Now is the time when we’re all are getting warmed up to the new year, embracing all the good and positive ideas to ensure a promising 2013. Staying safe and secure should always be on our priority list. Let us take a few responsible steps this year to make sure our home security system is safe from burglars and thieves. Here are a few tips that we might want to keep in mind in order to stay safe.

Personalize your security

What are the benefits that you would want to get from your home security system? What are the events that you would want to keep a tab on? The role of an ideal home security system goes well beyond just guarding against robberies. It is valuable to keep a track of the activities that are going on in a particular part of your house, isn’t it? There are special home safety systems that let home owners install motion sensors in certain sections of the house and receive notifications on any suspicious movement. You can get real-time texts or email notifications on any activity that may be taking place at the site.

Keep valuables safely locked away

The safety of things such as jewelry, precious items, small antique pieces, important documents, and firearms is imperative, whether you have a home security system installed or not. You might even want to consider installing in a good fire safe to keep documents and treasured photographs safe from burglars. There are different varieties of combination lockboxes, high security locks, wall safes, cash boxes, gun safes, fire safes and floor safes available. First know what exactly it is that you require and then invest in good quality safes.

Having faith on home security systems

With the help of a wireless security system that operates on GSM cellular technology rather than the conventional landline connection can make sure that the system is still working even if there is no power. Wireless security systems add protection against susceptibility of disruptions in phone lines.

Be sensible and alert at all times

A little extra precaution or use of your good sensibility and logic on a day-to-day basis can go a long way in keeping your possessions and more importantly, your loved ones safe. We all know, it is better to be safe than sorry, and it’s time we take our safety more seriously. So as you step into this New Year, make it a priority to do the best you can to stay safe.  

Fire often strikes without us having the slightest clue of the impending danger, and that can leave us with no time to prevent a disaster from ruining life and property. Watching your home being devastated by a raging fire and seeing all your valuable possessions being destroyed is one of the worst things that could happen. Every family needs to focus on fire safety, as it could happen to anyone at anytime, and the least you could do is be prepared.

We found this interesting infographic based on a survey conducted by Liberty Mutual and IAFF which tells us how families might not be as prepared as they should be in the case of a fire hazard.

Share this with your family and friends; spread the word on the importance of practicing a fire safety drill, at home and at work.  

Key Lock

For those customers who do not like electronics or combinations, we offer the LaGard Security Container Key lock.

This is a high security key lock with a special tubular key. This option includes 2 keys. One turn of the key opens the safe, very easy to use.

For those customers who do not like electronics, the traditional group II dial combination lock

From LaGard is a great choice. This concept of mechanical safe lock was introduces in the 1800’s and is still very popular for most high security safes. This lock comes with a preset factory code which can be changed only by an authorized safe technician or an authorized locksmith. It consists of a 3 number combination. To use this lock you will be required to turn it 4 times to the left, 3 times to the right, 2 times to the left and once to the right. We do not recommend this type of lock if you need to open your safes numerous times a day or if you need to change the code periodically.  

The EC-0601A-L66 is easy to operate and simple and straightforward to maintain. Following the prompts on the 128x64 dot matrix LCD display makes it user-friendly and able to be operated without any training or manual reading. The EC-0601A-L66 contains on-screen audit trail of up to 500 records.

Paired with one of the additional kits, the audit trail records can be downloaded to a computer. As with each product, we ensure its reliability with our rigorous production and management process. Each product is designed to have a 500,000 working cycle life span and is put through a two-thousand-time heavy duty aging test.

Biometric Lock - Optical Sensor 30 Fingerprints Capacity with Audit Trail and Time Delay (BSL-0601A-L66)

Incorporated with patented fingerprint technologies, FPC-0601A-D66, in the wireless network biometric controller series, is one of the company's most advanced products. It features user-friendly operation prompts, correctional prompts for inaccurate entries and maintenance guide information all shown on the 128x64 dot matrix LCD display. These features help the user to easily operate and maintain the system while saving time on reading instructions.

In addition to having a 10-digit keypad, it also includes programmable time delay and time window. For added security, the user can view up to 100 audit trail records on the LCD screen. This unit can be unlocked in sequence and a duress code can be set to activate the duress time delay. It also includes the ability to set a time lock for each lock (when multiple locks are being used for one entry pad). The company's strict manufacturing workmanship and process management ensure high quality control and maximize the capacity. Each unit is designed with a life span of 500,000 operations, which makes the product more cost competitive. To insure reliability, each individual unit is put through a two-thousand-time heavy duty aging test.

The Biometric Series controllers have been developed with high end application in mind. This system offers a high end system for safe application incorporated with our patented OneTouch™ Auto Fingerprint Verification. The Biometric Series comes with a unique Self-Learning software function which ensures easy operation with a lower rejection rate. It has a battery saving design with one 9V Alkaline battery operation and low battery alert.. Some of its features include programmable time delay, two security levels, and a 30 user capacity. This model specifically features a beautiful LED screen which only further adds to the ease of use and user friendly capabilities of our Biometric Series controllers.

