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People have always tried to protect themselves and their families, just like most animals do. In very early days, cavemen protected their caves by setting fires outside the entrance to discourage interlopers and wild animals. Later on, man learned how to increase his security by training dogs to guard him and his family. Later still, houses and then doors were invented; bars and locks arrived soon after that.

However, until a few decades ago in the west, people lived in extended large families. A family could consist of six-to-ten children and the mother and the grandmother would often live there too. This made home security systems extraneous from the early 18th Century to the 1930’s, which were quite peaceful times. After the Second World War, families were not so large and new families got their own house away from their parents.

Nowadays, both parents are likely to be working and the children are almost certainly at school. This means that many houses are left unoccupied during the day, making them easy plunder for burglars. In fact, the number of household burglaries has risen by almost 10% in the last five years according to American government figures. Furthermore, according to a survey, forty percent of home burglaries were carried out due to inappropriate locks and doors.

ANSI (American National Standard Institute) created a standard for deadbolt locks for external doors which is very difficult to beat. If you are worried about your external doors, you should seek these ANSI deadbolts out, but be careful, there are many copies. However, regardless of the kind of lock, the quality of the door is just as crucial. Its thickness and composition can also be a disincentive. After all, why put an elaborate deadbolt on a door made of cardboard?

There are about 14,000,000 home burglaries every year in the United States and many of them are preventable. The first stage that you should achieve in home security is well-built doors and sturdy locks. Deadbolts on exit doors is a good idea.

Once you have completed that, get some exterior security lighting that reacts to either motion or body heat. The former sort are microwave and the latter passive infra red sensors. These sensors will also contain a daylight sensor so that they will only become active at night. The sensors will also save you money by activating the powerful halogen floodlights only when someone enters the range of the sensor’s beam.

Once you have done that, you should think about a home security alarm system. This should include contact sensors on all exterior doors and windows, vibration sensors on all widows to alarm you in case of breakage and PIR or microwave motion sensors in the corridors and hallways.

Then, if you want to go even further in your home security system, you can install surveillance cameras on each exposed wall of the house and maybe one in the interior too. You do not have to take all these preventive measures at once, if you are short of cash, but they should be taken in that sequence.

Owen Jones, the writer of this writer, writes on many subjects, but is currently involved with home security systems comparison. If you are interested in Security Systems For Home Use, please click through to our site.

It is entirely natural that we all want to keep our homes and businesses safe and well protected, but there are many ways in which this can be accomplished. The cheapest and most cost effective way is exterior security lighting

It truly is a no brainer, bad lighting can make a home or business a much more attractive target than the house next door because it has less adequate exterior security lighting. Burglars look for poorly lit points of entry into buildings that seem to contain wealth, so when you are planning the security system for your home or business you should try to think like a thief.

Look at your buildings from the outside, or look at someone else’s first and ask yourself, how you would get in there if you had to. Pretend that you forgot your keys or that there is a serious problem in your property. How would you get in? This is where chummy gets in and you must find out how to obstruct his every move.

Ten years ago, I lived in a bungalow alone with my small, knee-high dog and armed robbers attacked me in my home, in spite of the fact that I had a reasonable home security system. Do not let it happen to you. My blunder was that I had inadequate exterior security lighting.

They had cut my phone line during the day and because I used a cell phone for most of my calls, I did not realize. Also my dog was sick, but I did not realize that she had been poisoned too. At eleven o’clock at night there was a knock on the front door and I opened it, thinking that it was a neighbour in distress.

A man fought his way in and over-powered me and the rest was not nice. However, the whole regrettable issue could have been avoided, if I had thought like them..

I was in the habit of drawing the curtains when I got home, so I did not see that they had removed the lamps from my exterior security lighting too.

My advice is to test your exterior security lighting every night when you arrive home and keep the bushes or shrubs cut low around your front and back doors. Make sure that your exterior security lighting is working every evening and make sure that you can see who is buzzing your door bell.

