Five Tips to Add a Bit More Security to Your Front Door : Home Security System
Home security is something nobody should compromise on. You aren’t just securing your home, you’re also securing your family and yourself. And the first thing towards making sure your home is secure is having a home security system.
But what happens after you get that home security system? You went ahead and got a video doorbell and smart lock, you set up surveillance cameras, and you have motion sensors in and around your home to make the most of things. Well, there are still things that you can be doing to add a touch of security.
Below, we’ll discuss five things that you can do to add security to one of the most vulnerable points of your home – your front door. They’re all things you can do yourself, and you can teach your kids and remaining family members to do, but make sure that they’ll be a lot more efficient if you have a good home security system.
Without wasting any more of your time, let’s take a look at five ways to add security to your front door.
Don’t Open to Just About Anyone
When someone knocks on your door or rings your doorbell, you should always check who it is first. If it is someone you don’t feel comfortable with, you don’t have to open the door to them. The door is basically a security barrier between you and the other person.
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There are three ways to see who it is. The first one is to just ask. If you don’t have a way to see outside your home, you can always ask who’s outside before you open the door. However, you could also have a peephole or peephole camera that’s going to let you see who’s outside. Last but not least, using a video doorbell will allow you to do so without ever getting up from the comfort of your couch.
Don’t Open at All
You don’t really have to feel obliged to answer to whoever is knocking at your door. Sure, this is much easier if you have a home security system that allows you to see who it is. You don’t want to ignore someone that’s important, do you?
Sure, you could let them know someone is at home – you could have a loud conversation with someone else that they could clearly overhear, and instruct whoever is outside to just leave their information at the door. And something that’s pretty important is to tell your young children that they shouldn’t open the door when someone aside from the family comes to visit – this should only be done by an adult.
This is one of the reasons why it’s advised to have a video doorbell or a peephole camera on your door. They allow you to check who’s outside the door and choose whether you want to answer or not, and you don’t even have to be at home. Such devices are connected to the internet, and as such, allow you to see what’s happening from wherever you are – all you need is your smartphone.
Always Ask for Identification
This does relate to the first tip we spoke about, but it’s still something that is extremely important, especially if your kid is about to open the door, for example. They should always ask who is outside the door, something that’s easy to do if you have a video doorbell with two-way audio, for example. One of the main reasons for this is the fact that there are a lot of door-to-door scams that will end up with some kind of problem.
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You should also try to verify that the person outside is who they are claiming to be. If, for example, they claim to be a representative for a company, you could always call that company and check with them whether or not they sent someone. It’s actually okay to make them wait for a minute while you check. If they’re who they say they are, that won’t be a problem.
Always Make Your Home Look Occupied
This is something that’s possible with home automation or an interactive security system. With home automation solutions and smart devices, you can control your appliances with your smartphone, so from the outside, it looks like there are people at home. You can leave lights on, you can leave your TV on, so whoever is outside thinks there are people at home.
Never Show That You’re Alone, or That Nobody Is at Home
If someone is casing your home for a break-in at some point in the future, you should never indicate when your home is empty, or when you’re alone at home. Try to make it look like there’s someone else at home as well, and never share a schedule that shows, for example, at what time you’re at work.