensive, and installation was invasive and time-consuming.

However, technology has led to affordable alarm systems that can be easily installed with no drilling or wiring. In fact, modern systems are entirely wireless, making it easy to relocate the system should you move to a new home.

Learn more about our offerings for homeowners at this link: https://www.advancedsecurity.us/residential/security-solutions.html

Introducing Resideo’s ProSeries: Tech Savvy and Easy to Use

Are you looking for a cutting-edge security and smart home system? Resideo’s new ProSeries delivers a complete security and smart-home solution that’s simple to use and integrates seamlessly into your life.

With a refreshed user interface, ProSeries is easy to use with a consistent look and feel across all products, including the panel, touchscreen, and app. This streamlined look makes it easy to learn and operate your new ProSeries security system.

In addition, the ProSeries offers built-in voice control for hands-free operation, video alarm verification to reduce false alarms, and convenient hands-free system disarming. It’s truly the next generation of alarm technology.

ProSeries works with a family of wireless sensors and devices which are interchangeable across the entire platform. 

Homeowners can take advantage of an expanded line of sensors and life-safety devices and can easily add smoke and carbon monoxide detection, flood sensors, smart thermometers, and more. Best of all? These life-safety sensors are all connected throughout the system. If a smoke alarm goes on in your garage, you’ll be notified in your living room or anywhere you happen to be with the TotalConnect 2.0 smartphone app. 

Other devices include indoor and outdoor wireless sirens with built-in strobe lights and an indoor MotionViewer and video alarm verification. These MotionViewers are totally wireless and transmit alerts and images, even in a blackout situation without power or Wi-Fi.

All of this backed up by Resideo’s decades of experience in the alarm industry and powerful AES-128 encryption to ensure a high level of data security. 

Advanced Security Systems is proud to offer the ProSeries family of security products to all our customers in Northern California and Southern Oregon.

Give us a call at 877-443-6366 or schedule a consultation today, and learn more about protecting your home with Resideo’s ProSeries.

Related:

Keep An Eye On Your Front Door With Skybell® Video Doorbell

The Complete Guide To Keeping Your Packages Safe

Update Your Total Connect 2.0 App For A New Look & Feel

5 Great Gift Ideas for Seniors

The Holidays are just around the corner, and many of us will be buying gifts for seniors in our lives. Show them you care with these five great gift ideas that are sure to be big hits with your elders.

EasyCall Medical Alert System

Peace of mind could be the greatest gift you can give a loved one. With EasyCall, more seniors are living independently because they know help is never far. One push of the EasyCall pendant and you’re connected to professional dispatchers who will send help any time of day. EasyCall is waterproof and is guaranteed for life, and can even detect falls automatically. Learn more about EasyCall.

Large Type Puzzles & Crosswords

As we age, our eyesight diminishes, and we have to adjust to limited vision. One way to combat this is with large type puzzles and crossword books. Not only are puzzles and crosswords fun, but they can also help keep our brains healthy too. Staying engaged mentally has been shown to help with symptoms from dementia and Alzheimer’s, so encourage your loved ones to pick up a pencil and solve a few puzzles. Penny Publications has some great options.

Home Accessibility Upgrade

Besides EasyCall, a home accessibility upgrade is another great way to help seniors maintain their independence. Installing a ramp to the front door, sturdy handles in all showers and bathrooms, and adding some smart home features like automated lights, can make life much more comfortable for your older loved ones. This Old House has a great video on retrofitting a home for accessibility.

Robotic Vacuum

Who likes vacuuming? No one we’ve ever met. Give the gift of clean floors, while also relieving your loved one of hauling a heavy vacuum cleaner around the house. Smart vacuums range from $300 to $800, and all are capable of vacuuming your floors autonomously. Higher prices get buyers bigger batteries, and better software potentially improving how they clean. Tom’s Guide has a great buyers guide to help you get started.

