The modern world has run on a technological revolution. The internet revolution alone is domineering it itself, and technology has made its presence felt in almost all the aspects of our lives. And there is no exception when it comes to home security. The new home automation security systems are revolutionary in themselves. And here’s why.

With the right software and right hardware, home security systems have state-of-the-art video surveillance cameras with intelligent tracking. With the right programming they can follow movements or sounds detected. They can come on when you leave your home and they can switch themselves off when you’re back.

And when it comes to automated locks, technology has again outdone itself. These are lock systems that can only be disabled by a small token you carry, and a combination that you’d know. The combination changes at random and is obviously synchronized with your token. This way only you and the person who carries the token would be aware of the correct sequence of numbers. Anyone with a key code alone wouldn’t be able to find their way in.

There are many features as this that are incorporated into older-design alarm systems, and they’d only work on the right combination. However that information can be obtained by unscrupulous means. Passwords can be acquired from any irresponsible person. Yet a token-based system changes the sequence of numbers rendering a password useless. They’d need the token, and that’s something only you would have.

Now even if a thief has somehow obtained your token-key, the system would still be unstable if you program it to be. They would still have to break in, and it isn’t an easy system to break into, and might motivate them to choose an easier target.

Thieves can also easily turn the power off to your home through various means, such as turning off unprotected circuit breakers on a panel. That would disable any electrical appliance and more importantly, your automation system that runs on electricity. However, most systems can be supported by a simple battery backup that can cost about a few hundred dollars or sometimes even fifty dollars. It can provide you with about thirty minutes or an hour’s worth of power. Certain systems can power your whole home for hours, but would cost a lot more.

Other technological advances have also been utilized with light timers. Light timers have been in the market for decades, fooling potential thieves into believing that someone is always at home as the lights come on. Yet they were simple timing devices that turned the lights on or off, and after a while, it would seem quite superficial. They needed to be turned on and off with more randomness. And lately, you can get them and program them to switch off and on, at random times and days.

In the end, it’s just an investment you’d make. The cost of the system is very small compared to the things you might lose, and can sometimes be a counterbalance for a decrease of cost with your insurance premiums.

Jim is a researcher and writer on many topics such as fitness, health and home finance. He is also a contributor for an Identity Theft informational website at Lifelock Reviews