Workplaces are moving back home for an array of sensible reasons including reduced costs, higher productivity, the ability to attract and keep the best talent regardless of location, eliminating environment-damaging commutes and enabling business continuity. E-mail, IM, presence, audio/data/video/Web conferencing as well as old fashioned phone calls keep workers affordably connected via broadband and VoIP.

 

Working from home does entail some security risks though arguably less so than in offices because residents including homeowners or tenants control the access. There is a wide array of software and hardware that prevents unauthorized access to hardware and networks such as biometric readers, encrypted VPNs and password login applications. But what about preventing and detecting unauthorized access to the homes and home offices themselves?

 

D-Link, long familiar to home workers with its hubs, has come out with a new solution, The D-Link (News - Alert) Home Monitoring Starter Kit. This is an affordable offering at an MSRP of $149.95 that is easy-to-use and very innovative ‘Connected Home Monitor’ system providing residents with what it says is ‘new levels of security’. The D-Link system connects via broadband routers in homes, and can then be remotely monitored and controlled through personalized Web portal accounts at mydlink.com. Alerts from wireless sensors around homes are instantly relayed by text, e-mail and voice calls to consumer and their designated contacts.

Featuring a sleek, unobtrusive design, the D-Link Home Monitoring Starter Kit uses IP to offer an improved range of services and functionality in homes without traditional phone lines. The system can be easily expanded with infrared motion detection, door/window contacts, keypad, personalized key fobs, fire, carbon monoxide, and water leak detectors: all offered as additional accessories to provide even greater protection.

The kit's Control Unit is easily installed by simply connection via Ethernet cable to the router and reports all alarm and other activity information directly to the mydlink platform; up to 20 additional sensors can be connected in. The whole system can be self-installed in just 30 minutes as all sensors supplied with the standard kit are pre-registered with default settings.

Home/home office security can be further reinforced with the D-Link 3G Door Phone (News - Alert). It acts like -- and is powered the same as -- an ordinary doorbell. But it is not ordinary. It is the first doorbell of its kind says D-Link to allow homeowners to get a full view of visitors to their property from wherever they are -- at home or away -- using their 3G mobile phones. A built-in fixed focus .1 megapixel CMOS camera captures the images of visitors and streams the information to the PC or 3G mobile device, an LED indicator lets the homeowner know that the device is working, and an illuminated button allows easy visibility when it is dark outside.

Security of another kind: from high energy bills that helps keep home offices viable is also now available from D-Link. The Home Monitor can be expanded with the D-Link Home Energy Monitoring Starter Kit, which measure energy consumption of all home electrical appliances. When linked to the Home Monitoring Starter kit, consumers can use the mydlink portal to program devices to power-down when the home is empty, helping reduce carbon emissions and reduce utility bills by saving electricity.

The kit is equipped with two power-usage sensor adapters with additional sensors that can purchased separately and plug into the home's wall sockets near where the electrical appliances are located. By plugging the appliances directly into the kit's sensor adapters, residents can automatically download energy consumption data to their personal mydlink.com webpage. There they have access to real-time power usage levels; daily, weekly and monthly breakdowns; cost conversions and graphical analysis. In addition, the product allows utility companies to offer users incentives on fee schedules based on their history of energy conservation.