There’s more you can do to discourage burglars than an alarm system when you’re away. Burglars look for easy targets, where they can get in and out quickly. They pick a house and watch it to learn your comings and goings and for signs that you’re gone. So what can you do? Make it harder for burglars.

Smart Phone Security. Make cameras visible and install them in more places than the front door. You can access your security cameras anytime, anywhere and get alerts when visitors are detected. You can store video clips and recorded audio to the cloud.

Neighbors. Meet your neighbors and exchange numbers. Watch their homes when they’re gone and ask them to watch yours for any suspicious activity. Have your neighbor pick up mail, flyers on your door or packages left on your doorstep.

Trash. Burglars look through trash for valuable personal records and through empty boxes to learn about purchases, such as pricey new electronics. Make sure to shred important documents you wouldn’t want them to get ahold of.

Lighting. Motion detector lighting is startling and may discourage a burglar from entering your home. It’s worth it to keep your home well-lit with landscape lighting that illuminates windows, doors and walkways. Use on-off light timers, T.V. flicker simulators and large dog bark recordings to simulate that someone’s at home.

Vehicles. Many burglars break into cars to get addresses and other information. Keep your car and glovebox locked. Don’t leave your garage opener visible. Instead, pair your opener with your smartphone so only you can access your home.