Although dogs are mostly well-trained and are rarely likely to attack an individual unless they are provoked, some breeds of dogs can be aggressive by nature and can be volatile even if they are trained. Anyone worried about the threat of possible atttack, especially when going out jogging in the park or the streets might want to carry on them a Hand Held Dog Deterrent.

The deterrent device works simply by emitting a sound that can be potent enough to stop a dog in its tracks yet completely be oblvious to the human as far as the sound is concerned.

It works at a range of 5 metres, so if you intend to use it when out jogging, make sure its the ready by carriying it in your hands otherwise the dog may be on to you before you can use it.

Its difficult to know how effective this device really is unless its been tested (I am guessing the manufacturer tests the product on various breeds of dog before releasing it), but my inclination is, like another similar device we covered before, it may work with some dogs and not with others, especially the really aggressive ones.

Have you ever wished that you had a small self-defence weapon that you could carry around in your pocket? Well, the new Benchmark 1100 pen may be your answer. I know every pen, if you know how, can be used as a weapon, we have seen this in several movies. The bad guy attacks and the good guy whips out an ink pen and stabs the bad guy in the neck, hand, etc… and gets the upper hand. In actuality, in order to stick an ink pen into a person’s body you will need quite a bit of strength to do any good.

The Benchmark 1100 pen is designed so you will have a secret weapon that does not need that extra strength to do some damage to your attacker. The self-defence pen is an actual pen that has an ergonomic pattern for superior comfort and grip while writing. Once you turn the pen around to use as self-defence the same comfort and grip is there for you to retaliate against your attacker in self-defence with a kubotan style pointed weapon, which in essence is a small stick that is created from an anodized aluminum or stainless steel.

You can even colour coordinate your attire with your secret self-defence pen since it comes in a variety of colours. Even the most fashion conscience women will be able to fend off an attacker in style with a Benchmark 1100 pen that matches her outfit.

This might be ideal for women to carry with them while out jogging on their own or at even at all times.

Pepper Spray is a thing of the past! With pepper spray, you can spray and run, but the attacker can wipe it away, wash out his or her eyes, and be on the prowl again for another victim. You may not even remember what the person looked like enough to have them arrested as you sprayed and ran for safety. Wouldn’t you like to carry around a spray that would not only help you get out of harm’s way, but help authorities identify the person that attacked you?

Today, you can carry around the X-Spray Self Defense Indelible Spray. The spray is similar to shaving cream that can be sprayed in the face of an attacker. Once the spray hits the face it expands so as to cover the whole face and the attacker cannot see through the foam. Not only will they not be able to see, but the foam is also a blue dye. The dye is not harmful but will clearly identify your attacker. It takes an entire three days for the dye to fade away and that is plenty of time for the police to hunt down this criminal.

The spray is designed to make it difficult for attackers to become lost in the crowd, so to speak, as they will clearly have a stain on their face that will clearly mark them out. Even if the attacker isn’t caught, it will no doubt cause a great deal of embarassment.

It is difficult to say how true their claim is about the length of time before the spray wears off. What if there are detergents designed to be used on skin does the trick of removing the stain. Also, like all self-defense sprays, it is not always easy to spray it on the attacker because everything happens so quickly, and even if you do mange it, the accuracy might not be there.

The newest fad is carrying around photos of friends and family on a mobile phone or other electronic device. Another innovative way to carry around your favourite photos is with a digital keychain. You just upload any photo from your computer to the keychain and that’s it. As simple as can be.

Grandparents are sure to love a digital keychain with photos of the grandkids, newlyweds would love photos of their wedding or honeymoon, and teenagers could carry around photos of their friends.

The features of the digital keychain include 1.5 inch LCD display, 4.8 MB memory which allows you to store around 72 photos, auto or manual slide show, manual switch to display between time and photos, JPEG, BMP, PNG, and GIF picture formats, built in rechargeable battery, and the ability to download via 5 pins USB port.

Choices of designs include silver 1.5 inch, pink 1.5 inch, black 1.5 inch, TAO 1.4 inch square, and TAO 1.5 inch polished silver. The 1.5-inch digital photo key chains sell for $19.99, the TAO 1.4 inch sells for $34.99, and the TAO 1.5 sells for $54.99.

