While your home security system has sensors, a screeching siren, fancy keypads, and instant alerts sent to your smartphone, does it require a battery? Most criminals know a system that uses batteries can be shorted out with just a few drops of water.
Online videos, particularly on YouTube, graphically show how to perform the “Six Second Break In”. Burglars can easily break into your garage in just a few seconds. The decision to post a video showing burglars how to break into your garage was definitely not made in your best interests. For whatever reason the video was posted, it’s is out there and has already been viewed millions of times. Ever wonder how many burglars in your neighborhood have seen the video?
Thanks to the “informative” video, burglars now know how easy it is to gain entrance into your garage door with a wire coat hanger, and it only takes a few seconds. While some questionable security experts recommend using a plastic zip tie to prevent garage break-ins or even cutting your emergency release cord to eliminate the possibility of a break-in, both of these actions greatly reduce the safety and usefulness of your garage door opener.
Fortunately there’s a better way to secure your garage door. A Garage Shield covers the emergency release on your electric garage door opener. This negates most attempts to disable to release mechanism and break into your garage. The Garage Shield is low-cost and easy to install in just a few minutes. The overhead door protection device increases your garage door protection while still allowing the emergency release cord to be pulled in case of a power outage or emergency.
Ah, stay and night settings
With growing civil unrest, its probably a good idea to get a grasp of these settings. Here’s a list of things you want from your home alarm system: reliability, ease of use, and accuracy. You want to be able to set it easily, trust that it won’t malfunction, and when it goes off, it’s not a false notification.
With all of that said, here’s the list of things you don’t want in your alarm system: confusion.
And unfortunately, many alarms come with just that right out of the box; confusion due to the adopted terminology alarm systems have adopted, and trudged on with since day one.
The dreaded “stay” setting.
What makes it even worse is that when you finally get a grasp on what “stay” is and why it’s useful, you begin to think it sounds an awful lot like the “night” setting.
So, what’s the difference between stay and night settings on your home alarm?
Stay vs. Night
Briefly, the stay setting is to be used during the daytime, while you’re staying in your home. The night setting, while also to be used when you’re in the home, is to be used at night time when your movement is more limited.
Specifically, stay mode won’t trigger an alarm when there is movement within the house, but will sound when the entry points are entered through—doors and windows that are designated as armed zones. Meaning, when home, as it should be, you are free to wander and live life within your home as you normally would.
Night mode is similar, and will of course sound when doors and windows are passed through, but different in that zones of the house can also be armed. So, during the night, you’ll probably want to leave the bedroom and high traffic areas like the hallway disarmed, but low traffic areas like the garage armed and ready to sound off should there be an intruder.
The Garage?
And while we are on the topic, yes, the garage. Did you know a criminal can break into your garage in less than 10 seconds? All it takes is a few slick maneuvers and a coat hanger. Seriously. And contrary to popular belief, a zip tie on the garage door emergency release is not a safe or adequate safety mechanism.
Wait, then what is “Away” mode?
Ok, back to your alarm system. And no, not a trick question, this one is easy.
Away mode is the setting you’d put into play when you’re away, and really, when people feel they need it the most. Thus, no “pockets” or zones; soft spots or areas where, when breached, won’t trip the alarm. The typical away setting will activate sensors on all entry points until it is disarmed.
Do I really need to know all of this? I have insurance.
Yes, insurance is always there forbid something happens, but that’s really not a smart or safe way to approach most situations. I mean, you don’t expose yourself to harm in other areas just because you have insurance, whether that’s in the car or elsewhere, right?
Not to mention, but did you know that insurance claims could require signs of forced entry? So, regardless of your home alarm setting when burglarized, if you fail to secure the home and is burglarized without forced entry, you might be out of luck.
So, with many safeguards available, you should be utilizing all at your disposal. That includes locking doors, setting alarm systems, having insurance, equipping with garage door protection, and more. Criminals can break into your garage, DAY OR NIGHT, without you even knowing. It’s called the 6-second break-in, and we have the solution!
Be sure to check out THE GARAGE SHIELD. It provides an added layer of security as well as peace-of-mind against garage break-ins.