Memoir Writing Kit

What better way to create memories than to help an elder in your life write their memoir? Everyone has a story to tell and kits like this are designed to get the creative juices flowing. Memoir writing kits range in complexity and depth, but each one is designed to help you tell the story of a loved one. Learn more at Empire Book Publishing.

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SECURITY BEAT: AVOIDING BREAK-INS THIS HOLIDAY SEASON

EASYCALL: THE PERFECT MOTHER’S DAY GIFT

By | December 15th, 2020 | Categorie: Easy Call

Avoiding Falls with Kitty Litter and Other Winter Safety Tips

With winter’s cold conditions, it’s more important than ever to prevent falls inside and outside the home.

Ice is of particular concern, especially when temperatures dip into the 30s and below. The risk of slipping and falling on icy patches will only increase until spring arrives, so it’s vital to be looking for ways to prevent falls. What can we do?

According to Mindy Renfro, chair of the American Physical Therapy Association, you should carry around some kitty litter.

Do you mean the stuff that cats go potty in? Yep, it’s absorbent, affordable, and—most importantly—gritty.

Renfro writes at the National Council on Aging, “Encourage older adults to carry a zip-top bag filled with a lightweight kitty litter in their pocket to cast out ahead of themselves on slick surfaces.”

The Council also recommends a few products that help older adults prevent falls and call for help if they do slip.

  • Fall alarm systems, like EasyCall, which are motion-triggered if a fall occurs.
  • Higher toilets in the home.
  • Replace multifocal glasses with single vision eyeglass lenses. Changing between focal lengths can cause a loss of balance in some.
  • Grab-bars in the bathroom and next to outside steps or inside thresholds.
  • Strong railings on both sides of stairways and automatic lights over the stairs.
  • Cover the entryway to the home and provide a table to set down bags while finding keys.
  • Shorter days mean more time in the dark—give your loved ones life small flashlights to attach to keys, hats, and coat buttons.

With a few additions to the home, you can make the wet and icy winter months a litter safer for the senior in your life.

This Season, Don’t Let Holiday Decorations Disrupt Safety

Don’t let holiday decorations ruin the season! Here are a few tips to keep you and your family safe while still keeping things festive!

Holiday Decorations + Home Safety

First – Candles and Trees Don’t Mix. The National Fire Protection Association warns that bringing candles in the homes raises Americans’ risk of fire.

Try to use battery-operated candles, or if you are using wax candles, keep them away from any other decorations or flammable materials.

Check Your Tree

Trees should be regularly watered to avoid drying out, and Christmas lights should always be properly installed.


Finally, be sure to keep any space heaters or heat sources away from your tree.

Christmas tree with presents near the fireplace at home in the living room

Reign in Your Decorations

Be sure to keep walkways and exits clear of any decorations to ensure safe egress. Also, keep an eye on any floating or suspended decorations–these can trigger motion detectors, resulting in pesky false alarms.

Related:

Help Seniors Avoid Isolation this Holiday Season

Securing Your Business During the Holidays

Securing Your Business During the Holidays

According to the National Crime Victimization Survey, robbery and personal larceny rise by 20% during the holiday season. This is proof that porch pirates aren’t the only ones who strike during this time of year. If you have a commercial property to protect, here are some quick ways to ensure your security equipment is up to date, tested, and ready to go for the upcoming holidays.

Believe it or not, Thanksgiving is right around the corner. With many businesses closing their doors for a long holiday weekend, taking a few extra security steps can help prevent break-ins, vandalism, and other big problems.

Video Monitoring

Roughly 64 percent of all small businesses experience some form of theft, whether from patrons or employees. But a lot of that can be negated simply by the presence of a video monitoring security system.

Burglary is considered a crime of opportunity because, to employees or customers, it seems like there are absolutely no consequences for stealing or no way of getting caught. And studies say that this crime is amplified by 20 percent during the holiday season. Theft can cost small businesses tens of thousands of dollars. Those numbers are drastically reduced by adding a security system to your business.

