As a homeowner, your priority should be to keep your family safe. There aren’t many feelings worse than your home being severely damaged or destroyed. Therefore, it is important to protect your home at all costs. Go over this article for more details on home security.

Your home should always look like it is occupied. Keep your radio, TV and lights on timers. This will make it look like someone is home. This can be a terrific method of securing your home and keeping burglars at bay.

When you set out to purchase home security equipment, remember to comparison shop. You would be surprised to see that the prices are much different for each company, even though it’s for the same type of protection. Get three quotes or more before making a choice.

After getting a new home, make sure to change its locks. You have no way of knowing how many folks might have keys to your house. Have a locksmith install a brand new lock. Also, if you lose your keys, change the locks.

Talk to your local police department about what they offer. Many have quite a few helpful programs that you take, like on self-defense or other things related to your home. Call the local police department and inquire as to what programs they offer.

If your home has a lot of valuable items inside, then you need to purchase a safe so that all of these items can be kept in a single location. This is vital since it means all of your things will be safe if someone breaks in your home. Keep the safe hidden in a hard-to-find location like an attic or a basement closet.

Use your garage for your car, not just storage. Protect your car from vandals by keeping it in the garage. Additionally, if your car is put away, burglars will not be able to tell whether or not you are home.

When in the process of purchasing a home-security system, be sure to comparison shop. Every company offers different pricing. Before choosing which company to go with, ask for quotes from a minimum of three companies.

Switch your locks. Whether an old roommate left or a relationship ended, changing your locks is a good idea. It does not cost much, and can be handled very quickly.

If there are people you don’t know that have access to your social media sites, then you don’t want to let all of them know you’re on vacation. It can be exciting to tell everyone about your vacation, but you could potentially be letting a burglar in on your whereabouts.

Your valuables should not be easily seen from outside your home. Though it is nice to have big windows to get a great view of the outdoors, it is also easier for burglars to look into your home. Windows facing the street need to be covered to keep inside possessions safe.

Do not forget to secure the garage attached to your home. It is possible for an intruder to get in the garage and then gain access to the house; however, you can do something about it. If your garage lifts up on a track, try using a C-clamp. This will prevent your door from opening up if the clamp is close to its roller.

Always lock your house, no matter how briefly you expect to be gone. It may be a little surprising, but most burglaries and break-ins happen because the intruder just walks right through an open door. Thieves can make off with large amounts of valuable merchandise very quickly.

While choosing your alarm system, ask about protection for windows and motion detection as well as doors. Intruders can enter through your windows too. Be certain they are also alarmed and monitored. They are the most effective.

Your flashlights should always be equipped with good, working batteries. Flashlights are essential since they let you move around in an emergency. Teach your children how to properly use flashlights.

When you purchase big, expensive items be sure to break down the boxes and take them to the recycling center yourself. Having these boxes around for a while will give people an idea of what is inside your house.

Be sure to read all of the fine print to any contracts you plan on signing for a security company. There might be hidden costs or other things you should know about. You’ll definitely want to avoid these types of fees if you can, so read carefully.

If you move to a place that was occupied before, you should change the locks right away. Even though the previous tenant may have turned in their key, you never know if they have a copy. For maximum security, buy your own locks and install them yourself. This way you can be certain nobody else has a key.

Having a well-lit home that’s bight in the evening can really deter crooks. They prefer not to be seen. When your house is well lit, intruders have no place to hide. This makes it hard for them to get things from you. Keep the lights on if you want your home to be secure.

If you have your home brightly lit, burglars are likely to avoid it. Intruders will avoid being noticed. If you have your home lit up, then you have made it hard for burglars to hide and rob your home. Keep your home lit up all night long.

You can find an excellent home security company with a simple Internet search. Go through different websites and investigate testimonials about different companies and packages. With that information, you can make your appointments with the top three companies you’ve chosen so that you can compare pricing and look at specific monitoring and plans.

Think about safety when designing your home. Your doors and windows should not be obstructed by shrubs or fences. If they can be seen, potential burglars will not be able to use them as hiding places before breaking in. This should be planned in advance for your safety.

The outside of your house should be well lit. Burglars seek darkness so that they can stay hidden. Make sure to have lights anywhere an intruder might enter. Don’t forget that this includes ground-level windows as well as doors, garages, and porches.

Have home-security companies come to your home so they can design the best possible system for it. Different people require different plans. A good company will tailor your security plan to the needs of you and your family.

Before checking out security systems for your home, think about your personal security and safety needs. A home security system is a good idea; however, it is not the perfect solution for every home. Some neighborhoods may do better with self-defense classes or having a dog, while others may require the best home security technology you can get. You need to assess risks and choose a system adapted to the kind of situations you are likely to run into.

Your home’s exterior needs to be well lit. Burglars like committing crimes in the darkness. Add lights to any areas you believe are potential entry points for burglars. Some examples include first story windows, garages, doorways and porches.

If you will be going out of time, have someone you trust get your mail. Also, have them look for fliers stuck in your door. Thieves have put them up in order to see if people are home to take them down. If the fliers isn’t removed, the criminal knows that no one is home.

Consider a wireless home security system. While the wired systems are less expensive, they usually mean rather intrusive wiring for your house, which can also go out during power outages. Wireless systems don’t need your home’s power in order to properly work. In addition, they can be usually be installed and maintained easier.

Your auto registration is best kept somewhere other than your glove compartment. If someone finds them, they’ll know your address. You should carry them with you or find some other hiding place inside your vehicle. They should be close, though, since you’ll need them if you get pulled over.

If you do not already have a paper shredder, you may want to think about investing in one. Many thieves sift through trash for personal info and to figure out when you plan to be away. If paper shredders don’t fit into your budget, you can manually rip up important documents yourself.

Put some extra thought into concealing your spare keys. It’s easy to see fake rocks. Another obvious location is underneath the doormat. This will be one of the first places that a burglar will look for your spare key. A better idea is to have a friend or neighbor keep your emergency key. If that isn’t possible, think outside the box when you hide it.

Don’t keep your car registration in the glove box of your car. If someone breaks into your car, that person can view your registration and instantly know where you reside. Keep them with you or hide them elsewhere. They have to be available if the cops pull you over.

Always keep valuables you can’t replace secure. Items like passports, family photos, financial records, expensive jewelry and legal documents are best kept in a secure location. Purchase a safe with a lock to store all of these items. You could also look into getting a bank safe deposit box.

Sliding glass doors can be a huge security problem in lots of homes. They are easily unlocked just by lifting and shaking. A pipe cut the right length should be wedged in the door if you have no security system. This keeps the door wedged closed so that it is harder to pry open.

A house alarm is a great option, as long as you call the cops when it alarms. An alarm system with full-time monitoring by a security company is the safest option. You can rest assured that the police will be called by the company. You really cannot depend on your neighbor to contact the police.

External wiring is sometimes all that a thief is after. Your wiring contains copper, which is worth a considerable amount of money. Hiding electrical wiring can stop intruders from stealing copper, preventing you from having to pay repair costs.

Improving the security of your home should not be difficult. You just need to be knowledgeable on home security ideas. Use these ideas to boost your home’s security. Be sure to follow all of the advice presented here for optimum security.

Don’t leave toys lying around your yard children are not at play. Thieves might think women live there. Thieves assume that women are more apt to have valuables like jewelry inside.