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Thursday, December 6, 2012

Securing Your Garden Shed Against Thieves

Sheds are favourite target for burglars, because they tend to be relatively easy to break into without too much noise and effort. Despite their vulnerability, many of us keep all manner of expensive goods in our sheds, for example bikes, power tools, and camping equipment.

As a rule, anything of value should be stored overnight inside your house to make it harder for thieves to get to. However, if you have no choice but to keep goods in your shed, this article offers advice on how to make them as secure as possible.

There are several different types of sheds, from sturdy brick or breeze block ones to simple flat-pack wooden ones. The latter type is easily the most common, so it will be the focus of this article.

Obviously the level of security you need depends heavily on the area you live in; if you live in a safe area with low crime you might only need a regular shed and cheap padlock, but if you live in a big city with higher crime levels you are going to need to go to much greater lengths to deter intruders.

Realistically, you are never going to make a wooden shed completely burglar-proof, no matter what you do. In some cases, thieves are willing to lever off the roof or entire side panel of a shed to get at the goods inside. Therefore, your main objective should be to make it as difficult a target as possible, in order to hopefully persuade any potential intruders to look for easier targets elsewhere.

When deciding where to place your shed, try to find a spot that difficult to reach, but exposed enough that burglars cannot work away without being seen. So ideally it will not be shaded or concealed by bushes or trees, but will not be so visible that it makes a tempting target to a passing opportunistic criminal.

If the shed is only used for storage, and you don't need to use it as a workshop, it makes sense to get one without any windows. In the eyes of a burglar, a window is a potential weak spot that may make their job of getting inside a lot easier, and it also enables them to look inside to see if there is anything valuable in the shed.

Locks are perhaps the biggest defence you have against burglars. However, there is always a trade-off to be made here because the better the locks you put on your shed, the more you are communicating to burglars that you may have something valuable to protect inside. Generally it is better to have one high quality padlock that several cheap and easily bypassed ones.

The hinges of a shed door are a common weak point. Often, if you have hinges attached to a thin wooden door with short screws, a burglar can simply shoulder barge or kick the door with heavy force to rip the hinges off. And if they wanted to take a quieter approach, it will be little trouble for them to simply unscrew each screw and then take the door off.

A little superglue applied around the screws should help to make them significantly harder to unscrew, or you could purchase some one way security screws, which are made to be impossible to remove from the outside.

Ultimately, if a burglar is genuinely determined, they are always going to find a way to break into your shed. If you are serious about protecting valuables inside, then your last line of defence should be an alarm with a movement sensor, so even if they get inside they will not be able to take your belongings and slip away unnoticed.

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Home Security - Safes For Every Need

The need to protect items of value is as old as time itself. It basically represents, in a way, that conflict between good and evil. People who own things of value want to protect them and save them from people who wish to steal them.

Safes that were made before 1917 were made of cement and water to protect against fire. Fires burned at 1300° so the metal straps that surrounded the outer shell of the safe melted and the support weakened, the water would evaporate, devouring the contents of the safe. 1917 was the date that safes started being scientifically tested and improvement started changing the quality of safes for the good.

Safes are engineered so that there is a minimum amount of heat penetration to the interior, and tongue and groove doors are used to further impede the path of heat.

A home security safe should include features that prevent removal of the door including hinges that are not exposed to the outside, interlocking door designs, dead bars and inactive locking bolts. These safes should be designed to withstand an attack from a professional burglar for as long as possible and should be able to resist crowbars, torches or drill attacks for as long as it is rated. Security safes are rated in 15 and 30 minute intervals. These are particularly effective if properly bolted down and secured in place.

A good example of the safe that can protect against fire and burglary is called a hybrid safe. They typically have a two-hour fireproof rating, chrome plated steel active locking bolts, heavy-duty vault hinges, high-intensity auxiliary re-locking device and a vertical locking bar to prevent burglary. They usually have anchor bolt hardware to secure it to a floor.

The re-locking devices are a way to ensure great security and prevent knocking off the combination lock and driving out the spindle-a favorite way of gaining entry into a safe in the old days.