The presence of a video monitoring system also goes a long in preventing vandalism. According to the U.S Small Business Administration, one act of vandalism costs the receiving business an average of $3,370. That can take a considerable toll on a small business.

Testing Systems

The importance of video monitoring for businesses can’t be overstated, but what about those who rely on traditional security systems? The holiday season is the perfect time for users to test systems and upgrade older systems with the newest technology.

Testing your alarm system is easy. Call our monitoring center at 707-442-0681 and provide your password or account number to notify our dispatchers you are testing your system. Arm your system, wait for it to be armed, then open a door or window, and wait for the alarm to sound for 30 seconds. Enter your code to disarm. When done, contact our monitoring center again to ensure that the test signals were received and let them know you’re all done.

Reducing False Alarms

It’s fun and festive for businesses to spruce up their stores with fun decorations to get in the spirit of the season, but it can lead to some unexpected consequences. However, be sure that decorations are not blocking cameras or creating blind spots in the surveillance. Another issue with decorations can be an uptick in false alarms. Moving decor, whether it’s the HVAC system blowing decorative material or mechanical moving decorations, is a major cause of false alarms. And false alarms can lead to unwanted fines.

Updating Contacts

As you prepare for the holiday season, make sure that your contact lists are up to date. In an emergency, you’ll want to ensure that our central monitoring center can contact the correct people. Please take a minute to review your contact list by calling our office at 707-443-6366 or make updates right away with our contact list update form (this form will open as a PDF).

The holidays truly are the most wonderful time of the year, and you can truly enjoy this time of year with updated video monitoring systems that keep your business protected and your minds at ease.

Announcing New Monitoring Features for Your Alarm System

Your alarm monitoring service is about to receive a major upgrade, and you don’t need to do anything to take advantage of our new features.


After a thorough search, we have chosen a partner in AvantGuard monitoring services.

AvantGuard, a five-star central station, offers many benefits for Advanced Security Systems customers, including UL listing, a second back-up central station, and several software enhancements to keep you better informed about your security and fire alarm systems.


Enhanced Notification for Your Responsible Party List
One feature we’re excited to roll out is group chat alarm management for subscribers.


Basically, instead of receiving a traditional phone call after an alarm is triggered, subscribers receive a text message that prompts them to enter a secure group chat with other responsible parties on the account. While in the chat, users can collaborate to assess the situation, provide unique insights, and finally decide to request dispatch or disregard with the touch of a button.


Group chats help overcome many problems. For starters, very few phone calls get answered. On the other hand, texts have a much higher response rate and at least provide an alert that a subscriber can see when an emergency arises, even when they are in an important meeting or would not answer a call for any particular reason.

Using group-chat notification for alarm management has benefits, including:
• Fewer false alarms
• Response for valid alarm events happens more quickly
• Improved communication among all parties
• Simultaneous alerts to multiple users


No action is required to use this new Central Station service. The upgrade will take place seamlessly behind the scenes, all without any need to reprogram or adjust your alarm system.


Now is a great time to review and update your Responsible Party list to include your cell phone number. If you don’t have a cellphone, monitoring will be performed as it always has, with a live operator and telephone calls. Click here to download our Responsible Party list update form.


Thank you for your continued business and support. Please, let us know if you have any questions or concerns.

Advanced Security Systems Honored with NOTIFIER Award of Excellence

Advanced Security Systems is a leading distributor of state-of-the-art fire alarm systems, according to NOTIFIER, one of the world’s top fire alarms manufacturers.

NOTIFIER recently presented its Diamond Award of Excellence to Advanced Security Systems, citing the company’s strong commitment to customer satisfaction. The annual award is based on more than just financial results. To become a Diamond Award of Excellence winner, companies like Advanced Security Systems must demonstrate a strong community connection and a commitment to deploying the latest fire-detection technology.

