HOW TO SECURE YOUR HOME EFFECTIVELY

If you could afford it, of course, you’d install an alarm system, since it’s an excellent way to protect your home. But if you don’t have that kind of money, there are still inexpensive ways to secure your place of residence ~ numerous steps you can take yourself, and others you’ll want to hire a professional to do for you.

No property is completely impervious, but you can adhere to one main goal: Keep out potential intruders as best you can, and make it as difficult as possible to prevent a burglar from entering. Here’s how:

Establish home rules. Set up a brief list of rules, and involve everybody in the family, so everyone can cooperate to make your home safe and secure:

·         Don’t answer the door, unless you know the person. (Install a peephole if you don’t have one already.)

·         Whenever you’re not using your garage, keep the garage door closed and locked. Leaving it open tempts a potential prowler.

·         Whenever you leave, and before you turn in for the night, lock all the windows and doors.

Replace worn-out and weak locks. Deadbolts provide extraordinary security. Install grade-2 deadbolts, which penetrate the door frame.

Don’t have a “hidden” key. A thief will locate that extra key you stash inside the mailbox, above the door, under the mat, or beneath the flower pot. Even if you have a fake-rock keyholder, a burglar will probably already know what it looks like. It’s better to trust a neighbor or friend to keep aside a spare key for you.

Don’t keep keys and remotes next to the door, visible to someone peeking in. Instead, hang them on hooks inside a cupboard door or hidden in a drawer.

Install outdoor lighting. Install a light at each door, and surrounding the perimeter of your property. Better yet, put them all on timers. Motion-sensor floodlights illuminate anytime anyone passes by. Some exterior lights respond to fluctuations in temperature, sound, and daylight. Some light systems can be connected with your smart device so you can be alerted to any suspicious activity and immediately respond.

Keep some indoor lights on whenever you’re away. If you’re gone during the day, or out for a longer time, you can make it seem like you’re still home by attaching timers to lights, TVs, radios, and stereos. You may want to add smart-device capability, so you can monitor all household activities, and make it look like it’s occupied the whole time you’re out.

Bolster your air conditioner. You can prevent an intruder from getting in through an unsecured window by adding corner braces, a bracket, or a sliding window lock.

Inside, keep your valuables out of sight. Shut blinds and drapes and if you have unusual possessions. Keep expensive jewelry, treasured objects, and emergency cash hidden in unexpected locations.

Outside, don’t put valuables on display that would attract a potential robber. For instance, if you have a luxury car, store it inside the garage.

Don’t be obvious. A criminal will case your neighborhood before pulling a job, staying on the lookout for everyone’s comings and goings. If they notice that you’re home during the daytime, they’ll likely go on to the next house. Compare your place to your neighbors’, and tone down your home’s façade accordingly. Display only modest responsible upkeep rather than extravagance.

Don’t have windows near or on your doors. Windows obviously increase the risk of a break-in, because glass can be shattered. If a door has glass, install premium-quality deadbolts. If you have a sliding glass door, a latch lock actually isn’t worth much. Enhance your security by adding a wooden dowel cut to exact size, or an adjustable safety bar, in the floor track. You can also put in a floor bolt.

Reinforce the doors. A hollow door is susceptible to break-in. A solid-core door made of wood or metal is far superior. 

Make it difficult for a prowler to hide. You don’t want a trespasser to be able to hide, so keep your shrubs, trees, hedges, and all other plants trimmed. Avoid tall fences, also.

Don’t leave your ladder out in the yard. A crook could pretend to be a contractor or handyman, and climb up your ladder to enter through your balcony or a second-floor window.

A guard dog can be a good deterrent. If you don’t have a dog, play a recording of a big dog barking whenever you’re away, and post a “BEWARE OF DOG” sign.

Put up warning signs. Post a “NO TRESPASSING” or “TRESPASSERS WILL BE SHOT” sign. You can even stick an alarm company logo on the front door or front window (even if you don’t really have an alarm system).

The following measures are more costly, but worth considering. If you want additional security at your property, there are some more measures you can take:

Install an electronic gate. Depending on your living situation, investing in a security gate can enable you to approve which individuals can enter your property. With a keypad, an intercom system, or even more sophisticated features such as biometrics, it’s possible to select various security clearance levels.

Buy a home safe, especially one that anchors to the floor, which will guard important documents, emergency cash, and irreplaceable valuables. Choose one with an appropriate level of fireproof and waterproof certification.