Diversion safes are in another category of their own. They are not designed to protect against fire or a safe cracking burglar, but simply to hide your cash, credit cards, jewelry and other small items so they can't be found

Diversion Safes are containers of household products that are emptied out and weighted down to give the feel of the real thing.

Safes are the best way to secure your valuables such as hunting rifles, handguns, cash, credit cards, important documents or anything else that you deem important enough to protect from fire and or burglary.

Key Pad Lever Door Lock - A Safe Home and a Tension-Free Mind

Security of home has become an important issue for everyone today. I am not an exception to this worry. It does not matter anymore as to where you live. You just can't afford to be worry-free for the reason that I have heard of news on theft even at most secured areas in the neighborhood. A key pad lever door lock comes in handy to solve the situation.

Recently, one guy entered my friend's house through the backyard and drilled the lock out at midnight. He then sprayed something inside the house to make everyone unconscious and looted everything. I was just thinking, if they had a key pad lever door lock, he would not have been able to drill the locks off for these are way too strong and heavy.

Day by day, thieves are getting updated with new technique to loot. But one thing I have noticed about these burglars is that they loot those who fall prey as an easy target for them. So, having a key pad lever door lock is the best way to challenge them and get out of their hit list.

The best part is there are no more keys to handle. I am so relieved to hear this because once I lost my house keys and struggled so much to open the door. I had an important video conference to attend from home and was stuck without keys outside the house. Finally, I had to break the door to get in.

This product is a sure worth for the money you pay. In fact, you are bestowed with huge benefits for the scanty money you pay for it. It is very simple now. You just have to remember the codes and press them to open rather than fumbling with a bunch of keys to open the door every time. Another thing I heard from my friend who is using this product for many years now is that the number printed on the lock is coated with something that keeps the print intact. They do not wear off easily.

Also, there is provision to reset the password any number of times. So, I can keep changing my codes frequently to ensure better safety. The lights are helpful to see the keys at night, in case of darkness due to power failure or something. What's more fascinating is that, this key pad lever lock is not like other normal number locks that freeze up during zero degree or below weather conditions. Finally, I have got a lock that I am completely satisfied with.

AX11652 Biometric Rifle Safe

The AX11652 biometric rifle safe has a removable storage shelf for guns and ammo that allows secure storage for up to four rifles depending on their size and attached peripherals such as scopes and magazines. The smaller dimensions, 8.6 inches by 9.8 inches by 52.17 inches, of the gun safe means that it can be kept in little spaces out of reach of everyone but still accessible to the owner. Access to the state of the art locking mechanism is through the high-tech art of fingerprint recognition. The safe recognizes only the fingerprints selected by the owner and does not recognize any others.

Some owners may want to have one or more fingerprints of other people who can open the safe in case a need arises in their absence. The AX11652 biometric gun safe holds up to 120 different users in the safe's memory. Registering fingerprints for the biometric gun safe is very easy and takes only a matter of seconds and only the registered users selected can open the safe. Biometric safe owners no longer need to remember the right combination or find the right key to access their guns.

Storing firearms in a biometric gun safe at home is being responsible; however, owners also need to be able to access firearms in an emergency and in most cases that emergency will happen at night. The dark of night and being under stress will make it very difficult to enter a combination or enter a keypad code to access the gun safe. Should such a stressful situation arise all it takes to open the AX11652 biometric safe is a simple touch of the finger in the correct position against the locking mechanism and the lock will open giving immediate access to weapons. The AX11652 biometric safe comes with back-up keys for traditional access in the event access to the fingerprint is not available.

The AX11652 rifle safe is small enough to hide in a cupboard or wardrobe but it is strongly recommended that the safe be mounted to a wall or through the floor using the provided mounting hardware. Empty, the safe weighs 66 pounds and considerably more than that when loaded. When mounting to a wall, be sure of the load bearing to hold the weight of the safe and the contents. Failure to do so could result in the safe falling and damaging property and or people.

While the AX11652 rifle safe does have state of the art fingerprint access and is CA DOJ approved the safe does have some drawbacks. The safe's construction using 2mm steel provides minimal protection from a professional thief and in the event of a fire contents will be damaged due to there be no fireproofing. Otherwise this is a good safe for those looking for a biometric rifle safe at budget price.

