I Test Home Security Tech. Here Are 4 Devices I Rely on to Guard My Porch

Your front door is your first line of defense against, well, anything you don’t want in your home. It’s also one of the first places burglars check when they’re looking for an easy break-in, and the spot porch pirates watch if they think lucrative packages are going to show up. That means your door is also the best place to start improving home security, especially as the holidays ramp up and you get more visitors and deliveries.

Here’s the technology I use to protect my front door and porch, in four easy steps anyone can start with. You don’t need to install a full security system or pay a high monthly subscription for home monitoring with these devices, either. Setup is totally DIY and takes very little time, too. See which you should start with.

A smart lock to control access from anywhere

Old deadbolts do well, but any entryway can get a powerful upgrade by adding digital features via a smart lock. Smart locks allow you to control your front door lock from anywhere using your phone, as well as creating temporary passes for guests. They can support digital wallet keys for touchless unlocking, and many have keypads or fingerprint readers. Plus, you can enable settings like auto-locking, so you never have to worry about forgetting to lock the door.

Smart locks come in two flavors: retrofits that leave your deadbolt largely intact and only replace your indoor thumb turn, and full deadbolt replacements that give you new locking power, inside and out. Don’t worry about installation: If you’ve never installed a deadbolt before, the process is generally easy and doesn’t take much time. I have a full guide where you can find more details.

What models do you recommend?

A video doorbell for smart alerts about what’s happening

Say goodbye to dusty doorbells of the past. Today’s high-tech doorbells do far more than chime: Video doorbells keep an eye on your front porch, while also giving you a two-way audio intercom right on your phone to hold a conversation — or even let an LLM do the talking for you.

Video doorbells also have particularly useful object recognition features, sometimes even for free. That includes recognizing packages and alerting you whenever one shows up at your door, or when one suddenly vanishes. Video storage options can save recordings of key events, so you can check who came to the door if you need to.

These advanced doorbells come in both wired and wireless versions. I’m a fan of the battery-powered, wireless models, which you can set and angle to get just the right look at your porch, doormat and other key places. Many can also work with your current door chime, although you probably don’t need it anymore with phone-based chimes.

What models do you recommend?

• Google Nest’s compact, universal battery model ($180)
• Tapo’s 4K beast with local video storage ($220)
• Blink’s ultra-affordable doorbell ($80)

A delivery box to protect packages

Package theft concerns have reignited a centuries-old tradition of protecting mail. Today’s modern delivery boxes are specifically designed to allow delivery people to put packages inside, but make it difficult or impossible for thieves to take packages out, through clever lock models, auto-locking, smart controls and other various tricks.

I’ve been using a delivery box myself for a couple of years and find it very handy, as long as you have the space by your door. Some versions even come weighted or screwed down if you’re worried about a porch pirate absconding with the entire box. It’s a good idea to put notes in your deliveries to use the box, since despite signs not all delivery people will notice it’s there.

As a final plus, these boxes also keep your packages protected from the elements, which is nice when you live in an area that gets frequent winter snowstorms, as I do. 

What models do you recommend?

• Yale’s sturdy smart box ($335)
• Hyve’s sleek pod ($297)

A smart bulb for powerful lighting

Where front doors exist, there’s usually a light nearby, like an overhead porch light or a wall-mounted lamp, to illuminate the entryway and surrounding area. These lights can also get a major makeover if you switch to an LED smart bulb, which are available as both BR30 floodlights and standard A19 home bulbs.

These lights also give you phone app controls, which is more important than it might seem. With my apps, I can control brightness, set schedules for bulbs to turn on or off, and even adjust the color to whatever I want, say for a holiday event. All it takes is screwing in the bulb and connecting it to Wi-Fi, so you can be done in seconds.

If you feel like experimenting, you can usually link smart bulbs to other devices, too. For example, you could set the light to turn on automatically when a smart lock is unlocked, or when a security system is disarmed.

What models do you recommend?

• GE Cync’s four-quadrant Dynamic Effect floodlight bulb ($21)
• Wiz’s highly affordable standard-sized bulb 2-pack ($22)
• Ecosmart’s durable, extra-large floodlight bulb 2-pack ($14)

Now that your front porch is up to date, take a look at the latest home AI tricks I’ve found are actually worth using and how to get them.