3 Home Security Myths
There are assumptions about home security that many products are bought and sold on. Thanks to Frank Fourchalk who debunks 3 home security myths.
Alarms are not monitored by police stations
Police, fire and medical personal do not monitor alarms. The usual practice is for a monitored alarm system to be connected via telephone line to a monitoring station. When a home alarm has been triggered, the monitoring station would then try and make contact with the homeowner by telephone to verify whether an intrusion had actually taken place.
Once the monitoring company makes contact with the homeowner, a confidential code or password would have to be given to the dispatcher. If a burglar set off the alarm, he or she would not answer the phone and certainly wouldn't know the password.
If the homeowner is not home, the monitoring company may try to phone other names on the owner's contact list. If, through these efforts, the monitoring company determines that a home violation has taken place, the police would be dispatched.
Chains don't keep crooks out
The security chain is mounted on the interior door moulding, and the slide catch is mounted on the door, with the opening for the chain located away from the door edge.
Even though most door chains sold today are useless when it comes to protecting your home, there's something about this 1950s mindset we can't seem to eradicate. After thousands of warnings from security professionals and police officers, consumers still toss these useless blister packs into their shopping carts.
Don't assume a couple of ½-inch screws and a light-gauge metal chain are going to come between you and the bad guys. If you open your door on these inferior links, you could be jeopardizing your own and your family's safety.
Replace door chains with door viewers that have a radius of 180 to 200 degrees to give maximum optics. Try and purchase a door viewer or peephole with a cover that falls in front of the inside lenses; this will restrict intruders from using a reverse lenses to view inside your home from the outside. When you want to view who's at your door, simply move the cover to the side to look through the door viewer.
"Do Not Copy" stamped on a key doesn't always work
Most homes today sport pin tumbler locks. These locks have very common keyways and their key blanks are readily available. Even if you have "Do Not Copy" stamped on these keys, they can be copied easily. "Do Not Copy" in most cases is nothing more than a polite request to the holder of the key not to duplicate it.
The only way to ensure that your key will not be duplicated is to install a high-security locking system with restricted keyways.
High-security locks come with an owner's card, signed by you. When you present your signed card to order extra keys, your locksmith will validate the signature on the card by comparing it with the signature on a signed photo identification. If the person ordering the key is not the signatory on the card, your locksmith will require a letter of instruction bearing the signature appearing on the card and specifically identifying the person permitted to order the key, and will validate both the signature on the letter by comparing and the identity of the person ordering the key.
photo: camrich345
