Home security is an interesting topic, because people generally look into it thinking that there's a one-size-fits-all, silver bullet solution. These same people don't bother to take the most basic precautions of locking doors and windows at night, lighting potentially dangerous areas on their property, or putting dead bolts on all their exterior doors.

They look to an electronic home security system as a stop-gap measure that can fill in for all their short comings, but don't look at the inexpensive things they can do to deter the casual criminal. Let's take a look at some of these precautions that should be considered before investing in an elaborate home security system.

Your exterior doors are one of the main points of access to your house. If they're wide open, someone will walk through them, almost guaranteed. The next level of security is closing them. When they're closed, someone has to actually do something to get into your house. And the more "things" people have to do to get into your house, the less likely they are to attempt to gain access to it. That's one of the basic tenets of home security, and something you should keep in mind when shopping around for your home security system.

The next step would be making sure that you have deadbolts installed on all your exterior doors. It know it sounds somewhat dramatic, but standard locks are easy to bypass. I can't count the number of times I've seen someone gain access to a garage or uninhabited house using nothing more than a cheap ID card, CostCo Membership card, or driver's license.

A standard lock just won't cut it for someone who is willing to go the extra step to gain access to your home. If you want to bring it to the next level and force a robber to actually destroy property to enter your home, a deadbolt is the only way to go. With a deadbolt in place, they will either have to be very proficient at picking a 6 tumbler lock, or kick your door in.

And that brings us to the topic of windows. They're great to look out of, but they're crummy from a security standpoint. Not only do they let people look directly into your house, but they're fragile and easy to break. However, they do force a criminal to take the next step and destroy property if they want to gain access to your home, as long as they're closed and locked! This is a must, and you should check every night before you go to bed whether or not all ground-accessible windows are closed and locked. Make it a routine.