4 ways to deter break-ins with your smart home

Leaving for vacation can be stressful. Who's going to watch over your house when you're away, and how can you ward off people looking to capitalize on an empty home? Fortunately, with a smart home, you can enjoy your vacation worry-free. Here are four ways to deter break-ins while you're away. The classic security tip is to cycle your lights when you're away from home. Maybe put a couple lamps on a timer. The problem with that, is that they're obviously on a static schedule. With a house full of smart light, you can schedule the lights to appear more random. You can have a schedule set for each day, and make it actually seem like someone is home. In a smart home, you can take that one step further by creating a schedule for your TV. And said you don't want to just turn on and off the TV. You will want to actually play something. This can be done with virtually any newer television, and a harmony hub. Set the TV to come on with the lights at different times each day, and play live television. A newer addition to smart security is a smart doorbell, like from August. Which as it turns out is more then just a door bell it's also a video camera with two way audio. Not only can you get a notification when motion is detected at your front door, you can talk to whomever is knocking on your door, or snooping where they shouldn't no matter where you are in the world. And if they've got a reason to be there or if you wanna let them in, you can. It's great to see who's snooping around your front door, but what about your backyard? Consider a motion-activated flood light. Even better is one that lets you see and talk to whatever may be in your backyard when you're not there. Ring actually makes a motion activated floodlight that comes equipped with a camera, two way audio, and a siren. When motion is detected, the lights kick on, and you can see and talk to anyone at any corner of your home. And if talking to them doesn't work, sound the alarm. For more smart home how tos and other tips and tricks, be sure to check out cnet.com/smartliving.