When it comes to making sure that your family is safe, there are no measures that are too big or too small. Although we often think of our homes as safe havens, there are often things that can be updated or changed to ensure that they are as safe as they can be. If you’re looking to make your home as safe as possible, these ideas can help you.
Use Wi-Fi With WPA
If your wi-fi is easy for a stranger to get onto, it can lead your data and information exposed. In just the first half of 2019, there were about four billion records exposed because of data breaches, so you want to minimize the odds of your information being included in the current estimations.
To make your wi-fi network more secure, consider using a WPA network, which stands for wi-fi protected access. This makes it harder for the network to be hacked into because your network is encrypted. In addition, you should make sure that the name of your network doesn’t make it obvious that it belongs to your home. Keeping the random name that your network provider gives you is a good idea, but if you want to make it different, don’t include identifying information. You should also make sure your password isn’t easy to guess – if your password is password1234, it’s not going to be hard for potential hackers to guess that.
Check Your Doors and Windows
It’s never a bad time to check on your doors and windows, whether you’ve been living in your home for a month or 10 years. When you’re looking at both your doors and windows, you’ll want to see whether or not the locks are fully functional. Make sure that any windows on the first floor definitely have functional locks — an unlocked window with easy access can mean a great target for a potential burglar. If you notice any issues with locks on your doors or windows, you should make sure to get them fixed or replaced right away.
In addition, you should make sure that all of your exterior doors have deadbolt locks and not just a normal lock. A normal lock barely goes into the door frame, making it easier to break through if a burglar is determined enough. However, a deadbolt lock will slide a few inches into the door frame, making it much harder to break into.
Install Outdoor Lighting
A huge deterrent for possible thieves are bright outdoor lights. Many burglars rely on stealth to help them break into homes, so if they aren’t able to approach your home without being lit up by your outdoor lighting, they will likely choose an easier target. Motion detecting floodlights are a great option, but anything that is bright and will make the exterior of your home bright at night can help deter possible intruders.
Install a Security System
Security systems are one of the best ways to deter and catch burglars. If a burglar begins their attempt to break into your home and the alarm goes off, there’s a high chance that they’ll turn around and leave before actually stealing or damaging anything else. If you’re part of the 16% of first time home buyers who are looking for homes in an urban area, for example, a security system can be very helpful once you move in. When you first move into a home, you may not know the neighborhood or what is normal and what isn’t, which is a good time for a security system.
Security systems have become much more affordable in recent years, so the cost of installing and maintaining a security system doesn’t need to be an expensive endeavor. Some systems have monthly rates as low as $20 per month, which is much more affordable than higher prices of the past.
Think About Window Views
When a potential burglar is casing your home, they’ll likely be seeing what they could possibly steal by looking in your windows. If you keep valuables like jewelry or small electronics in plain view of the windows, it will make your home a more desirable target. Therefore keeping your valuable items out of view from windows can help make your home see like a worse target.
For things that you use every day that you can’t lock away, like your laptop or tablet, store them in a drawer or cabinet when they aren’t in use. You should definitely make sure that you aren’t leaving them in a spot that’s easily viewed from outside your home if you aren’t completely hiding them at night.
Get a Safe
Storing your most important valuables not only out of sight but in a safe is a great way to keep them protected. When you’re looking for a safe, look for something that is the right size for your needs and for a system with a “redundant lock,” or a system with two locks in it. This will make it significantly harder to break into, which will deter possible thieves.
In your safe, you can store important documents, valuables, and expensive jewelry that you don’t wear often. This will help make it so that in the event that someone does break into your home, it’s unlikely they’ll be able to actually get to your most valuable items.
Make Sure Your Insurance is Enough
Depending on where you live, you’ll need different types of insurance to protect against the natural disasters that could happen in your area. For example, if you live in Tornado alley, you should make sure that your insurance covers damage caused by tornados. If you live somewhere where any of the 90% of natural disasters that include flooding occur, like hurricanes, you should make sure you have insurance that covers water damage. While this can’t help prevent damage, it’s important to have the proper insurance so you can recover after a natural disaster. Since natural disasters can cause serious damage to your roof installation, it wouldn’t hurt to have the contact information of commercial roofing contractors that you can call to perform these repairs as quickly as possible. If you hadn’t thought about this, you might have had your roof for a while, and a few tornadoes or hurricanes may have already taken their toll on it. If that’s the case, you may want to have a roofing contractor take a look at it, and determine if there are any repairs worth undertaking at this point.
Making sure that your home is as safe as possible is an important part of keeping your home safe. Anything that makes your home a more desirable target for burglary is something that you should consider changing for the safety of you and your family. In addition, making sure that you’re protected in the case of theft will help make you feel more secure in the case of any issues with a natural disaster or unavoidable theft.
