Basic
A doorbell camera or a couple of standalone cameras with app viewing. Good for renters, apartments, or a single entry point. You (or the manufacturer’s own quick-start guide) handle the actual mounting.
TCG Secured Designs
Real security help, told to you straight.
Camera-system planning and configuration guidance, plus authorized, scoped security testing — from one hobbyist, done honestly. Not a licensed installer. Not a certified security firm. Not insured. Read on for exactly what that means before you call.
⚠️ Read this before anything else
TCG Secured Designs is a division of a one-person hobby and second job — Gary Amick works IT and construction during the week; this happens evenings and weekends, by arrangement. It is not insured, not a licensed contractor or electrician, and does no on-site or in-home visits. Camera work means helping you plan, choose, and configure a system remotely or by drop-off — not showing up to mount hardware or wire a panel. Security testing means authorized, scoped testing by a formally-trained, certified technician — run as a hobby, not an insured or bonded professional service. Estimates aren’t guarantees, and nothing here is sold with scare tactics.
Two ways this helps
Cameras, or testing — or both
🎥
Camera planning & configuration
Help choosing the right cameras and recorder, planning where coverage should go from photos or a video you send over, and configuring the system. Local recording by default. No on-site visit, no electrical work — that part is always yours to arrange.
See camera tiers →
🛡️
Authorized security testing
Scoped, written-permission-only testing across six engagement types, done by a certified, formally-trained technician running it as a one-person hobby — not an insured or bonded firm. A plain-English report ranked by real risk, not a wall of jargon or a fear pitch.
See engagement types →
Planning, not installation
What "camera help" actually means here
The best camera system is the one that reliably captures what you actually care about — not the priciest box on the shelf. That starts with a real conversation and whatever photos, a rough sketch, or a short video walkthrough you send over: every entry point and blind spot worth covering, realistic distances (a camera that reads a face at 15 feet may blur at 60), lighting and night performance, wired vs. wireless, and how many days of footage you want kept. Then the recorder and cameras get configured — over a call or by dropping the hardware off — before you (or an installer/electrician you hire) handle the physical mounting.
Advanced
Multi-camera coverage with a local recorder (NVR/DVR) planned and configured for you. The sweet spot for most homes and small storefronts — footage kept locally, no monthly fee required.
Custom
Larger or mixed wired/wireless coverage planned from photos, a floor sketch, or a video walkthrough you send over — multiple buildings, long runs, PoE switches, parking lots. Planned first, bought second.
AI-assisted
On-device motion and person/vehicle detection to cut false alerts, configured so it flags an actual person rather than every passing car. Detection stays on the device, not a cloud service.
Authorized, scoped, honest
What "security testing" actually means here
Every engagement starts with a written agreement covering exactly what’s tested, when, and how — nothing outside that scope gets touched, and nothing gets tested without your explicit, written permission. This is careful, real work done by a formally-trained, certified technician who takes it seriously — run as a one-person hobby, not an insured or bonded professional pentest firm, and that distinction is stated upfront every time, not discovered later.
🌐
External
What a stranger on the internet can see and reach — your firewall edge, exposed services, VPN, internet-facing servers.
🖥️
Web application
Login flows, forms, uploads, session handling, and the logic behind your site or web app.
🏢
Internal
How far an attacker could move if a laptop or email account were already compromised.
📶
Wireless
Wi-Fi encryption, guest-network isolation, and rogue access points.
📧
Phishing simulation
Authorized, sign-off-first simulated phishing to measure — and improve — staff awareness.
🎥
Camera / IoT review
Default credentials, exposed management ports, and out-of-date firmware on connected hardware.
Said plainly
What TCG Secured Designs is not
Not a licensed installer
No electrical license, no on-site install crew. Physical mounting, cable-running, and any line-voltage work is on you to arrange — with a licensed electrician for anything beyond low voltage.
Not an insured or bonded firm
Formal training and Network-Operations-&-Security certifications back the work — but this is a one-person hobby, not an insured or bonded commercial pentest company, and not a substitute for a certified commercial audit where regulation requires one.
Not insured
This is a one-person, home-operated hobby and second job — not a full-time business or a licensed contractor. That’s stated here directly rather than left for you to assume otherwise.
Questions
Are you a licensed electrician or security-installation company?
No. This is a one-person hobby and second job — not insured, not bonded, and not a licensed contractor, electrician, or security company. Camera work is planning, selection, and configuration guidance, not on-site electrical or installation labor. Anything involving line voltage or a breaker panel needs a licensed electrician you hire directly.
Do you come to my property to install cameras?
No — there are no on-site visits. Planning happens from a conversation plus whatever photos, a rough sketch, or a short video you send over; configuration of the recorder and cameras happens remotely or by drop-off. You (or someone you hire) handle the physical mounting and cable runs.
Is your security testing performed by a certified professional?
Yes — the person doing the work holds two college degrees (Miller-Motte College and Prosser School of Technology) and professional certifications for Network Operations & Security, plus IT Support. What it isn’t is an insured, bonded commercial pentest firm — this stays a one-person hobby, done evenings and weekends. So if a compliance requirement calls for a certified, insured pentest company, I’ll tell you upfront that this isn’t a substitute for that.
Is security testing without permission ever okay?
No — never. Every engagement requires written authorization for systems you own or are explicitly permitted to test, with a scope agreed in advance. Testing anything else isn’t a gray area; it’s illegal, and it doesn’t happen here.
Is this insured?
No. This is a hobby and second job, not an insured business — that’s stated plainly rather than implied otherwise.
Know what you’re getting before you call — that’s the point.
Tell us what you’re trying to protect and we’ll point you at cameras, testing, or neither — no pressure, no upsell.