Getting into your house, protecting your data, and finding your stuff gets help with sophisticated devices new to the market. Here are eight security products that will help get you indoors, safeguard your valuables, and help you find things.
1. Goji
The Goji Smart Lock is a lock for your front door that replaces your deadbolt, and that you can control with your smartphone. Via the Goji app, your phone can receive a picture, text, or app alert whenever someone is at your door. You can schedule access via the app, text, or email, if you want to let a friend inside while you're away. And for people in your life who don't own smartphones, Goji comes with old-fashioned keys and programmable Bluetooth Low Energy fobs. The lock runs on batteries, though, so make sure you have spares on hand.
2. Kisi
Price: US$300
Kisi is another smart lock for doors, but this one's cloud-based and works with a controller plugged into an electrical outlet and over Wi-Fi. Like Goji, it will offer access and notification features for iOS and Android via an app that the company is currently designing. Kisi can also be integrated into other access systems, intercoms, and number pads, so it could be used for offices as well as homes.
3. Kevo
Price: US$219 (Available for pre-order July 30; ships in September.)
Conventional lock company Kwikset is getting in the smart-lock game with Kevo. Like other products it lets you use your smartphone to unlock your door. But there's also the Kevo Fob for non-smartphone people, or in the rare event you don't have your smartphone with you. What's smart about this lock is that you only need touch the lock to open it - no fumbling around in pockets or purses to find your phone. No so good: works only with iPhone 4s and 5s.
4. MyIDkey
Price: US$169 (ships in September)
MyIDkey looks like a generic flash drive, but this one self-destructs. MyIDkey is a 16 GB password- and ID-management Bluetooth USB drive that's voice searchable, scans fingerprints, boasts "military grade" encryption, and erases all embedded information after several failed access attempts. It can be used wirelessly or plugged into your computer's USB drive and automatically fills in your passwords at relevant websites - it'll also come up with a password for you, so you won't have to come up with yet another alphanumeric combo. Unlock the key with a swipe of your finger, and use the built-in microphone to search for your info.
5. AUTOCYb
Price: US$30
This product aims to be firewall protection for the data collected by your car's event data recorder (EDR) - the black box installed in most cars and trucks since 1996. It fits on the DLC port and locks with a key, which you can unlock (with an actual key) for mechanics and inspections.
How worried should you be about car hacking? A 2011 report found that our new high-tech cars are vulnerable to hackers, and a 2012 Harris Interactive survey found that 62 percent of drivers are worried about data privacy.
6. Ringo
Price: US$3.99/month
Designed for phone-based intercom systems, Ringo lets you control how your building's buzzer works. Ringo sends subscribers a phone number that works in three modes. There's Forwarding Mode, where Ringo will call up to five numbers when someone's at your door - the first to answer can open the door. There's Gatekeeper Mode, which, instead of keys, uses PIN numbers you set up and then enter on your intercom keypad (you'll need an intercom with a keypad for this feature to work). And you can use both at the same time with Concierge Mode. The system is cloud-based, and you sign up on Ringo's site with the phone numbers you want to use.
7. Nio
Price: US$69
If you're worried about losing your smartphone (which now has all your key apps on it), consider nio Tag. The nio Tag, which looks like a flash drive, uses Bluetooth to create a security chain between your smartphone and itself. The nio Tag can be carried or clipped onto whatever valuable you like - a laptop, handbag, or keys (if you still have those), for example - and alerts you via your phone or iPad when the tag travels away from your phone. The alarm and distance range - how far apart the nio Tag and your valuable can be before the alarm goes off - can be customized, and the charge lasts for 3 months.
You can use it with iPhone 4s, iPhone 5, and the newest iPad. Nio is working on an Android-compatible app, which is due this fall.
8. Cobra Tag Uni
Price: US$69
If giving up your old-fashioned keys just isn't going to happen, there's Cobra's Tag Uni, which uses two-way communications to help you safeguard your keys from theft, or help locate those car keys you lost underneath that mound of paper on the kitchen table. Compatible with Android, BlackBerry, and Apple iOS.
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