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Most of us place a huge emphasis on our security when we are at home or even our places of business. We install security systems designed to protect us so that we are not victimized while we are at home or work and make sure that we are aware of where we go and what we do so that we are under a constant state of heightened vigilance in order to avoid becoming a victim.

That is not necessarily a bad thing either. The world has changed, and the cold hard facts are that crime rates have gone up over the years and the types of crimes committed have changed as well.

What many of us fail to do however is to consider our security when we head off for a vacation. We tend to assume that since we are heading out for some much needed R&R and that the resort or cruise we are heading out on will provide all the security we require and therefore it is not something we need to worry about.

Nothing could be further from the truth.

No matter where we go or who we go with our personal security is our own responsibility and it is incumbent on us to know and understand the dangers we may face when we do travel.

The sad fact is that there is crime in every part of the world, and some of the countries that rely the heaviest on tourism are in parts of the world where the law enforcement apparatus is much less organized and as efficient as counterparts in the West.

Recognizing that these areas are sometimes havens for people who would like nothing better than to part you from your hard earned money or belongings.

Understanding that electronic items like computers and laptops and especially smart phones are very likely targets of theft in some of these areas can help you to plan and strategize for any eventuality that you may face while abroad.

One important tip is to always book your trips with a reputable travel agency that knows the country you are traveling to and to heed any advice that they give with regards to where you can and cannot safely go while in a foreign country.

In many vacation countries, the most popular advice is to stay on the resort itself and avoid going into areas where the security of the resort has no ability to help you if you find yourself in jeopardy of some sort.

Always keep your personal items within your sight and make sure not to flaunt your wealth if you do venture off the resort grounds as this can be an invitation to an enterprising thief.

No-one is suggesting that you cannot have fun while abroad you just need to remain aware of your surroundings and exercise a little more caution is all.

Have a good time but be ever vigilant, that way you will return home refreshed and feeling good instead of becoming a statistic of another country’s crime problem.

Remember that security at home is also a major concern and Pre-Lock security can help you with all the protection you need to keep your family and home safe.

For anyone who follows the news, the issue of cyber security on both a personal level and a national or corporate level have all been called into question in the past few years.

All of the talks of the hacking in the elections down south this past year have left the masses both there in the U.S and up here in Canada curious and concerned about their own security from a cyber-perspective.

While there has been growing concern over identity theft across the globe in recent years it seemed that that issue faded somewhat until the allegations emerged that the U.S elections had been compromised by certain “bad actors” who attempted to compromise the security of the national parties in the U.S.

The vast majority of people now wonder exactly what they can do to prevent anyone from accessing their personal information especially after the Ashley Madison breach and the attacks on the elections south of the border.

Cyber Security professionals have some very good tips on exactly how you can protect yourself on a personal level in this very daunting age of technological advancements that truly seem like they are emerging faster than we can keep up.

The number one tip is to be absolutely sure that you try and come up with passwords that are either impossible (if that is even possible!) or exceptionally difficult to break.

This means to avoid using passwords that relate to information that is easily accessible to those who may seek to do you harm either personally or financially.

Never use birthdays or children’s names or anniversary dates that may be easy to detect for accomplished hackers.

Another tip is to be sure that you never use the same password for multiple devices or accounts. This should make sense in that if your password IS compromised at least it will only be for that particular device or account and not give access to ALL of your information or devices.

Be sure to update your passwords on a regular basis keeping in mind the tips above to ensure that your passwords are as difficult as humanly possible to break for hackers of any level of expertise.

Another very important step in personal security is to maximize all of your security settings on any social media platforms that you choose to use on a regular basis. This will further ensure that you are only providing information to the public at large that you are truly comfortable with and not putting things out there that may come back to bite you in the end.

One thing to constantly be aware of is exactly what you click on when web surfing. If you EVER have even the slightest concern about the site or click baits that you are considering accessing simply DO NOT CLICK!

Always update your security systems when prompted and never store your passwords in your browser!

While these are all very good steps there are many others that you may need to consider depending on your potential exposure.