Provide your garden and your doors with lots of light. Let them be on motion sensors and check who is at your door from a side window that looks out onto your front door. I had a gorgeous frosted glass pane in my front door, but that is no use. I could not identify anyone through it.

Have a panic button fitted by your doors, a big one, so that if you are surprised you can swipe out and still hit it and above all make your next door neighbours aware that if your external siren sounds, that you are in trouble and that you need assistance immediately. If you are not in trouble, you can always say sorry later.

Owen Jones, the author of this article, writes on many topics, but is currently involved with home security systems comparison. If you are interested in Security Systems For Home Use, please click through to our site.

These days a house or even an apartment is not considered complete without an acceptable home security systems Not having one often affects the market price of the property too – downwards if your home security system is found wanting or even non existent. People are just too concerned about the rising levels of crime. One of the problems for home owners is that stores and other businesses have got their act together and are very well protected in general. This has forced the average criminal too turn his attention to houses.

The number of burglaries has risen by almost 10% over the last five years because of this fact so now every household should be considering upgrading, replacing or installing a new home security system. It is a pity that the situation has come to this, but it is so. I myself was attacked in my home by burglars ten years ago. They tied me up and threatened me with a knife. They also threatened to skin my dog in front of me. It was not nice.

Modern technology makes it easy to fit a very good home security system, without having to spend a great deal of money. Often when you have work done on your home or your car, the labour element of the cost is more than that of the parts you wanted. It can be the same with the installation of a home security system. However, a wireless home security system can be fitted by any reasonably capable person, which allows you to save money or just get a better system.

If you can run a wire from a fuse box and climb a ladder you can fit a home security system yourself. With older wired systems, it was tricky to hide the wires that ran to the sensors. You had to insert them behind coving and skirting boards an chase them into the plaster. It is a lot of work to do it correctly, but it is simpler with a wireless system.

If you go wireless, the only thing you will have to do or have done is wire the central control box directly to the fuse box and wire up the external siren too. After that you can just fix the appropriate sensors in the proper places and you are done. All of this is explained in the instructions, which I suggest you scan while you are in the store in case they are in badly translated Chinese.

You can take the basic home security system as far as you like. Modern wireless technology permits many extras and varieties. A basic system would consist of the control box, the external siren and all the sensors, but you should add outside security lights to this as a necessity. They can be wirelessly linked to the control box too.

Then you could add surveillance cameras and a speaker-phone on the front door. All of these things can relay information to your control box and from there to a PC, if wanted. The Internet can be used as an interface to control your system as well, if you want – even from work or while on holiday!

A wireless home security system is a very adaptable piece of equipment, but is not that complicated to fit, go to the mall as soon as you have time to get some brochures.

Owen Jones, the writer of this writer, writes on many subjects, but is currently involved with home security systems comparison. If you are interested in Security Systems For Home Use, please click through to our site.

These days information is one of the most valuable commodities. Personal information such as your social security number, tax identification numbers, bank account numbers, credit card numbers, passwords and PIN’s are precious assets and must be highly guarded, because if this information gets into the wrong hands, thieves could cause havoc in your financial and personal life.

Some companies, particularly those that have high and fast employee turnover rates are often targeted specifically for their employee details. This information in the right hands is worth far more than the one-off theft of money or merchandise and is much more difficult to trace.

One way that most companies and some homes are protecting this valuable information is by buying large safes in which to store the information that they have on paper and disk. Some businesses go one step further however and buy hidden or disguised safes. This adds still another layer of protection and security for employees who may be concerned about identity theft.

When it comes to security for homes, safes provide a great way to safeguard not only important documents but also jewelry, letters and gold. Another great thing about safes for protecting valuables in the home is that most safes are also virtually fire proof. This means that the valuables held in the safe are likely to survive in the event that a fire damages your home. Not only will a safe offer the security of ’safe guarding” your possessions but also your peace of mind by allowing you to know that your critical documents and information (including insurance papers) are kept safe from inquisitive eyes.

