Alternative to smartwater? (home security)

jitters

Hi all.

I had a community police officer knock on my door earlier distributing UV pens and info packs, as a house further down my road had been burgled. Whilst the idea of marking my property makes sense, a UV pen seems a little dated and they always leave a visible residue [STRIKE]which can be seen[/STRIKE]. [edit- obviously!]

I'd heard about smartwater and have been on their website and it looks like a good product. In addition to easy application (in the nook and crannies of a device) and no visible residue it's main plus point is that it has a unique "DNA" which is linked to you and your property, details of which are held on a database which the police regularly access. Great! Although, there is a £60 annual fee for membership which you need to keep or your details are deleted from the database rendering the whole system useless. Not so great!

So, onto my original question and forum topic. Are there any (cheaper) alternatives similar to the smartwater system?

Also, the info pack had details of an online database to store product serial codes/IMEI numbers etc which is also used by the police - which again seems to be a great idea and is FREE. Details at immobilise.com

Thanks for looking.

muckybutt

Microdots http://www.selectamark.co.uk/product_selectadot.html been there done that and got me stuff back so highly recommended

lisal0u

Hi,

We recently got a pack containing smartwater from the local police for free. Im guessing this might have been a local thing but it might be worth asking them. At the very least you may get a discount!

Lisa

jitters

lisal0u wrote: »

Hi,

We recently got a pack containing smartwater from the local police for free. Im guessing this might have been a local thing but it might be worth asking them. At the very least you may get a discount!

Lisa

Hi Lisa. That's an interesting option. I have to ask though, is it free only for the first year or did you get a"lifetime subscription" to the smartwater database? perhaps the police have a negotiated contract?)

@Muckybutt - these look good.

Thanks

lisal0u

Hiya,

Im not exactly sure, Ill have a look at it when I get home. I was under the impression that the police had their own database and I didnt need to subscribe to anything that would cost. I remember the PCSO telling me to fill in the form and return it to them as soon as possible.

Ill let you know!

Lisa

SailorSam

jitters wrote: »

Also, the info pack had details of an online database to store product serial codes/IMEI numbers etc which is also used by the police - which again seems to be a great idea and is FREE. Details at immobilise.com

Thanks for looking.

I thought that on-line database sounds like a good idea so went away around the house making a list of everything that could on there, then i thought ....
If the house is broken into and the computer taken, Where have my details gone, ok they are still there but how do i get them ?

jitters

SailorSam wrote: »

I thought that on-line database sounds like a good idea so went away around the house making a list of everything that could on there, then i thought ....
If the house is broken into and the computer taken, Where have my details gone, ok they are still there but how do i get them ?

Hi SailorSam. You'll still have your login details to the site, so just you'd just use another computer to retrieve the information.

I went around the house last night too and uploaded the S/Ns to the website. I used the Micrsoft excel spreadsheet template to allow for multiple item uploads and saved a copy on my computer for reference. This copy I have encrypted using truecrypt in case my laptop is ever stolen.

It does seem to be a great concept the immobilise website. Great for the police to identify stolen items and trace back to the owner but also useful for making insurance claims after a theft. I'm going to add photos and scanned receipts when I have more time.

HTH