Home Security News

How to Install New Locks

Again and again, we've talked about how important it is to home security to install new locks when you move into a home (you have no way of knowing how many copies of the key to the old locks are floating around).  It's also a good idea to install new locks if your old ones look flimsy, and you think a burglar would have no trouble kicking through the door. 

But if you're not a handy dandy do-it-yourself type, you may not know exactly how to install a new doorknob and lock system.  Fortunately, there are sites out there with diagrams and instructions on how to do it yourself, whether you have experience or not.  Here is a good run-through that includes pictures:

Installing doorknobs and locks

RFID Door Lock

An RFID (radio frequency identification) door lock?  What's that?  Well, it's another alternative to the old key-in-lock opening mechanism that most houses come with.  Instead of opening the door with your thumb (as with fringerprint locks) or with a numerical code (as with keypad door locks), you use a special entry card.  With the MyKey 2300 (shown here), you press the button in the center, and then you wave wallet, keychain, cellphone, or any place you've stuck an authorized MyKey 2300 RFID card, and the door unlocks. To lock it again, you simply press the button in the center.  If you forget your RFID card, you can still get in via a keypad that's hidden above the button. 

As far as home security goes, the company promises that, unlike with common metal keyholes, their lock can't be picked by would-be thieves.  Also if you lose a card or someone steals one, you can reprogram the lock to deny that card.

The MyKey 2300 will cost you $300.

http://www.mykey2300.com/

Before You Buy a Burglar Alarm...

Thinking of buying a home security system?  It's a smart choice.  It will protect your home, your family, and your belongings, and you'll just feel safer and more secure when you're at home.  You want to be careful when you go out to buy, however.  There are some dealers who will try to get you to buy more than you need.  You can also get locked into costly contracts that will require you to pay monthly monitoring fees (monitored service isn't a downside, but contracts can be--you want some wiggle room so you can walk away if you're not happy with the service).

Anyway, for more information, I suggest reading the set of articles up at Home Security Systems 101.