Not only will you love the ability to download and store photos but you can also have the keychain engraved for that added touch. The engraving can be 3 lines with 11 characters per line placed on the back of the digital photo keychain. Of course, with this kind of keychain, not too many people would misplace their keys.

Along with the digital photo keychain you can also find self-defense key chains that give you that added protection when you are in a dark parking lot at night or in case of an altercation at any time. With a pepper spray keychain, you will not have to search through your purse in order to find the pepper spray. By the time, you reach the bottom of your purse the attacker would have already grabbed your purse and started running away.

Below are images I was sent of a couple of self-defense keychains they will be releasing in the near future.

Here is a very interesting article that suggests businesses of all sizes are resorting to using all sorts of surveillance technology to help with security of their busineses. This is very interesting because it was only until recently such gadgets were considered as toys for ‘techies’ and that they weren’t much use beyond that, however, it seems there is a much more serious aspect to them.

Also, the laws regarding their use is much more clearer thus many now feel more comfortable in using such gagets.

According to this article, a lot of the interest in surveillance gadgets is motivated by desire for businesses to protect themselves against competitiors and also to ensure greater levels of efficiency amongst their employees as well as security for themselves.

The rise of using these gadgets is partly to do with doing business in what some may consider ‘dodgy’ areas such as countries in Eastern Europe. Some people are apprehensive enough when going on a business trip to that part of the world to see the need for using them. For example, some businessmen sense enough danger that they are splashing out on bullet and knife-proof vests and even briefcases that can withstand a gunshot.

Of particular interest are counter-surveillance gadgets such as as those that detect covert listening devices and hidden cameras. The idea is to stop rivals from listening into or record conversations in meetings or the like. For example, one gadget that enables this is a mobile phone; it encrypts signals that nullifies any equipment designed to listen into conversations.

Another tool of particular interest is computer software that allows a company to monitor the activities of their workers when they are on their computers.

I have to admit, I did not know how widespread spy equipment has become in their use, especially the fact that they have become rather important clog in doing business. These are not fancy gadgets, they can actually protect competitive advantage or even in some cases gain such advantage if a business can infiltrate another using such devices, though that would be illegal if found out. You can read more here.

Knowing stun guns that look like weapons are likely to make women hesitant in carrying one, stun gun manufacturers have come up with the idea of making one look like a lipstick. Lipstick often being an essential accessory in a woman’s handbag, the idea of camouflaging a stun gun as one is therefore likely to make her more comfortable in carrying one with her.

The power of the shock from this gun is 350,000 volts which is sufficient to provide enough venom to take an attacker by surprise and even fell them off their feet as a result, but it is still significantly lower than some others available on the market. For example, this mini stun gun we covered sometime ago emits up to almost three times as much shock.

This lipstick gun measures less than 4 inches long and comes in a variety of colours. Its quite a neat little gadget because stun guns generally tend to be lot bigger and bulkier, so this being really compact is an advantage and likley be a good selling point to its target market, women.

There are strict laws in use of stun guns and in many countries such as the UK they are barred for use by general public even for self-defence.

A company is in the process of manufacturing and selling bullet-proof hoodies that can withstand 9mm Magnum handgun bullets, in response to high rate of gun crime in some areas. Although the manufacturer claims it is designed for innocent people that live in areas where gun crime is rife, some are suggesting the target group may be teenage gang members.

The news about the hoodies has caused quite a bit of consternation among these groups because it is possibly seen as encouraging gang-culture among teenagers as it could give them an aura of invincibility.

As far as I see it, if it saves lives then it’s a good thing even if it is designed for a group of people that any decent human being cannot easily tolerate. Every human life is precious, even those that may have strayed from decent human behaviour. The argument in some quarters that it will create a sense of invincibility among gang members may have some substance, however, it is predicted they are unlikely to be a big market because of the cost of such clothing and, secondly, it should be the police and social services that should act to dampen gang-culture in the first place.

It should be remembered that people can already get hold of bullet-proof vests that they can wear under other clothing, so to suggest this will lead to a big market among gang fraternity holds little weight.