A video surveillance system might be worth the investment, depending on your circumstances and location. Decide on the level of image resolution you desire, and think about additional technical aspects. Do you want to record 24/7 footage? What about software with capture capabilities ~ time-and-date stamp code, vehicle number plate recognition, facial recognition, and so on? The decisions you make will depend on your environment, your budget, and your property. When people with criminal intentions see any aspect of your access control system, they’re liable to think twice and move on.

Do your research. There are so many ways to augment your home security. If you live in Atlanta, Georgia, you should hire a reputable locksmith company such as Atlanta Fast Locksmith, where expert staff mobile locksmiths work 24/7 to assist you, and free consultations are available.

How a Home Intrusion Can Be Avoided

Don’t worry about it if you have to purchase a security system but can’t afford to pay for the monitoring service that is offered to you. You will simply have to make sure that the security system you buy is able to help you avoid an actual intrusion. While you might have the best home locks in your home, you should still take some additional precautions to ensure you don’t receive a home intrusion. When someone has a break-in, they generally keep asking what they might have done to avoid this situation from occurring in the first place. No one wants to take responsibility if they are at fault. It is just easier to blame someone else.

Despite what you might want to believe, most intrusions happen because of a homeowner’s oversight. When a burglary is committed it is because the thief is looking for time the right time and an opportunity. Keeping this in mind, as a homeowner, it is up to you to make sure they are not given either the time or opportunity to break-into your home. A locksmith services, such as, Atlanta Fast Locksmith in Atlanta, GA can be helpful in advising you of the things you can do to protect yourself from the misfortune of a home invasion. We have provided you with a list of some common mishaps that homeowner’s make, which can help them avoid a home intrusion.

Steps to Avoid a Home Intrusion

Not locking doors

You might not think this is done too often but you’d be surprised at how many people simply shut their doors without locking their doors. No matter how much sense it makes to lock your door behind you, we find that many people still do not lock the door behind them. Perhaps they simply have too much on their minds. Whenever you leave your home, double check to make sure you have closed and locked each door in your home before leaving.

Responsible Social Media Posting

You can become a victim of cyber stalking. This means that there may be someone who is targeting you to find out about your comings and goings. When you are posting vacation pictures or out around town, an intruder becomes aware of this. By posting too much information about where you are at any given moment, you leave your home wide open for possible intrusion. A thief needs time and opportunity. When you are not home, you’re offering them both. Remember this the next time you are posting anything on social media.

Install Quality Locks

Not just any type of lock will do when you are attempting to avoid a home intrusion. Consider purchasing and installing high quality locks that prove effective against home intrusions. Burglars know the different types of residential locks that are manufactured today. They know a quality lock versus a cheap and poorly made lock. If they are able to identify that you have a high quality lock, they are less likely going to take the necessary time to break it. High quality locks are designed for durability. They are harder to break than a standard lock. Since it would take a burglar too much time to break through this type of lock, they will typically pass on a home with high security locks.

Leaving Your Trash Visible

If you do not want your home to become a target, be careful about what you leave out for the trash guy. If you have recently bought something of value, do not sit the boxes out in the open for all to see. This gives the burglar the opportunity to see exactly what they could get inside your home that would be of some value. They are often after expensive home items and feel that it is worth taking the chance if they can nab something of value. Break down boxes and make sure they cannot be seen from the street.

Set Your Home Alarm

Some might reason that if you have a home alarm, you have something inside that is value to you. While this is true, in some cases, home alarms are used to protect the people inside. In either case, if you have an alarm, it will not be of any use to you if it isn’t set to go off when it needs to. Regardless as to whether or not you have a monitoring service that will respond to the alarm or not, it is a good idea to have an alarm installed. When the alarm is triggered, it will likely scare off the intruder. If you’re home or not, you should always have your alarm set. Sometimes, intruders are bold enough to break-in while people are at home; especially if they know that there is no man present. Protect yourself by setting your home alarm at all times.

Have Someone Pickup Your Mail

If you are aware for an extended amount of time, don’t let your mail pile up. This is another way to find out if someone is home or not. A burglar may be keeping an eye on your house for a couple of days, if they notice mail piling up. This gives them a clear indication that no one is home if the mail is still there. You’re home can easily become a target of a home intrusion if you have mail overflowing in your mailbox. Instead of becoming a victim of a home intrusion, ask a friend or family member to pick up your mail. If you do not have anyone who lives close enough, ask the post office to hold your mail until you return home.

Purchase an Alarm

There are plenty of benefits of having an alarm. One of them is that you are given peace-of-mind. However, more importantly, you can avoid a home invasion. When you purchase an alarm system, it can act as a deterrent for an intruder.