 Biometric Lock Swipe Sensor 10 Fingerprints Capacity (BSL-0608)

Designed for convenient sliding mounting, this series of controllers provides two simple and easy ways to unlock your safes. One can simply swipe their finger over the swipe sensor or use a code. This controller series is also easily operated with audio-video signals and to complete the safeguarding of your safe.

DigiPaz Lock

The DigiPaz Electronic Digital Keypad lock is standard on most Prtoex Safes.

It’s a high security lock with motor driven deadbolt locking mechanism.

The Digipaz lock features a unique low profile keypad design which is tamperproof and vandal proof.

It requires a 6 digit combination single user and can be easily changed at any time by the end user.

The lock is using 4 AA batteries which are located inside the safe on the back of the door; these batteries will also operate the interior LED light for the safe.

This lock is equipped with a power override wire (included) which will let you power the lock from the outside if the internal batteries die. It also has a lockout-mode feature to protect it from manipulation.

The lock will go into a 15-minutes lockout mode if the wrong code is entered more than 3 consecutive times.

A short introduction to safes and what will you be looking for to protect your valuables.

If you have just decided to buy a safe and looking at wide selection of safes on our website, you will want to familiarize yourself with all the options. Whether you're shopping for a small personal safe or a 6 feet tall burglary and fire rated safe for your business, chances are you will have a lot of questions. There're hundreds of different kinds of safes on the Internet today, many sizes, features, options and you need to make a very serious decision, 'cause the safety of your valuables depends of it. We will try to make your choice easier and explain all the options in details.

Fire Protection Safes:

Do you need a safe to protect your valuables from fire damage? If you do, then you need to decide of the fire rating. Regular fire safe is usually built with 2 sheets of metal boxes, one inside of the other and some sort of insulation in between. It can also have a metal structure and a Type X fire board attached to it. Fire safes do only what they are designed for - protect your valuables from heat and fire, you wouldn't want to use a fire safe for burglary protection or unauthorized access.

Fire is the number one concern of most customers, how real is the risk of fire damage? According to The National Fire Protection Association there is a 1 in 4 chance of experiencing a house fire large enough to call the fire department.

UL and Intertek rate fire-resistant safes in terms of what type of material they'll protect and how long they'll protect it. For example, safes rated to protect paper documents shouldn't get any hotter than 350 degrees on the inside during a fire, If you plan to store old tape recordings or 35mm slides, however, you'll want a safe that's rated not to exceed 150 degrees inside. Computer disks and DVDs are even more sensitive, so if that's what you'll be storing look for a safe whose interior won't exceed 125 degrees. This information should be on the safe itself, and you might see it on the packaging as well.

Thirty minutes of protection is most common for home safes, you can also find safes that offer one, two or more hours protection, the longer the protection the higher the price of the safe. Thirty minutes should be enough, fire moves through a house rather quickly, so 20 minutes is the average in a room or an area.

Burglary Protection Safes:

Burglary ratings for house safes are not as common as ratings for commercial burglary safes, like large safes used by pawn shops or jewelry stores. Professional independent companies and UL testers use tools, blow torches and explosives to break open a safe and figure out its resistance to burglary. An average TL-15 burglary rated safe can withstand at least 15 minutes of using common household tools.

Small and inexpensive house safes don't usually offer any real burglary protection, however, they're still capable of some protection. Burglars usually go for easily accessible valuables that they can just grab real quickly and get out of the house. They would be less inclined to waste time trying to open a safe, even if the safe is not designed to resist burglary.

A one or two cubic-foot safe usually weighs about 100-150 pounds empty, thus making it a very difficult target. Try to store items like jewelry, cameras, small electronics, and other portable items in your safe, it would only take a minute for a burglar to grab them and go if they're laying around in your house. Some safes come with bolt-down kits, so the safe becomes even harder to lift or carry out of the house. If you're not sure of the level of burglary protection you require, you can at least make sure to secure the safe with nuts and bolts for a peace of mind. You can also buy a safe that can be concealed in a wall or in a floor, not only these kind of safes are very difficult to move, they can also be hidden out of plain sight.

Water Resistant Safes:

Water protection usually comes as an extra feature to otherwise Fire or Theft resistant safe. Test engineers at Intertek submerge safes to simulate flood or broken water line and figure out how long does a safe stay dry on the inside. Even though water protection is not the biggest concern of a regular customer, it does make you feel better about the safety of your items that may be damaged by water. If it comes to a choice of Fire and Burglary Safe vs. Fire, Burglary and Water protection, you might want to consider all three options, after all your safe will serve you for years and we never know what might happen tomorrow.

What they cost

$30 will buy you a small fire resistant box, it is only good for important documents like passports, birth certificates, insurance policies etc. Something that does not hold any value for a burglar, but could be hard to replace in case of fire. Safes larger than one cubic foot are usually fire rated and offer substantial burglary protection, the prices can range from $100 to $400, depending on the actual size and rating. You can use these safes for all of your valuables, like cash and jewelry, stock and bond certificates, handguns and ammo. Some parts of large safes can also be upgraded, for example from a key to dial or digital lock, add extra drawers and shelves to organize the space inside the safe, LED lighting etc.