Month: September 2021

Your home is the place for everything. A place to kick off your shoes after a long day of work and relax in front of the TV. It is a place to raise your kids and watch them grow. Home is for the holidays; a place to gather and share stories. Don’t let a faulty door lock keep your home from experiencing these moments. We want you and your household to feel safe during the day and at night. That is why we compiled a list of our top 10 favorite locks for household security. Find the lock that’s perfect for you!

Yale Premier Single Cylinder YH82

• Strong strike plate design 
• Resistant to kick-ins
• Tough to pick and drill through the cylinder

Medeco Maxum 11*603

• Strongest deadbolt ever
• Excellent for drilling
• Withstands kick-ins
• Uses hardened steel inserts and rotating pins so it is hard to pick 
• Provides protection against unauthorized key duplication
• Lifetime warranty on its internal mechanism and its finish

Schlage Touch Keyless FE375 CAM

• Electronic deadbolt
• Hard to pick
• Withstands drills and kick-ins
• Smart keypad lock
• Does not connect to the internet or smartphone 
• 25-year warranty on its internal mechanism and a five-year warranty on its finish

Yale Assure Lock SL 

• August’s smart lock app and platform 
• Remote controlled 
• Access log 
• Voice control (via Amazon Alexa, Apple HomeKit/Siri, and Google Assistant) 
• Electronic keys 
• Door open/close sensor 
• Resists drilling, picking, and kick-ins

August Wi-Fi Smart Lock

• Compact frame
• Compatibility with Apple HomeKit/Siri and Z-Wave Plus smart home hubs to control your door
• Remotely lock or unlock the door, check door status, and grant virtual guest keys
• Built-in Wi-Fi so no additional Wi-Fi bridge 
• Phone or watch is your key 
• Easy to install and attaches to your existing deadbolt
• Automatically locks and unlocks your door through geo-fencing 
• Need the August Connect WiFi adapter, $79, to get access to all of the lock’s features.

Schlage Sense Bluetooth

• Deadbolt lock lets you:
  • Lock and unlock your doors via phone
  • Program access codes
  • Set up access schedules
• Voice-activated Siri controls
• Can’t access the lock from beyond the range of its Bluetooth radio unless you have an Apple TV

Nest X Yale Lock With Nest Connect

• Sharp-looking smart door lock 
• Combines Yale reliability with Nest IoT home connectivity
• Extended battery life
• Nest Detect sensors can be placed farther apart in the home
• Keyless, with a touchpad for entry by pin code
• Set up to 20 pin codes for different individuals
• Get notified when five incorrect pin attempts

Schlage Touch Camelot Deadbolt

• Compatibility with your home automation system
• Manage the lock from anywhere on your smartphone 
• Highest industry ratings for residential security and durability 
• Stores up to 30 unique access codes
• Fingerprint resistant 
• Three built in alarms 
• Three-year electronics warranty and lifetime warranty on its finish and mechanics

High security Mul-T-Lock

• Best resistance to bumping, picking, and forced entry techniques
• Forged with strong materials including hardened steel and use patented technology
• Two interlocking ball bearings which increase jimmying resistance
• Increases the effectiveness of your existing door hardware
• Only authorized Mul-T-Lock dealers can create Mul-T-Lock keys
• Available in single, double, and captive key designs

August Smart Locks

• Easy install with no hardware changes
• Share virtual keys easily 
• Control & track guest access with the app
• Control front from anywhere with your phone
• Door sensor telling when you door isn’t secure 
• Smart alerts to notify you about comings, goings, and changes in door status

We place utmost importance on keeping our customers safe in their own homes. Pop-A-Lock is here to help. Don’t put your safety and security at risk – let a trained professional install or repair your locks correctly at minimal time and cost. Give us a call today!

Halloween is right around the corner, bearing with it the typical abundance of pumpkins, tacky yard-inflatables, and trick-or treaters. But buried in the heightened fright of the spookiest season lies a true threat — burglars. We don’t mean to be Debbie-downers, but crooks see the costumes and increased foot-traffic as a great distraction, and the faux-cemetery in your lawn as the perfect hiding spot. Luckily, there are several preventative measures you can take to ensure your home is as formidable as ever, so you can take your mind off thieves and get back to worrying about how much candy you’ve eaten.

