The Security of a Key

Many believe that a house or car key is their first line of defense against burglars, but the security of a single key may not be as high as you once thought. In Illinois, it is surprisingly common to hear of homes or cars being broken into when the owners thought that all of the keys to those various locks were secure. For some, forgetting to change the locks on a new home may invite a burglar whereas for others, they have a hidden key close to the front door or on the car that the burglar used in order to get in. Either way, it seems a discussion about key security is in order.

What NOT To Do With Your Keys

So you’ve been through several door lockouts, even a full-fledged house lockout where you could not get through a single door in order to enter your home. Worried it could happen to you again and wanting to alleviate some of the stress of a lockout situation, you decided to hide your house key around the house. Although you may think the key is hidden, burglars will know exactly where to look and then be able to enter your home easily. As such, it would be best to avoid hiding a key anywhere around the outside of your home and, if a home lockout was to occur, simply call for lockout services in order to get back in. Waiting for an emergency locksmith is definitely more affordable then getting robbed and having to deal with both burglary repairs and lock replacements.

Aside from not keeping a loose copy of your house or car key anywhere, you should also be cautious with who you give a house or car key to and what you do when a member of your household loses their house or car key. Should anyone lose their key but all of the locks are still in working order, consider having all of the locks rekeyed. In this scenario, it is better to be overly cautious and have too few house keys, then have too many and not remember who has access to your home or car.

What You Should Do With Your Keys

A house or car key truly is your first line of defense against burglars, when used properly and when carefully protected. Be wary of where you keep your keys and never leave your keys unattended in a vehicle. Be especially careful with any type of master key system.