This section will be extremely brief, due to my low regard for the majority of home security systems currently available.

Most electronic security systems, commonly referred to as "burglar alarms," are woefully inadequate. They are easily bypassed, poorly monitored, and prone to frequent false alarms (which can result in fines if your auto-dialer is set to call the police department). While they might alert you to a juvenile delinquent or a drunk trying to gain access to your home through a window, they will not deter an experienced burglar. If you feel you must invest in an electronic security system, but cannot afford the ten thousand dollars it takes to do it up right, I would advise you to purchase several indoor motion detectors (which you can install yourself — even wireless versions are available), and whatever other components you feel are necessary, connected to a "silent alarm" buzzer that sounds only in your master bedroom.

Locks are your first line of defense against intrusion, although they can be bypassed, forced, or picked. My advice is to install the best quality locks you can afford (avoiding double-cylinder deadbolts, which can trap you inside the house in the event of a fire), and set them in a solid door with a reinforced frame.

A reliable protection dog is far more of an effective deterrent than a "burglar alarm" that will only give one’s family a false sense of security. If you regularly leave your house unoccupied, and for whatever reason do not have a dog who can be trusted to be left alone indoors, some fake window tape and bogus alarm stickers can dissuade the local hooligans with only a minimal expenditure of funds and effort. Bear traps, deadfalls, set guns, and similarly harmful boobytraps should never be implemented due to significant legal and safety concerns.