SECURING YOUR GARAGE

* Remember that any door that leads to your garage is, in effect, an external door, and should be secured with a solid dead bolt lock mechanism.

* Your car should always be locked and your car alarm system should be activated when you leave your car in your garage as an added deterrent.  Additional anti-theft devices might also be implemented, and if you have an automobile (GPS) tracking device, make sure any such equipment is switched on wherever you leave your vehicle.

* Garage lighting should be controllable from inside your home to avoid you walking into a dark garage.

* Make sure that any spare keys (to your house or vehicles) are securely locked away and inaccessible to intruders.  Label any such keys carefully so that they make sense to you, but not to burglars.


* ALWAYS change the factory-set garage-door opener code as soon as you install your electric garage-door.  Burglars often have a whole array of remote openers pre-programmed with the most common factory-set codes, and if your garage door will respond to their point and click, they don‘t even have to break a sweat to gain access to your garage.

* Professional burglars know they can gain easy access to your home by utilising the release cord option of your electric garage-door opener.  As an added precaution, you can deactivate this feature by cutting the cord and substituting a clothes hanger temporarily if needed.