All of the cyber security products and/or services noted below are those I personally or professionally use. I conducted the research, and I am satisfied with the capabilities of the product or service, and the value it delivers. The products cover home security camera systems, document protection, malware and antivirus protection, mesh Wi-Fi networks, among other suggested products. Check back often for updates!
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There are many popular security camera systems on the market, but Arlo has continued to be a standout. I have 3 cameras and the doorbell camera installed at my home. My units communicate with Arlo’s smart hub and the smart hub connects my home wireless network. I also have a local USB hard-drive connected to the smart hub for local backups. These local backups offer some redundancy to the Arlo cloud storage. Certain models, like the Arlo Pro 4, can connect directly to your Wi-Fi, without the hub.
The Arlo Essential is the more budget friendly option having a 1080p camera with up to 12x digital zoom, 2-way audio, a 130ยบ diagonal field of view and dual LEDs for color night vision of up to 25 feet, to name but a few features. Just because it is budget friendly, it does not mean it lacks effectiveness.
The Arlo Pro 4 has a 4MP sensor with HDR 2K video, 1080p or 720p video. It has a 160-degree field of view and 12x digital zoom. It has the same powerful IR LEDs as the Essential for night vision.
In addition to the better video resolution, the Arlo Pro 4 has auto-track and zoom abilities, to better see moving objects.
All of the equipment is setup and controlled via the Arlo Secure app, downloadable from the Apple App store and the Google store. The app allows you to control the cameras, see video clips or live video, and many other features.
A word about the Arlo Secure subscription service. Arlo cameras can operate without the subscription, but the features are limited to live video streaming and motion notifications. To take full advantage of your new investment, it is highly recommended to subscribe to the service at the time of setup. The price ranges from $2.99 for a single camera, $9.99 for unlimited, or $14.99 for unlimited with 4k recording, 24/7 emergency response and priority support. Thirty-day cloud storage is included with the subscription which prevents the loss of any locally stored video. Recording to the cloud was important to me and so I opted for the subscription service.
As an Arlo Partner, we are here to help you design the right solution for your needs. To learn more about or to purchase Arlo products and services, please contact us for more information.
Eero. What can I say except that this is Wi-Fi at it’s best. For many years I used a standard Wi-Fi device that was connected to my Internet service provider cable modem. I recall having to get into the detail of the settings to make the connections work and to secure the device. Being a security practitioner, I was not fond of manually downloading updates for the Wi-Fi router but because the updates were so important for stability and security, I resolved to constantly checking for these updates. I longed for the day when something better came along and that was Eero. At home, I am using the Eero Pro 6 which is the upgrade to my first generation Eero. The reason for the upgrade was that I was an early adopter and at that time, I was hitting a limit of the upload and download speed. The lower speeds were only because of the technology in use at the time. After upgrading to 1GB service through my Internet service provider I wanted the higher speeds, hence, the upgrade to Eero Pro 6.
To learn more and to purchase this great product, please visit Amazon. For questions about my setup and other usage questions, please feel free to contact us.
Dashlane is my chosen password manager, or otherwise known as a password vault. You might ask why such software is needed and that we can simply remember our passwords, write them down, or keep them logged in an unsecure file on your computer. The simple fact, at least in my experience, is that we have too many passwords to keep up with and using the same password across different internet services creates a significant risk of stolen accounts and stolen or misused data. Dashlane is a mobile and desktop app that stores your passwords and notes securely with encryption. After setting up my premium account, I downloaded the iOS app for use on my iPhone. I can use the passwords across any PC or mobile device. I simply set any size or complexity password, using the built-in password generator, that is allowed for the service I need to use. It is stored in an encrypted manner and Dashlane cannot see what you store within their platform. After the initial setup, I discovered that I could share certain passwords with my spouse, as a backup. This is also useful so we both have one place to look for those common accounts we both use, such as insurance accounts. Dashlane supports AES 256-bit and and multi-factor authentication making it very secure. There are many features to list, but one that is rather neat is that it will scan your passwords and inform you if you’ve used the same one on any service you use. It’s a good practice to not use the same password for multiple services to reduce risk of data loss. Overall, I am very pleased with this password manager, and I think you will be also.
To learn more and to purchase this great product, please visit Dashlane. For questions about my setup and other usage questions, please feel free to contact us.
Are you looking for a scanner to help organize and archive important papers? If so, Raven is a very special product. Before going into more detail, I’ll share my requirements for a scanner. You may have similar requirements or, at least, it will give you something to contemplate as you consider Raven.
Many scanners scan directly to a computer using image scanning software. That means your scanned documents are stored to that computer, by default, and the images are consuming significant storage. Sure, you can move the images off of your computer, but those are extra and time-consuming steps. I wanted a high-end scanner that would allow for all of my images to store to a local Western Digital My Cloud drive for local backup. Raven met this requirement, and it includes many other features that sealed the deal for me.
To learn more and to purchase this great product, please visit Raven. For questions about my setup and other usage questions, please feel free to contact us.
Malwarebytes is a security program designed to protect you from the most advanced (zero-day) threats, making antivirus obsolete. After trying other products, comparing prices and features, we selected Malwarebytes. The software is protecting our laptops and desktops. The user interface is very intuitive and easy to use. Real-time protection coverage includes Web, ransomware and exploit protection and scans can be scheduled based on user needs. The headquarters of the company is Santa Clara, CA.
To learn more and to purchase this great product, please visit Malwarebytes. For usage questions, please feel free to contact us.
Another great product that we use at Echo Hill Security is the Epson EcoTank. Actually, we are early adopters of this printer having bought the ET-4550. The ET-4550 was replaced by the ET-4850, pictured here. We replaced all of the reliability issues and expensive cartridges with a robust, easy-to-use printer that uses cost effective liquid ink. This wonderful printer is runs in a wireless mode through our Eero mesh network, that is also featured above. There are multiple models and some models come in white as well. The model here features 2 years’ worth of ink based on an average of 200 pages printed per month. We don’t print that much at Echo Hill Security, so the ink has lasted longer. We can set it up in Fax mode and it supports 2-sided printing. One really useful feature is the ability to print from our non-PC devices, such as our mobile devices.