Safely storing a firearm for home defense is being responsible. The AX11652 rifle safes are designed for quick secure access of firearms and valuables.

Home Security: Cheap Products That Work - The Top Four

Anybody who owns a home or lives in an apartment has to be concerned about their home security or apartment security. Of course that includes just about everybody in the US. So the market is huge. But that isn't why home security is such a big $60 billion a year business. The reason it is big is because there are so many people who find home burglary easy and profitable. If it weren't for the burglars, there wouldn't be any need for home security products such as burglar alarms or home security systems.

But unfortunately, homeowners don't do much to discourage home burglars. The fact of the matter is that nearly 60% of all home burglaries happen through unlocked windows and doors. One of the reasons that more people don't have security products such as home security alarms is that they feel they're too expensive. And in fact, depending on which product you are looking at, a home security system can actually be very expensive.

But look-put everything into perspective. For most people the home is their most expensive investment. They have on average $200,000 or more tied up in the home and another $50,000 in furnishings. So what is expensive? That's a relative term.

Here are four home security products that are cheap by any standard, and the best part is they're very effective.

The first is a glass guard window alarm. It goes on any window you want to protect with strong adhesive tape. When the window is hit, knocked or broken you will be alerted to a 101 dB alarm that sounds for 30 seconds and then resets. It also works on wooden or metallic windows or doors. It sells for $9.99.

The second is a very popular product that provides security to windows, doors, sliding glass doors or closets and cabinets that you want to protect. The alarm sounds the moment protected doors open. The 110 dB alarm is enough to scare anybody away. It is battery-operated and comes with adhesive tape to secure it in place. It sells for $7.99.

The third one is a mini alert sensor alarm that uses passive infrared technology and can protect an area up to 26 feet away. Anybody that enters that area will set off the alarm. It sells for $15.99.

And the fourth inexpensive home security product is the famous door stop alarm. It can be used in an apartment, dorm room, home or even on the road in motels or hotels. It works to effectively block the door from opening, and when someone forces the door the 120 dB alarm sounds. It is a $15 product that is one of the most effective home burglar alarms in the market.

Home security need not be expensive. With these four cheap home security products you can protect your home, dorm room or apartment.

Alarm Systems - The Different Types Help Prevent a Home Burglary With These 10 Easy Steps Boost Your Home Security - Guaranteed! Staying Safe in Your Home

Home Security - Cheap Insurance For Your Valuables

Recently there were several items that caught my attention regarding home security and home burglary pertaining to protection of your valuables.

The first was a story about an elderly woman who had a home invasion and had $46,000 worth of cash and jewelry stolen from her home. In the process she had a heart attack and died. As it turned out, the crooks were her granddaughter and her boyfriend wearing masks.

The second incident involved a burglar who broke in through a sliding glass door and stole $73,000 worth of cash, jewelry and handguns. That burglar is still at large. You just wonder whether he got lucky or whether he knew the owner of the home and what was inside the home.

In both of these cases even with a very large deductible on the policy it would still be cheaper to have an expensive policy than lose that amount of cash, or jewelry.

I guess I just don't understand why people would leave that amount of money and/or jewelry unsecured in their home when close to 20% of all homes are burglarized annually. And if you have a lot of valuable items in your home, doesn't it seem obvious that you may be a more likely target? But I've never been there, so I don't know.

There has to be a reason why insurance companies give homeowners a discount for having a safe in their house. Think about it. The two biggest threats to a home are fire and burglary. A hybrid safe can protect valuables against both.

Home security safes that are designed to be hybrid safes can provide one or two-hour protection against the ravages of a fire. The "walls of the safe and the smoke seals around the door are insulated and expand in a fire. Fire ratings are given in half-hour increments which are a level of indication of the resistance to escalating temperatures over that time." A one or two-hour fire safe is usually more than sufficient to meet your needs.

Hybrid Safes offer additional protection against a professionally orchestrated burglar attack with armor-plated protection around the lock and heavy-duty hinges and vertical bolt in the door which helps make the safe burglary resistant.

The so-called hybrid safe can provide valuable protection against the ravages of fire or the threat from a professional safe cracker. Even a $1,000 safe to protect your valuables is a worthwhile investment.