Whether your alarm is wired, wireless, cellular, app-controlled, or manual only, your alarm PIN is likely your last line of defense. Maybe a hacker manages to get into the home security app with your account. Perhaps a burglar is in your house prepared to attempt shutting off the alarm with however many attempts your system allows. You will want the final roadblock to be the one they can’t get past. Yet so many people choose weak PINs.

Data Genetics completed a study that revealed just how weak people’s PINs are. They analyzed 3.4 million 4-digit passwords using data they gathered from previously-exposed databases. There are only 10,000 possible combinations, so it’s expected that there will be repeats in that large of a data set. However, the frequency of some of the combinations was statistically significant. Out of 3.4 million passwords, 11% of the people used 1234, 6% used 1111, and 2% used 0000. Nearly 27% of the passwords were among the top twenty most frequent.

What does that mean for you? If you’re among the 1.08 in 4 people who use one of these twenty most frequent combinations as your PIN, a hacker or burglar has a significantly higher chance of disabling your alarm. You can take the risk of using a weak PIN and hoping for the best, or you can optimize the security of your home. Choose a strong PIN using these dos and don’ts of selecting your alarm PIN.

Number Sequences

• Don’t use repeated numbers (1111, 2222, etc.).

All of these appeared in the twenty most frequent PINs.

• Don’t use sequences based on number position.

2580 may look like an odd PIN to be the 22nd most-used PIN until you look at its position on a number pad. The numbers are not a scrambled sequence but are in a line straight down the middle. Combinations using corners are also common and easy to guess.

• Do use random number sequences.

The more random your alarm PIN, the more secure it is. For example, the least common PIN was 8068. It’s not an important date, a number pattern, nor easy to type based on position. How can you generate a random number? One way could be to look at the clock and use the current time as your PIN. You could convert it to military time for good measure since 0 and 1 are the most common numbers to act as the first digit of a PIN. If you think you’d have trouble remembering a random number, keep reading. We’ll go into some things you can do to create a safe but memorable PIN.

Dates

• Don’t use a year in the 1900s.

Every pin that starts with 19 is in the top fifth of the most-used PINs. Suppose you use a year of birth or the year of an anniversary. That makes your alarm PIN even easier to guess, especially if the hacker or burglar knows you or has looked you up on social media.

(Note: To increase the security of your online presence, hide your birthday from your profiles wherever possible. You may even want to invent a “social media birthday.” Instead of putting your actual birthday, use something similar but not the exact date. Then, people won’t be able to use your social media information for any of the numerous confidential things that your date of birth is connected to. This is not to promote lying about your age on dating profiles or making accounts on websites before you’ve reached their minimum age requirement.)

• Don’t use birthdays or anniversaries.

See above. In addition to the year, don’t use (MMDD), (DDMM), or (MMYY) formats, either.

• Do use obscure dates.

If you use a year, make it something obscure, like if you’re a Les Misérables fan and you use 1832 as your alarm PIN to commemorate the June Rebellion. Even other Les Misérables fans think the book takes place during the French Revolution, despite it being several decades after. The June Rebellion was obscure enough that most non-fans probably won’t have heard of it, either.

Phone Numbers

• Don’t use your current phone number.

Even though phone books are a relic of the past, it’s not hard to get your hands on someone’s phone number. Just ask all those people who want to talk to you about your extended car warranty. Using one’s phone number for a PIN is common enough that if the person breaking into your home has yours, they might think to use that and get access as a result.

• Do use a childhood phone number you don’t use anymore.

If you want to use a phone number as an easy way of remembering your alarm PIN, use an old one. If it’s your home phone number from when you were growing up, it won’t be connected to your name since your parents or guardians were the account holders.

Phone Words

If numbers aren’t easy for you to remember, you could use a phone word instead. This is when you take a word and put it into numbers using the letters’ alphanumeric equivalents. (You know how the keypad on your phone has letters written under the numbers? The number a letter appears under is the alphanumeric equivalent.) Then, you can give yourself something easy for you to remember, but it’s in disguise. If you go this route, there are a few things you will want to keep in mind.

• Don’t use words that make common number sequences.

You wouldn’t want the word you use as your alarm PIN to be something like “moon” (6666) since that would give you a repeated number sequence.

• Do use words that give you a random sequence.

