Category: Home Defense

QUICK QUIZ: Do You Recognize These 4 Home Security MASSIVE FAILS?

Do You Recognize These 4 Home Security Massive Fails
Graphic © myfamilysurvivalplan.com / off-grid.info. Photo – Unsplash (PD)

This lock is completely useless!! Can you see why?

FULL, IN DEPTH TUTORIAL: ULTIMATE HOME DEFENSE: How To Protect Your Home And Your Loved Ones Against ANYTHING The Bad Guys Try To Do.

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QUIZ ANSWERS:

1) This hasp is super thin, NOT hardened, and could EASILY be snipped open with a pocket-sized hand held mini bolt cutter in about two seconds (or a $6 junior hacksaw in under a minute!)
SOLUTION: Upgrade to a double-thickness hardened hasp such as this one.

2) Latch is held on with basic screws – could be taken off silently in a few seconds with a Philips screwdriver. MEGA fail!
SOLUTION: Use stainless steel carriage bolts like these ones (dome top) on the outside, double locking nuts on the inside, ideally with a steel plate on the inside to make drilling more challenging – or fit a heavy duty hardened hasp such as this one which covers the bolts when closed.

3) This padlock is old, cheap and is “open shackle” – which permits easy insertion of a steel rod, bear claw or crowbar. One good lever with one of the above and it’s off. It could also probably be popped with a hammer and cold chisel in one good strike. Completely useless. SOLUTION: A heavy duty, top quality closed shackle padlock such as this one with make it much, much harder to break in.

4) Latch is held on with a basic nut on the outside – ridiculously easy to undo!
SOLUTION: Put the bolt the correct way round so that the nut is on the inside!! (and use a domed top coach bolt or covered hasp, as above).

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Protect your home (get this handled asap):

When we talk about survival and preparedness we have to look first to the most important skill of them all: home defense.

Do you think that a group of men could get into your house and take anything they want? Or you truly believe that you can keep them far away from your porch?

I’ll bet at least one of your doors is unlocked, right now. A home attack could happen any time – and daytime attacks are increasingly common.

It’s time to start getting to work on your home and property. Do NOT leave it to chance!

Here are four steps you need to take:

1) The first step is to make sure you know as much as possible about them and have them know as little as possible about you. That means taking these steps to “disappear off the map” while also taking these steps to give yourself that maximum possible time to react to any incoming threat

2) The second step is to protect and beef up your doors. Your goal should be to make sure they CANNOT get in – no matter which tools they brought with them! Add two more deadbolts to the door, one high up and one down low. If you drill these out carefully and correctly, you can keep your work hidden from the outside. Just remember not to throw those deadbolts, unless your whole family is inside; otherwise, they can’t get in. On the hinge side of the door, you’ll want to replace the screws with longer ones, so that they go into the stud. Also, replace one screw in each hinge with a pin, drilling out the corresponding hole in the other side of the hinge for clearance – to prevent hinge attacks such as the halligan bar attack. Between the deadbolts and these bolts, your door will be much stronger. But there are many more upgrades you can do: here’s the full list.

3) Third step – Windows: First – do a walk-through before you leave for the day and make sure they are actually closed. Even if “you think you closed them”. Don’t leave a ladder out in your yard. Then look into window locks: Even having simple window locks and actually using them puts you ahead of the crowd – but to be a truly hard target that they won’t bother messing with there is more to learn: Full window security tutorial here.

4) Step 4 – Understand and apply all of the “layers” of home defense. This is an absolutely vital concept. Here is the link to the full list of all 25 layers and the amazing in-depth tutorial:

ULTIMATE HOME DEFENSE: How To Protect Your Home And Your Loved Ones Against ANYTHING The Bad Guys Try To Do.

The Advantages In Using Electric Fence As Your First Line Of Defense

The Advantages In Using Electric Fence As Your First Line Of Defense

When it comes to your personal protection and the protection of your property, is there such a thing as “too much”? Hard to say really. But if you have the time and the means, you should spear no expense in securing your home. Sure, having you very own machine gun turrets installed on the lawn would be excessive indeed, not to mention extremely illegal.

But luckily there are other ways of securing a perimeter, and they’re far less expensive than advanced military technology. Building a fence around the area you’re trying to protect is the way to go, and nothing would be more efficient than your very own electric fence system. Electric fences are less obvious than barbed wire and more efficient, as they can deliver quite a punch to anything and anybody that dare to intrude on your property. To be more precise, the system uses alternative current (A.C.), and via a transformer, turns it into electric pulses. A mechanical trigger is activated when something comes in contact with the wires and the current is released immediately. The current shoots out the power terminal, goes through the wires as high voltage electric pulse (can go as high as 10.000 V) and it’s picked up by a second terminal, which consists of a rod (mostly copper) that’s implanted in the ground. Such fences are highly used today in agriculture (they deliver mild, discomforting shocks to keep animals away) or in prisons (where voltages are lethal).

