Getting a home security system is not something to put off for the future, to jot down on that list along with getting fit and picking out a great outfit for your cousin's wedding. It's something that should qualify as a top-level priority for anyone seriously concerned about their own well-being, that of their family and that of their personal possessions. These days, installing a home security system is far from being the colossal hassle it was in previous years, when the technology was still fresh and adequate knowledge confined to those with an understanding of sophisticated electronics and complicated, arcane computer user interfaces. Wireless security cameras and home security sensors, of both the infrared and contact variety, are sufficiently easy to install that you can learn all you need to know in an hour of web-surfing. What's more, they're cheap enough to make the cost-risk equation a real no-brainer.

It's possible to set up a wireless webcam to serve as your personal, wireless security camera, even if you possess the tech-savvy of an 8-year-old. These devices, which are getting smaller by the day even as the resolution available increases to levels of sharpness far beyond the human eye, can be concealed in any desktop ornament - you can install them, Hollywood style, in teddy bears, toys, paperweights, even behind two-way mirrors. It's as simple as drilling a hole in your table or mantelpiece for a feeder cable, cutting a sufficiently wide lens-hole in the side of the ornament to be used as their disguise, and arranging the camera within it. By running the feed cable to a USB port on your computer, you can simultaneously charge the device and record footage. Simple motion detection software, such as that available for download at http://bit.ly/T8KF6, can ensure that your computer records only when there's a disturbance in the camera's visual field, making your new home security system both functional and efficient.

It's also possible to have the device activated by various kinds of home security sensors. Infrared sensors activate when an object of sufficient heat moves across their detection field. Contact sensors, by contrast, are activated by the opening of a window or door, an action which either opens or closes the circuit made by the two installed sensor pads, which in turn sends a signal to the central home security system hub to which the sensors are wired. Another type of home security sensor utilizes UWB (ultra-wideband) radar. For the purposes of motion detection, these sensors function by 'staring' over a fixed range and sensing any change in the average time taken for the signals the device emits to be returned.

These are the same kinds of motion sensors that activate your porch light when someone walks across the driveway. The technology has been around for a long time, and has just about been perfected, to the point that upper-range home-security systems incorporate sensors with pet-human discrimination technology. PIR detectors can be made to discriminate between pets and humans by use of a modified lens or mirror that vertically stretches the zones in regions closer to the sensor, an effect that reduces the size of the 'blip' created by, say, a cat, and increases that created by a person. The industry term for such discriminator home security systems is 'pet immune'. Wireless security cameras can be programmed with software for a similar effect.

When you decide to install a home security system, your first thoughts should be regarding your doors, windows and skylights. You'll want contact sensors on all of these, along with burglar bars if need be, and cameras set to see anyone entering or leaving via these 'choke points'. If you can't afford to cover all your entrances with home security sensors, focus not on your front door, but rather on those possible entrances that are shielded from public eyes - those located where someone could conceal their activities while breaking in. These are, of course, far more likely entry points for intruders.

Now, perhaps the most important factor in rendering a home security system effective is good monitoring. Most home security companies, along the lines of Chubb and ADT, will be willing to install your wireless security cameras and home security sensors for you, and provide you with a fully integrated, professionally tweaked home security system from the word go - provided, of course, that you plan to sign a home security contract with them. Despite the fee every month, such backup will really provide the ultimate in peace of mind short of having your own bodyguard. If you'd prefer to be independent in terms of the monitoring of your system, then be sure to install a loud siren to activate if your perimeter is breached, and, to further discourage intruders, a sign proclaiming your membership with ADT or some other security company. You might even want to rig your system so that your computer calls the police with a looped, pre-recorded message requesting their assistance (though there is, of course, no way of knowing how the police will respond to such a call).

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