Some safe manufacturers concentrate in making safes discreet so that the casual observer would not realize that you had a safe in your home at all. In fact, a professional installer can make them almost completely unnoticeable. This can be done so well that not even your friends and family would know.

Other models of safes that offer security to your home and/or business, depending on what sort of business you are in, of course are gun safes. Quite frankly, having guns out in the open and freely available to anyone who walks in the door is not only foolish but should be against the law too. It is wise, for those who own guns to have a gun safe in which to store those weapons. Ammunition should be kept somewhere else. Guns do not provide sufficient defense for homes or business. In many cases, those who try to use their guns for home security, are only managing to provide another weapon to the prowler rather than managing to safeguard their belongings or protect their families.

Safes can provide great protection and security for homes and businesses when properly used and guarded. Safes offer little protection however if everyone and their brother knows the location and/or the combination to the safe. You should keep that information closely guarded in order to receive the maximum security that owning a safe can provide.

Owen Jones, the author of this piece, writes on many topics, but is currently involved with home security systems comparison. If you are interested in Security Systems For Home Use, please click through to our site.

There are many things that families and businesses perform in order to secure their property. One measure that is often taken in the name of security is the adding of security bars to doors and windows. Despite the inherent benefits of securing property, these bars often present risks of endangering the people inside.

One thing remains accurate, most burglars will keep moving rather than attempt entering into a home that has security bars on doors and windows. Home protection is the only security that these bars supply however for many, the risks involved in having these bars on windows is not worth the small measure of security that is provided. In other words, the good of these bars is greatly outweighed by the negatives.

A lot of people do not purchase new security bars but rather rely on the same bars that have covered the windows of the home or business for many years. Some of these are rusted and nearly impossible to remove. In emergency situations, every second counts and these bars can be the very things that trap people inside a burning or flooding building.

Security bars are no longer the cheap alternative to traditional alarm systems and monitoring services that they were touted to be in the past. In fact, more often than not the pose a greater risk than they are a benefit to business and homeowners. Many larger businesses offer free fitting of alarm systems and alarms as well as monthly monitoring services at reasonable rates. More importantly not only are these monitoring services presented for breaks-in, but also for fire and smoke as well as panic button services.

Security bars may have had a time and place, but they have been supplanted by something that is much more effective at deterring criminals as well as something that offers a greater degree of security for the most precious assets of any home or business – the people inside. The costs concerned in monthly monitoring seem great but most will find that the value this service offers if and when it is ever called upon is well worth every penny.

Options to burglar bars that are not terribly expensive include planting thorny bushes below windows and keeping them trimmed back just enough that they do not block a view of the windows. Most burglars do not want a difficult entry point and they certainly do not want to be injured during the process by prickly plants. Lighting is another option that is essentially less expensive than it would be to fit burglar bars. Intruders do not want to be seen. If the area surrounding your home and business is well lit, it will serve as a deterrent. Investigate options such as this before resorting to security bars.

To answer the question of whether or not security bars are worth the risks for home or business protection the answer would be a loud “No!”. There are other preventative measures that can be taken in order to deter intruders that present far less risk to family members and employees. These alternatives should be implemented rather than those that pose further risks to those you are trying to look after.

Owen Jones, the author of this article, writes on many topics, but is currently involved with home security systems comparison. If you are interested in Security Systems For Home Use, please click through to our site.

One of the most basic steps you can take when building your home security system, is the setting up of garden security lighting. Garden security lighting is also one of the most effective ways of discouraging criminals and it is one of the cheapest techniques too. All in all the installation of garden security lighting is the most effective and cost-effective method of home security

Other outdoor security gadgets such as security cameras are much more expensive and only serve one purpose, that is the security of your home. On the other hand, garden security lighting can be used to supply a welcoming light to guide the way to your front door to your visitors or to light up your backyard if you want to sit outside or admire a particularly beautiful group of flowers. They are also good for illuminating a fountain on a pond.

