All homeowners should do all they can to keep their homes and families safe. Home invasions can be quite common, as well as natural disasters that damage houses. Keep reading to gain useful insight about keeping your house and loved ones out of harm’s way.

Social networking sites are great for keeping in touch, but post information sparingly. For example, you might avoid broadcasting when you are going out of town, especially if your friends list contains casual acquaintances. It’s natural to be excited about your trip, but this is as good as throwing out the welcome mat for people who know your home is unoccupied.

Any time you buy a new home, have the locks changed. You’re not aware of any copies that have been made by the previous owners of the house. Having a locksmith replace the locks will ensure that no strangers have a key. Be sure to cal a locksmith if you were to lose your keys as well.

Before leaving for vacation, turn off the ringers in your house. If your phone is ringing while you are out, burglars will realize that no one is home, making your home very vulnerable to an attack during your time away.

Don’t let strangers into your home. Folks are always thinking up new schemes to get people to open the door so that they can commit their crimes. Make it a habit to only open your home’s door to people you were expecting.

Is your dog outside even if you are away? You might consider leaving your spare key with your dog. Put it on their collar. This is the perfect place to store a spare key, especially if your dog doesn’t care for strangers.

Alter the combination of the locks in your home. Whether an old roommate left or a relationship ended, changing your locks is a good idea. You can change the locks in a single day, and the hardware is not very costly.

The walls are a perfect hiding place. Small items of value can be hidden for safety in your home’s walls. You can use phone jacks or electric outlets as hiding spots. If you haven’t got any plates that are unused, simply install a false switch plate.

When looking to purchase a good home security system, it is best that you look at many companies. Several different firms may offer similar protection for wildly divergent prices. Get a quote from several companies before making a final decision.

There are simply so many potential dangers that threaten a home’s security that it’s a necessity for homeowners to take steps to improve their safety. The article below has some great ideas with regards to home security. Implement all these ideas in order to get the most out of your home security efforts.