With more than 500 NOTIFIER distributors worldwide, only a handful are selected to receive the Diamond Award of Excellence. “Our employees’ commitment to our customers is what helps us win awards like these,” says Chuck Petrusha, CEO and President of Advanced Security Systems. “I want to thank our dedicated technicians and security consultants for delivering state-of-the-art life-safety services to our customers throughout Northern California and Southern Oregon.

Since 1971, Advanced Security Systems has helped North Coast residents secure and protect their property with cutting-edge security and fire alarm systems. The company, which celebrates its 50th anniversary in 2021, also sells, services, and installs surveillance and access control systems.

NOTIFIER by Honeywell is a manufacturer of engineered fire alarm systems. The company is based in Northford, Connecticut.

Keeping Your Business Secure During COVID-19

Since the COVID-19 outbreak, many of us in California and Oregon have been sent home from our shops, offices, and businesses to ‘shelter in place.’

Doctors tell us the best way to stay healthy during the pandemic is through social distancing—maintaining six feet between others and only going out for the essentials.

[Check out the CDC’s Full List of COVID-19 Preventative Measures]

For many employees and business owners, COVID19 has created a challenging situation that includes leaving their place of work for days, if not weeks at a time.

The best way to get peace of mind knowing that your property is protected while you’re at home is with a professionally designed and installed security system. But an alarm system is so much more than sensors and a siren. Here are five important ways your alarm system can keep you and your property safe during the COVID19 quarantine.

#1 Remote Access Keeps You Connected to Your Home and Business

Remote access has been a revolution in the alarm industry, allowing users to control their systems without having to be at their property. Sure, you can arm and disarm your alarm system from anywhere. But did you know you can also see details about who’s arming and disarming your alarm system, what time alarm events took place, and even set schedules so your system automatically arms when you want it to? That’s the power of modern alarm systems, which are fully operable from anywhere as long as you’ve got your smartphone.

#2 Hands-Free = Germ-Free: Add a remote keyfob to arm and disarm without having to enter your code

During quarantine, when clean hands are critical, many customers have asked us, “how can I use my system hands-free?” Remote key fobs are a great solution. You can arm and disarm your alarm system just like you do your car: with a battery-operated key fob that fits with your house and car keys. Many existing security systems, even some older ones, can function with a key fob. Contact us to learn more about adding one to your security system.

#3 Electronic locks make it easy to grant access from wherever you are

Maybe you’re sheltering-in-place and can’t get to your place of business but want to send a trusted friend or relative to make sure everything is OK. With remote-access door locks, you can be in control of who’s coming and going without having to be near the physical location of your business property.

Electronic locks are offered by trusted lock manufacturers, such as Yale, Schlage, Kwikset, and others, and they seamlessly integrate with your alarm system.

#4 Always Know Who’s At Your Door With Video Doorbells

Video doorbells aren’t just for home use. As more and more businesses are installing video doorbells, these innovative devices are becoming a vital part of a connected security system. The latest models are outfitted for ‘professional’ use with higher resolution cameras attractive finishes to match any decor.

#5 Your Monitored Smoke and CO Detectors are always working for you

One aspect of a modern alarm system that businesses and homeowners both love is always-on smoke and carbon monoxide detection. Without ever having to set your alarm, your property and family are protected from potentially dangerous situations. All thanks to our 24/7 monitoring station and professionally installed smoke and CO detectors. In California, all new buildings are required to include smoke and CO detection, but that doesn’t necessarily mean your home or business is equipped with monitored detection. That means our dispatchers are alerted anytime a detector is activated, without any action from the user. You don’t have to set your alarm or even call dispatch if you suspect smoke or carbon monoxide are present—our Central Station dispatchers will get the signal automatically and begin calling your responsible party call list to alert the user to the potential danger.

Many things are uncertain during the unprecedented COVID19 outbreak, but one thing’s for sure. Advanced Security Systems is there 24/7 for your security needs.