Use a four-letter word (not necessarily one of those four-letter words) and use the alphanumeric equivalents. You could use “star,” which would become 7827.

• Do use acronyms.

You could also use an acronym. Create a four-word phrase and use the corresponding numbers of the first letters: “Turn off the Alarm” (TOTA = 8682).

• Don’t use acronyms that make common number sequences.

Like before, you will want to avoid acronyms that create common PINs. If you used “Other Zebras Only Walk” (OZOW), you’d end up with 6969, the 10th most common PIN.

Other Tips

When you have your secure alarm PIN, you will also want to regularly clean your alarm’s control panel. This way, a burglar won’t be able to guess your PIN by looking at the dirtiest buttons or where the most fingerprints are on the touch screen. Most importantly, use different PINs for different purposes. Don’t use the same PIN for your alarm system that you use for banking or your phone passcode. Then, if someone cracks one of your PINs, your other accounts are still safe.

With home security, the emphasis is often placed on the inside of the home. We install smart locks to ensure the home is secure more easily, arm alarm systems to scare off intruders and notify us of break-ins, and hang cameras to help us identify the intruders. In your effort of making sure your home is safe and protected, don’t neglect the rest of the premises. Not only do outdoor security measures further deter burglars from targeting your home, but also you may have areas outside that you need to protect. Here are a few of those exterior areas and what you can do to protect them.

Driveway and Cars

As a would-be burglar comes up to your home, one of the first exterior areas they will see is your driveway. The best way to prevent them from stealing anything from your driveway is to limit what you put there. Do your kids leave their bikes and other outdoor toys out front? Help them get in the habit of storing them in the garage instead. If you don’t have a garage, they can use a bike lock to secure their bike to a post of the carport or another area.

Cars in the driveway can be a good way of signaling people are home, which can deter a burglar from attempting a break-in. However, you want to make sure your cars don’t become the new target.

1. Always lock your car.

Often, this simple deterrent is enough. It’s easy to break a window, though, so limit the reasons they might want to do this.

2. Don’t leave things in your car.

As the saying goes, “Out of sight, out of mind.” If the burglar sees nothing in your car, they’ll be more likely to leave your car alone. Why bother breaking a window if they won’t get anything out of it?

3. Use a steering wheel lock

If the burglar is out to get the car itself, an empty car won’t be as much of a deterrent. By using a steering wheel lock, even if they do break your window, they won’t be able to hijack your car.
A broken window is still an annoying, expensive problem, though. What else can you do to make your car less appealing? Start by making your driveway less appealing. If a burglar sees signs of a home security system, they will be less inclined to target your home. If you have security cameras and one that has a good view of where your cars are parked, this will discourage the burglar from taking an interest in your cars.

Backyard

Perhaps a burglar isn’t interested in your driveway or cars. As a result, they may instead look for a way of getting into your backyard. You may want to consider getting your yard fully fenced if it isn’t already. An easily accessible yard is a better target. If you have a fence with a gate, keep it locked when not in use.

Patio

If the burglar does get past your fence, they might next reach the patio. As with the driveway, you will want to avoid leaving things out and have cameras with a clear view of the area. It’s probably not feasible to haul your patio furniture, grill, and fireplace in and out whenever you need to use them. You can take measures to prevent burglars from easily making off with these, though.

Get some steel cable and run it through the frames of your patio furniture. After you’ve strung it together like beads on a heavy-duty necklace, put a lock on the ends to secure it. You can put it all on one cable or spread it out over multiple cables. This way, a burglar would have to take everything on the cable at once or cut through the cable or lock. Since most burglars are out to make a quick score, they likely won’t think it’s worth the time and effort.

Shed

As with your car and gate, be sure to lock your shed. A smart lock can help you quickly check if you remembered to lock up, and you can remotely lock the shed you forgot.
Is your shed tucked away in the corner of your yard or off to the side and out of the way? Chances are, there’s an easy path a burglar could take to get to the shed and back virtually unnoticed. The edges of a yard are the most common places for flowerbeds, bushes, and trees, and these can provide cover and hiding places for burglars. That’s not to say you should tear out your plants, but you will want to ensure they aren’t overgrown and obstructing the view of your yard. If the burglar sees there’s not an easy way in and out, they will be less likely to target your shed.