Think like a burglar would think and do not provide them with the chance to make you their next victim. Don’t make it easy for them to make you their next target. Take precautions today.

Six DIY Simple Security Tricks to Keep Your Home Safe

By Yahoo Makers
July 16, 2015

Image Source: TheGrommet.com

This is not one of the recommended security upgrades, but it sure is cute! Photo: TheGrommet.com

Summer’s officially here and that means while we’re planning weekend getaways and family vacations, burglars are prepping for summer break-ins. To be sure, a monitored home security system is often the best way to keep burglars at bay, but there are also some simple (and cheap!) ways to keep your home extra safe and secure when you’re home, out for the night, or gone for a week. Yahoo Makers talked to Elli Bishop, home security expert and head of outreach for home security and safety resource site Safewise.com, to get easy tips, tricks, and upgrade ideas to make sure your house is as unwelcoming to intruders as possible.

1. Stop leaving that porch light on the entire time you’re gone

“It’s really easy to see that the light is on during the day and the light’s on at night. It’s a common misconception that it helps,” says Bishop. The same goes for those light timers that go on at the exact same time every day. “Real people at home don’t turn on a living room lamp at 7 p.m. on the dot every single evening, and doing that actually can send a message that you’re not home.” Bishop recommends buying the Belkin WeMo light switch, which, priced right around $40, allows you to turn a particular light on and off via your phone from wherever you are. “It’s a really great option and a really cheap way to turn on your porch light at 5 and then turn it off the next day. It kind of gives your home a lived-in look.”

2. Go keyless

“One in eight burglars gain access by picking a lock or using a key, so you want to get rid of the hidden house key first thing, that’s obvious, but if you add a keyless lock, you get rid of a lot of security breaches,” explains Bishop, who notes that you want to make sure your lock – keyless or otherwise – is also a deadbolt. “Keyless locks are awesome because you can reprogram them. They’re also good if you own a vacation home or a rental home because you can constantly change the code.” That means you never have to worry about someone you don’t want having a key. And they’re not all that expensive, either. A deadbolt versoin by Kwikset starts at around $100. You can find one at your local home improvement retailer and usually install them yourself.

3. Get a dog … any dog

“Dogs can actually be a very reliant deterrent for burglars,” says Bishop, citing a University of North Carolina at Charlotte study that found that the majority of burglars will not go through with a burglary when confronted with a canine. And while you might imagine that only large, imposing dogs with a mean bark are the ones to ward off intruders, it turns out bigger isn’t always better. “Even small little yappy dogs. They make enough noise to scare them away.”

4. Put out that alarm protection sign … just make sure it isn’t from the Reagan years  

According to that same study, 90 percent of convicted burglars surveyed said that they would avoid a home they think has an alarm system. So if you do have one but haven’t posted any signs or stickers around your property announcing that you do, you’re doing yourself a disservice. “The signs are essential. You should definitely put them out and make them very visible,” according to Bishop.  As for those who put up signs touting an alarm system they don’t actually have, Bishop notes that you’re definitely more secure if you actually have the system, but if you’re going to put fake signs up anyway: make sure the company on the sign is still in business. Sounds obvious, but it happens. “People make the mistake of putting up an old sign for a security company that isn’t even around anymore. If you’re going to put them up, make sure the security company exists and make sure the signs look like those at other homes in the neighborhood.” And for those who do have a real alarm system, swap out the old signs you’ve had for years for new ones your security service will be happy to send you.

4. “Cut” back on crime

Making sure your bushes are trimmed and pruned makes your yard nicer for you … and worse for criminals. “Trimming hedges, especially around the perimeter of your house is important since a lot of times burglars conceal themselves in those bushes or around them,“ explains Bishop, who adds that thick shrubbery can also prevent a potential intruder’s movement from triggering outdoor motion detector lights (another no-brainer security feature she recommends investing in). "If you keep the exterior clean-cut, you get rid of a lot of hiding places.”

5. Keep quiet on social media.

“Be really careful with apps like Foursquare and Twitter so you’re not just alerting people of your whereabouts. One of the big mistakes people make when they’re going on vacation is they’re rambling on Facebook about their trip that they’re going on and how long they’ll be gone and when they’ll be back,” she explains. “You might as well send out a mass email to all the burglars and just let them know you’ll be out of town and what date.” And that just doesn’t seem like a good idea …

Source:  Six DIY Simple Security Tricks to Keep Your Home Safe
Related Article: 7 Home Security Tips for Summer Vacation