Adding motion sensor lighting controls to your garden security lighting also increases its usefulness. The passive infra red motion sensors will pick up body heat automatically and switch the light on framing the moving object in a powerful beam. Microwave sensors provide a similar function but work on motion. They extend the length of time the bulb will last and reduce electrical use, while making sure you get light when you need it.

However, if you sit behind closed curtains in your home at night, you may not see the warning of the lights coming on. Therefore, some of these garden security lighting systems have a built-in bell or buzzer which makes a sound when the light comes on. You can also have them send a signal to your main indoor alarm system control box, which will beep and let you know where the light is that was triggered (front, rear or side of the house).

Garden security lighting can also be solar powered. This makes them slightly more expensive to purchase but very much cheaper to install and to run. Some of these lights are permanently fixed to the house’s fascia boards while others are just pushed into the ground. This latter sort are ideal for garden parties that go on into the night, as long as you remember to put them back where they belong before going in.

It is a good idea to direct the motion sensors of the lights some four feet above ground level or they will be switched on by every cat that comes over your fence in the middle of the night. Similarly, you can turn down the sensitivity of the PIR or microwave sensors so that the sensors do not pick up birds like pigeons.

The lights have daylight sensors on them too so that the motion sensors only activate the light at night. Some of these sensors will still record movement in the daytime and report it back to the main unit if you want that.

So, all in all, there are plenty of different options when you are considering home security, but garden security lighting has to come at the top of your list, if you want an effective, reassuring home security system.

Owen Jones, the writer of this article, writes on many subjects, but is currently involved with home security systems comparison. If you are interested in Security Systems For Home Use, please click through to our site.

These days everybody is anxious about the security of their homes and justly so! According to official American government statistics, the number of house burglaries has increased by almost ten percent in the last five years to about fourteen million per annum.

That is a lot of homes. I was burgled ten years ago and I have studied and done my best to never be one of those statistics again. In this piece, I will pass on some of my home security tips on how to make your home unappealing to thieves.

The first thing to think about is whether you have anything in your garden, shed or garage that will help a thief get into your house. Things like ladders, crow-bars, screwdrivers, sledge hammers. If you do, then lock them away. Keep the shed and garage doors locked at all times. If you have a ladder that will not fit in the shed or garage, chain and padlock it to a brick wall, so that nobody can use it to get in.

Never believe that your home is less at risk just because you or someone else is inside it. Some burglars are crazy and it is simpler to ask someone where the money is than to try to find it yourself. It is easier to demand the keys to the safe than to pick the lock. I know. burglars came into my house while I was at work. They saw my safe, but could not get into it, so they came back three nights later when I was at home. It was really not nice.

Do not put a spare front or back door key under the mat, a flower vase or near-by rock. Thieves expect people to do that and it is the first place they look. If you are thinking about leaving a key with a neighbour, pick your neighbour carefully. In fact choose the family carefully. Does the family have teenage kids? If so, could their friends learn that that ’spare key’ is to your house? Do you trust all the friends of that kids? Do you even know them?

Beware of people you do not know. I do not mean be fearful, but someone asking to make an urgent call because of a ‘breakdown’, could be casing your house or sizing you up. If you want to help, make the call for them or direct them to the nearest public telephone booth or a shop.

Keep all your doors and windows locked. If reasonable locked closed, while you are away from the house, but you can get window-stay locks so that you can lock a fanlight window open a few inches too. This is very helpful in the summer or if you have pets. Lock upstairs windows too – your neighbour may have a loose ladder that a thief can use.

Do not display your valuables needlessly. Video recorders, DVD players and even the TV can be put in cabinets. Jewellery should be put in a box or a safe. Cash likewise. Your house is a home, not a presentation case to would be thieves.

My last home security tip to make your home unappealing to burglars is to stay alert and to advise your neighbours of any slip-ups they are making too. If you can raise the general perception of crime in the people around you, everyone will be a lot more secure.

Owen Jones, the writer of this article, writes on many subjects, but is currently involved with wired home security systems. If you are interested in Security Systems For Home Use, please click through to our site.