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DGA Security Blog

Our business security and fire systems experts answer the most frequently asked questions, no holds barred. Read on.

Isabel Leckie

Isabel is a Marketing Specialist at DGA.

Blog Feature

Security Terms

By: Isabel Leckie
December 4th, 2024

Environmental Monitoring is the process of continuously observing and recording environmental conditions in specific areas of your business premises. This includes tracking factors such as temperature, humidity, the presence of water, power failure, and other critical conditions. Real-time alerts are generated each time a significant change is detected, allowing you to respond quickly and prevent potential damage. Environmental threats like water leaks, extreme temperatures, and high humidity can be just as damaging as theft or fire. For example, a sudden increase in temperature or a water leak in a server room can lead to equipment failure, data loss, and significant downtime. Similarly, in a stockroom, excess humidity could ruin sensitive inventory. Environmental monitoring systems, such as those provided by DGA, are designed to protect sensitive areas within your business, such as stockrooms, server rooms, and other critical spaces. These systems are equipped with sensors that detect changes in environmental conditions, such as temperature fluctuations or the presence of water, and immediately notify you of any potential threats.

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Fire Systems | Security Terms

By: Isabel Leckie
November 20th, 2024

Redundancy in a monitoring center refers to a duplication of critical systems such that if any component of the monitoring infrastructure fails, there is a backup in place. There are three different levels of redundancy: cold, warm, and hot.

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Access Control | Security Terms

By: Isabel Leckie
November 13th, 2024

Dual-factor authentication, also known as two-factor authentication (2FA) or multi-factor authentication (MFA), requires two pieces of evidence (credentials) to be granted access.

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Video Surveillance | Security Terms

By: Isabel Leckie
November 6th, 2024

Wide Dynamic Range (WDR) is a technology commonly used in security cameras that balances the light in high-contrast images to produce a crisp, high-quality image. WDR is often applied in outdoor security cameras where there is greater unpredictability in lighting.

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Access Control | Security Terms

By: Isabel Leckie
October 30th, 2024

A high-security tag is a type of access credential in the shape of a small, round sticker. Other types of access credentials include access cards, key fobs, and mobile-based apps.

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Video Surveillance | Security Terms

By: Isabel Leckie
October 10th, 2024

Unlike a wide or narrow angle lens, a varifocal lens is a camera lens that can be adjusted to provide either a wide or narrow field of view. Varifocal lenses have more versatility than other types of lenses as they can be adjusted for the environment they are in, making them suitable for open spaces like parking lots and tight areas like hallways or alleys. They are often found in standard dome cameras which are the most widely used type of dome camera.

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Intrusion Alarms | Security Terms

By: Isabel Leckie
September 5th, 2024

DGA’s Supervised Opening and Closing service is the watchdog that oversees our customers' intrusion systems. If the intrusion alarm is not armed at closing or disarmed outside of the schedule provided to us, our Monitoring Center will contact the appropriate person to confirm that the action is authorized. In the event of an unscheduled disarming, if we cannot obtain a valid verification code, we will notify the appropriate authorities and follow the customer provided instructions.

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Access Control | Security Terms

By: Isabel Leckie
August 22nd, 2024

An elevator access control reader is an important part of your access control system that manages elevator access to floors within a building. Elevator readers are typically mounted within an elevator near the floor buttons and look like normal access readers. Just like other types of access control readers, elevator readers can accept multiple forms of access credentials, including mobile, tag, fob, etc.

Blog Feature

Security Terms

By: Isabel Leckie
August 15th, 2024

A plenum is a space between the structural ceiling and a drop-down ceiling used for air circulation for heating, cooling, and ventilation. Plenum-rated cables have special insulation that makes them fire-resistant and non-toxic during a fire condition. If your space has a plenum ceiling, the cables used in the ceiling space need to be plenum-rated to avoid a building code violation.

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Access Control | Security Terms

By: Isabel Leckie
July 18th, 2024

Anti-passback is a process or software control that prevents a user from allowing someone else to utilize his or her access credential to enter a specific entry point after the user has entered the protected area.

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Video Surveillance | Security Terms

By: Isabel Leckie
July 11th, 2024

A fixed lens is a wide-angle lens that cannot have the position adjusted. This type of lens provides a broad field of view and can be great for monitoring large areas such as parking lots. The position of the lens will be set by the technician during installation and can be adjusted manually later.

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Access Control | Security Terms

By: Isabel Leckie
June 27th, 2024

Also known as an Authority Level, Access Levels control which users can access what doors, cabinets, or drawers during specified time periods. A user can be assigned one or more Access Levels depending on their role. Think of Access Levels as logical groupings within your business, such as departments, floors, or work shifts that share the same access requirements. Each Access Level is comprised of where (specific doors) and when (schedules). Depending on their role, a user can be assigned one or more Access Levels. With DGAPass, you can easily control Access Levels for each individual user along with schedules. For instance, you could give Employee A access to your retail location between 8 am and 9 pm and Manager A access from 4 am to 11 pm and so on. Each access point (or door) is also 100% customizable so you can limit who can access storage areas, for instance. All of this can be done at any time on the DGAPass web portal and mobile app.