Its also the responsibility of parents and guardians to keep teenagers in the right path and away from trouble, and no type of clothing should be an excuse to let them roam free and involve themselves in criminal activity.

Of course, many people are also innocent victims who just happen to be in the firing line because they live in areas that have high propensity of gun use. For these people, this may well give them a great sense of protection.

A little more on the clothing. These hoodies are made with a fabric called Dyneema. They appear to be like any other hoodies and are lightweight and comfortable to wear, at least according to the manufucterer, Bladerunner. More on this story can be found on BBC.

I doubt people worry about being attacked with a knife when they are out and about, but for anyone that maybe tad insecure, then wearing this t-shirt might reassure them to some degree. It has just been launched in Japan by a company called Nihon Uni.

The idea behind the invention was in response to the alarming rise in knife attacks in Japan. The fabric used is ultrahigh molecular polyethelene fibre making it comfortable and light enough to wear and at the same time able to resist a knife. Its designed to be wearable for everyday use and can be worn under regular clothing.

Although I am not sure if people, on the whole, going about their daily business would feel insecure enough to wear one of these, it may well be tempting to anyone working in a crime-ridden area where thugs are not averse to carrying knives.

It does not come cheap though, costing the equivalent of around £95 for a short-sleeved t-shirt.

Via: InventorSpot

While a dog is affectionately called a man’s best friend, unfortunately, its not always the case; some are quite aggressive and can be quite dangerous.

The volatility of a dog toward strangers will depend on a number of factors such as breed (some types are more aggressive than others), how well they are trained, etc. Sadly, we hear more and more stories of aggressive dogs mauling small defenceless children, in particular. In some cases the victim is a member of the household of the dog owner itself.

This device is a dog repellent callled Ultrasonic Dog Chaser. It works by emitting a strong sound which is supposed to stop a dog getting any closer. The dog will scurry away or not approach any further towards you on hearing this sound. Its designed only to be heard by the dog and not humans.

The sound blurted out is up 135 decibels, which is a fairly strong and should create a state of panic in the dog. The device itself will work up to 40 feet, so any point beyond that and the dog will not be able to hear the sound. Its quite compact in size (measuring about 4 inches in length) so it can easily be carried in the pocket or palm of hand if jogging.

The best way to test this product is to use it non-threatening dogs that are unfamiliar to you to see whether it works. Test it on various dogs so you get an idea of how likely it is to work. But do not test it on your own pet dog as it can lead to confusion.

I get the impression that this may not work at all times as the seller has a disclaimer in small print saying it will not work in all instances. For example, if the dog is hard of hearing, overly aggressive, then it may not work. I can understand it not working on deaf dogs, but surely the purpose of this device is to counter those same aggressive dogs the device has a disclamer saying it may not work on.

Taser International, a company that manufactures stun guns, has come up with a novel way to make carrying stun guns more accessible to women – adding a feminine touch to the gun and a holster that can also hold 1GB of music.

The stun gun called Taser C2 has been given a makeover in design such as colour to make women less apprehensive about carrying one. Some have dubbed the holster iLaser (a take on the iPod, the popular music player from Apple) because it combines a stun gun with a music player that is capable of storing 1GB of songs and producing a laser shock at the same time. The music player itself is not integrated into the stun gun but is a holster that wears over the stun gun so it serves both functions.

It also comes with a pair of fashionable headphones to give it a stronger music player over stun gun bias. It would allow women to use it as a music player but at the same time giving reassurance of having something to protect themselves should the need ever arise.

The stun gun itself can produce a shock of 50,000 volts, somewhat lower than many other stun guns in the market for self-defence.

The design of these new stun guns have been made to look different from traditional stun guns with a design akin to a woman’s shaver. Furthermore, they have given them a very feminine look with designs coming in pink, leopard skin, and one or two other other choices.

The idea is to make it more comfortable for women to arm themselves with a stun gun; women are major target market for manufacturers of stun guns for self defence. Many women are reluctant to carry stun guns despite them being touted as self defence tools because some still see it as a gun, partly because, at least until recently, of the resemblance of a stun gun to traditional guns. However, this new design partly compensates for that.

This link provides laws on stun gun ownership and usage in the US. The following post has information on countries where stun guns are known to be restricted (at the bottom of the post).