What do you do if things aren’t going as well with your current alarm monitoring company as you’d hoped? You’ve explored options and possible solutions to make things work, but you’re starting to think it’s time to change to a different alarm monitoring company. You’re in a contract, though. Where do you go from here?

1. Read Your Monitoring Agreement

When you signed the contract with your current company, you made an agreement with them, and you now have a legal obligation to that company. In some cases, you will be bound to the terms of the contract and responsible for paying the monthly rate until the contract expires. However, many companies offer early termination options. To see what options are available for getting out of the contract early, start by reading the entire contract. If you cannot find your copy of the contract, you can get one by reaching out to your monitoring company.

Things to look for:

a. When does the contract expire?

You will likely be on a contract with a set end date or a month-to-month contract. If the contract lists an end date, you will want to find if the contract says the agreement will end after that period or if it will automatically renew unless you give notice of cancellation.

b. How to Give Notice

If applicable, you will want to see what you need to do to give notice. Many companies require at least thirty days’ notice in writing, but yours may require more or less time.

c. Look for Early Termination Fees

When someone terminates a contract early, companies will usually charge an early termination fee to help them recover the resulting costs and losses. Find out what you would need to pay should you terminate your contract early.

2. Weigh Your Options

Now that you’ve reacquainted yourself with your contract, it’s time to weigh your options to determine if you really want to to change to a different alarm monitoring company. Was your primary reason for switching to a different company was to save money? You may find that once you factor in the early termination fee, you might be spending more money than you would save. You may decide it would make more sense financially to finish the last few months of your contract. Then when the time comes, you could change to a different company without paying an early termination fee. Perhaps with the circumstances of your situation, you determine paying the early termination fee is better than finishing the contract.

You will also want to consider the company you are considering switching to.

• What can they offer that your current company can’t?

  Look over their website and get in touch with a member of the sales team to find out about the company. You will also want to look at customer reviews to ensure the company delivers what they say they will.

• Will your current equipment be compatible with their systems, or will you need to purchase a new system?

  Purchasing a new system could make the change expensive, but it could be worth it if your current system is outdated or doesn’t do everything you need it to.

• Will they be the best security company for you?

  Here are some tips on how to find the best home security company.

3. After You’ve Decided

If you ultimately decide to move forward with the change, you will need to contact your current monitoring company and let them know your intentions. Then, work with your new company to get things set up with them.

Throughout your subdivision, home security signs have been popping up. Your neighbor has one, there are some across the road, and there are even more up the street. There isn’t one in your yard, though. Should you feel vulnerable, or is it something you don’t need to worry about? Should you put out a fake security sign so you have one in your yard, too? To help you find your answer, let’s start by looking at security signs.

Do Security Signs Work?

When you place a security sign in your yard or a decal on your window, the purpose is to act as a visual beacon to would-be burglars that the home is protected. In a study surveying incarcerated burglars, 83% of the respondents indicated that they would try to determine if the house had an alarm before proceeding with a burglary. A security sign can be a good way of conveying this. Nearly half the respondents indicated that visible security signs were a factor that could contribute to deterring them from a target. If your neighbor has a security sign and you don’t, that will make your home the more likely target.

Do You Need a Home Security System to Put Out a Security Sign?

Maybe you’ve decided you don’t need to get a home security system because you don’t feel like it’s worth the cost or for other reasons. You don’t want your neighbors’ home security systems to make your home look vulnerable. Could you get a fake home security sign to make it look like you have one, too? You could, but that doesn’t mean you should. You can find a variety of home security signs online. Some use real companies’ names and logos. Some are generic. Others are for made-up companies to make them look optimal without copyright infringement.

Copyright infringement? You read that right. Depending on your state and jurisdiction, it could be illegal to use a security sign with a company’s name and logo if you don’t have a home security system with them. If you decide to ignore that detail, you could create other problems unrelated to copyright infringement. A burglar who knows what they’re doing can spot differences in design that could mark a nonlegitimate sign as a fake. This could potentially make your home a bigger target than if you had no sign at all.

The same goes for signs for fake companies. If the burglar doesn’t recognize the company name and does a quick Google search, they’ll find out. Now, your sign intended to say, “Don’t rob me; I’m protected” actually says, “I lied. I’m defenseless. Come on in.” You run a similar risk with generic signs since these give no credentials for the burglar to take them seriously.
As an alternative that will guarantee you better protection, it may be time to consider getting a home security system.