For all of your security questions or advice on how you can make yourself safer from a security perspective be sure to contact Pre-Lock Security to get the advice you require.

The professional staff will answer any and all questions you may have.

After yet another attack on a Western style democracy by a lone terrorist in the U.K just this week many people in both Canada and the U.S are asking the question of how they can protect themselves in the event something un-towards happens while they are either traveling or at home.

While law enforcement does an excellent job in Canada of making sure that we are as protected as possible we are also responsible for making sure that we are aware of what is going on around us.

Attacks like the San Bernardino shooting last year make it quite clear that people around the perpetrators knew that something was not right yet failed to tell the authorities of their concerns despite seeing things occur that would have led them to believe that there was criminal activity taking place.

While it is certainly not the job of ordinary Canadian to supplant Law Enforcement there are things we CAN do to make sure that as Canadian we are all as safe as we can be and that includes keeping our eyes and ears open and being sure to report things that we think may be of concern.

Some of the tips that CSIS, the Canadian spy agency, and American intelligence counter parts suggest that we do as regular citizens are compelling and can be of utmost importance in identifying those who may seek to do us harm.

What these agencies suggest we, as citizens, should be aware of are those who seem to be very interested in public fixtures or icons of the community such as the C.N Tower or other highly visible things of that nature. We also need to be aware of anybody who tries to elicit information on military or law enforcement capabilities or who is attempting to test the security of buildings or structures of importance.

Of course, if you know of anybody who is trying to acquire explosives or weapons that may be used in attacks you need to immediately notify your local law enforcement contingent.

In no way is anybody suggesting that you take matters into your hands or to profile people from another country or religion as history has shown that attacks can happen from just about any one and the vast majority of incidences were committed by people who were citizens in the country that was involved.

All the professionals suggest is that you, as a citizen, keep your eyes open to any thing that may be out of the ordinary and relay that information to your local law enforcement whenever you feel it is warranted.

We are all citizens of a global community and it is incumbent on all of us to try and thwart the plans of those who hold our freedoms and democracy in contempt.

While we are fortunate here in the Toronto area not to have to deal with terrorism on a large scale we still have to be astute about our regular security precautions for your home and business and Pre-lock are the experts to help with that.

In just the past 10-15 years with the popularity of companies E-Bay and Amazon skyrocketing and the old standards like the Shopping Network and others still making waves the public is ordering items online more now than at any time in history.

Especially over the holidays season more people are simply choosing to do their shopping online and having the packages shipped to their homes via one of the big carriers like Fed-Ex and UPS among others.

While it is exceptionally convenient to do the purchasing this way the deliveries, unfortunately, do not always come when we are at home, and in order to prevent package theft we need to do some creative thinking to deter these types of crimes.

While some know of this first hand having had packages stolen from their premises, the vast majority of us would never even consider that this could happen but the truth is somewhat more deviant than we would like to believe.

While many package thefts are simple crimes of opportunity, meaning that someone passing by your house sees a package on the front step and decides that he or she will grab that package and take the chance it is something valuable or useful.

There are still others who are even more devious and they follow the courier trucks around and wait for packages to be dropped off on porches, front and back, and then strike before the homeowner returns home to retrieve the goods.

There are thankfully some ways to avoid this happening to you.

The first tip is to always try and ensure that any deliveries require a signature on arrival. That will cause the company delivering the package to have someone sign for the item before they are able to leave it and means that the package is never simply left unattended.

If you cannot do this then another way to avoid theft is to have your packages delivered to your place of business. This will again ensure that the packages are never left on your door step for an enterprising thief to find.

If you cannot do either of those then at the very least require that your packages have a shipping number that you are able to track from the point of shipping all the way to your front door so that you are aware of the time of delivery and can make sure that there will be someone there to retrieve the package if you cannot be there yourself.

No matter what you are buying, whether exceptionally valuable or not, you want to be sure that YOU get the item and not someone else and by choosing one of the methods above you will find that you can avoid the unpleasant experience of having a package stolen from you.

For further information on this or any other security topic be sure to call the professionals at Pre-Lock Security Services for advice and for all your security concerns.