According to the FBI, a home is burglarized every 26 seconds in the U.S. But thieves don’t select their targets at random: they look for signs that your security is compromised. Here’s a list of tell-tale signs that a home is ripe for burglary.

Unkempt lawns: Burglars are always on the look-out for additional cover and signs that a home is sitting vacant. Typically, unkempt lawns indicate that you’ve been gone for an extended period, making it obvious that your home is unguarded. Overgrown hedges and tall grass also make for perfect cover, as thieves can easily duck out of sight or shield their presence as they break in. Though messy lawns are eye-sores for the whole neighborhood, nothing is more attractive to a thief.

Dark home: Darkened windows or doorways signal that you’re either asleep of away from home. Since most burglaries occur in 8-12 minutes, thieves have a very narrow window and thus look to strike when it’s the least likely they’ll be apprehended.

Negligence: Home burglaries are always higher during summer months since thieves know most families are away on vacation. As mentioned earlier, signs of negligence such as an unkept lawn are dead giveaways that you won’t be home any time soon. Overstuffed mailboxes or packages left sitting in a doorway also indicate that no one is checking on your house — making these items easy targets as well. Additionally, if a thief suspects that you’re away from home, they’ll likely look for a spare key before attempting more destructive break-in methods. If you’re also negligent in hiding your spare — hiding it in obvious spots, such as under a mat or in a flowerpot — breaking-in is made all the more easy.

Expensive items on display: After going through all the trouble of breaking in, no thief wants to leave empty-handed. As such, they choose to target homes they know have expensive items. Whether it be a flat-screen TV, china cabinet, or expensive jewelry, leaving your valuables near high-visibility areas . Leaving your curtains open for extended periods is dangerous as well, since thieves need only to peer inside to get a sneak-peek of their potential score.

Opened doors: This is perhaps the most obvious sign, but leaving a door or window open by mistake can serve to attack thieves that would otherwise leave your house undisturbed. Opened garages are targets as well, since it’s likely that the door inside the garage is less secure than your front door.

Security cameras: You may have a high-tech alarm system within your home (and, in our opinion, most homes should!) but nothing stops a thief in their tracks more than an outdoor security camera. Cameras not only record evidence and signal that your residence is under watchful surveillance, but also alert you to any potential disturbance.

Guard dog: This might seem a little barbarian, but having a loud, imposing dog that barks every time someone approaches your home actually helps deter thieves. According to a survey, 34% of convicted burglars stated that hearing or seeing a dog would turn them away from a home they were considering breaking into. But be warned — dogs require a lot of care, so buying one for security purposes alone is never a good idea. That being said, these watchful guards make for loving pets.

High visibility: Mow that grass and trim up those shrubs: a clean lawn means burglars have no place to hide, and indicate that someone’s been attending to your home. If you plan on being away for an extended vacation, it’s usually good to employ the help of a friend or neighbor in keeping your lawn clean and removing any packages that arrive while you’re away.

Lights with timers: To give the appearance of being home at all times, it’s best to leave a couple lights on. But you don’t need to worry about skyrocketing electric bills when securing your home: leaving the same lights on at all times can indicate absence too. In reality, it’s best to plug your lights into an automatic timer. These devices are cheap and can be purchased online — just be sure to set the timer to “random” so thieves can’t detect a pattern.

Close up, lock up: In the survey mentioned above, 56% of burglars said they entered a residence through the front or back doors, while another 22% said they entered through a first-story window. Based on this information, it’s best to make a habit of locking up behind you every time you go back inside, and to do a lock-check of every door and window before you leave home or go to bed. Along with this, you should be sure to hide valuables out of plain view, and close your blinds or curtains as well.

If you’re still unsure of your home’s security level, Pop-A-Lock is here to help. With our residential security audit, we’ll check your home and property for potential blind spots, and advise you on how to beef-up your security measures. Check out our website for more handy tips and info about our services.