Additional tips: House: Alarms | House: Locks | House: Windows & Doors | Garage | Yard | Valuables | Vacation | Miscellaneous |

YOUR GARAGE

* Treat any door to your garage like an external door, which means making sure it has a good dead bolt on it.

* Keep your car locked with the alarm on, even in your garage, and consider additional anti-theft devices such as The Club or an automobile tracking device, which allows owners to keep tabs on their vehicle through a GPS system.

* A large key lockbox in the garage is the perfect location for storing rarely used car keys.

* By cutting the release cord located on your electric garage-door opener, you prevent intruders from gaining easy access to your home through your garage window. If you need the cord, use a clothes hanger in its place.

* Make sure garage lights can be turned on from inside the house so you never have to walk into a dark garage.

* Change your garage-door opener code. New openers come with factory-set codes that are meant to be changed, but many people neglect to do so. Burglars will scour neighborhoods with common brands of remote openers, looking for garage doors that will open.