Peepholes
vs
Blind Luck

As of 2010, this site has NO financial ties (commissions) with commercial security product retailers. This site is pro-bono – a PSA (Public Service Announcement) free to all 2+ million visitors from 162 countries.

Peepholes (wide angle viewers or fish-eye lens) let you know who's knocking at your door before you open it. Otherwise you might blindly open up – and plunge into the nightmare of a Push-In.

Of the more than 7,000 home invasions or burglaries daily in the U.S. alone, roughly half are Walk-Ins through unlocked doors! Running a close second are Push-Ins when a homeowner blindly opens the door to a criminal. Using a little caution can make a huge difference if you use these:

PEEPHOLE TIPS

• Insist that all family members always check before opening the door.

• Locate it about five feet high from the indoor floor. Keep a step-stool nearby so kids can use it (and open the door only with your permission).

• Insist on a deliveryman's photo I.D. from his employer pressed to your window. Look for a company vehicle (not with a magnetic sign). Then call his company to check (get the phone number from the phone directory, not from him). See Home Security - Scam-In.

• Know that some criminals block your view with their hand or stand out of sight, hoping to fool you into opening anyway.

• Also use a doorbell intercom for all exterior doors to more easily talk with visitors (or just listen to them making plans) without opening your door. You'll find inexpensive models at Home Intercom System.

By the way...

Door-chains ("chain-locks" or "chain door interviewers") are too weak to protect you. They allow partial door opening to "interview" a visitor, BUT they're far too flimsy to stop a kick-in or an aggressive Push-In.

Get rid of these flimsy "security products." Newer "high-tech" types - such as spraying indelible ink on an invader as he bursts through to attack you anyway (or others with equally foolish ideas) - are still not nearly good enough. You're much safer with a Home Intercom System.

Of course, NO security products are guaranteed to prevent any crime - but might serve you well if combined with the guidance in Home Security Overview and Outdoor Safety Overview.

Crime-Safety-Security > Security Products Overview > Peepholes

Enjoy this page? Please pay it forward. Here's how...

Would you prefer to share this page with others by linking to it?

  1. Click on the HTML link code below.
  2. Copy and paste it, adding a note of your own, into your blog, a Web page, forums, a blog comment, your Facebook account, or anywhere that someone would find this page valuable.