Home Security Resources

Better Homes & Gardens on Home Security
This site from Better Homes & Gardens Magazine has links to half a dozen articles on home safety and security. Articles include a home security quiz designed to point out any weaknesses in your home security plans and recommend fixes, door and window security and methods for making them more burglar-proof, ways to change your outdoor landscaping and lighting to make your indoors safer, how to determine which alarm system fits your particular needs, tips to help keep your general awareness of safety high, and advice on proper ways to mark your belongs, the proper insurance to carry and other safety measures for your valuables. No matter what your security needs or weaknesses are, this site can help you strengthen your chances of remaining burglar-proof.

Goin' Fishing? Don't Let the Burglars Bite
You aren't the only one making plans for your vacation. While you're making plans to leave, a burglar may be making plans to break into your empty home. There are things you can do to make your home less appealing to a burglar, and this site lays them out. Some tips and helpful hints include lock all doors and windows. Did you know that 40% of all burglars enter a home through an unlocked door or window? Install dead bolts. A simple standard house lock is child's play for a professional thief. Never hide a key in a "secret" location outside; thieves are very good at finding keys no matter how well hidden. Keep shrubs cut back away from the house and cut all low tree limbs that a burglar could use to climb a tree next to a house. Put home security warning stickers on your doors and windows to warn burglars off; a burglar will usually pick the easiest house to get into. Don't do anything to encourage them to break into your house. There are several additional hints and pieces of advice for making your house fall off the burglar's radar.

Is Your Home Burglar-Proof? by Channel4000.com
The psychological trauma of being burglarized can stay with you for the rest of your life. That's why it is imperative that you take a few minutes to learn some simple ways of making your home less attractive to burglars. Remember, burglars are opportunistic, for the most part, which means they will break into the easiest target. By taking just a little time to make your home just a little less appealing to a burglar, you could save yourself from a lifetime of trauma. For example, remembering what many police officers refer to as the "3/7 rule" could stop many burglars cold. This means that all shrubs near the house are shorter than 3 feet high, and the lowest branches on any trees near the house are 7 feet off the ground, making it much more difficult for burglars to make use of them. One thing that most people never consider is exposed phone lines. How easy is it for a burglar to walk up and snip your phone lines, making contact with the outside world almost impossible? Crushed rock beneath a window is much more noisy than soft grass and tends to make burglars shy away. These are only a few of the many suggestions this site has for making your home less attractive to burglars.