Such technology is available for everybody who takes prepping and personal safety to the next level. And believe it or not, installing an electric fence has its own advantages over more traditional methods. If done right, you won’t be sorry won’t went for an electric fence instead of barbed wire or anything else. And here’s a list of reasons as to why.

1. Electric fences are cheaper than traditional fences

Believe it or not, it’s true. The materials are cheaper to buy and the installation process will be cheaper as well. This is because an electric fence requires a lesser quantity of wires and fewer posts as opposed to traditional fencing methods. It’s not meant to be strong and withstand mechanical forces, but rather cover a big enough area to stop all sorts of intrusions. It may be frailer than barbed wire, but it will do some much more than scratch the surface of your skin; it can make you wish you’d never been born.

2. Electric fences are easier to install

Because the key components are fewer and lighter, you can install your electric fence by yourself, although I’d advice against it. But even if you plan on doing it yourself, make sure you know what you’re doing. The materials aren’t that heavy, not even the posts, so the installation will go faster than if you’d be installing a traditional fence, where you’d need to dig holes. The thin electric fence poles require no such effort on your part; just take them out and stick them in the ground.

3. Electric fence systems are easily maintained and modified

The system will require very little attention on your part. Just pay some attention to the battery system and the console from time to time, to make sure that everything is working properly. Also, they should be kept clean and dry at all times to avoid unwanted electric discharges and system shutdown. The wires require no maintenance unless the fence has been hit or damaged in one way or another. Because it has fewer and lighter elements compared to a regular fence, you can modify the structure with ease. You can add or take out poles in matter minutes.

4. Electric fences are more efficient overall

The intensity of the electric discharge is customizable, depending on the types of charge you’re using, but also on the materials that the fence is made up of. Barbed wire can be easily cut and taken down by perpetrators, and once the fence is gone, the way is clear. Electric fences can’t be cut, as they’ll release thousands of Vs when the cutting tool comes in contact with the wire. So not only is it hard to go around, but it’s also very hard to interact with a fully charged electric system without getting the shock of a lifetime.

Of course, there are some things to keep in mind and consider before installing your very own electric fence. The systems are effective, but you’ll need to keep the area around the fence as clean as possible at all times so that nothing’s growing in the vicinity of the wires. Growing plants could complicate the situation, so make sure there are none close to the wires.

Thunderstorms could also spell trouble, as the electric discharges could shut the fence down. But repairing the electric fence shouldn’t be much harder than installing it, so that’s a plus. To make it even more effective, you could conceal it, so whoever is trying to breach your “fortress” will get a nasty surprise. However, most states have very specific laws regarding electric fencing visibility and signaling. So do some research and stay out of trouble.

How To Prepare And Survive In Case Of A Hurricane

How To Prepare And Survive In Case Of A Hurricane

The U.S. has had its fair share of hurricanes in these past decades. Hurricanes Sandy, Rita, and Katrina have hit pretty hard. They took so many lives and the process and produced massive infrastructural damage. No matter how far we’re willing to go as far as preparations go, we will never be completely safe from nature’s wrath. But every precaution can be a small battle won and +1 when it comes to our chances to survive in case of a hurricane.

In order to beat the storm and come out on top, we must understand what a hurricane actually is. Hurricanes are immense storms that cover great areas. Because the winds blow in a swirling motion, powerful air currents are created that can be strong enough to pull out trees out of the ground, lift cars and even lay whole cities to the ground. Wind speed is a major factor in considering how devastating the hurricane is going to be; according to wind speed, hurricanes fall into the following categories:

• Category 1: winds reach speeds of 74 mph – 95 mph
• Category 2: winds reach speeds of 96 mph – 110 mph
• Category 3: winds reach speeds of 111 mph – 129 mph
• Category 4: winds reach speeds of 130 mph – 156 mph
• Category 5: winds reach speeds of speeds of over 157 mph

Hurricanes will most likely form over warm ocean surface, and they sometimes have the tendency of going towards land. When this happens, it also sends a wave formation (storm surge) towards land alongside heavy precipitation. These two combined can cause major flooding to urban or rural areas. Even though hurricanes cover large areas at a time, the intensity of the storm is not constant throughout the entire area, but it’s rather varied from zone to zone. Based on intensity, hurricanes are comprised of the following parts:

• Zone 1: the eye of the hurricane is the portion in the middle of the stormy area (central zone); it’s the zone that’s least affected, where wind and precipitations are at their lowest

• Zone 2: the eyewall is a circle of thunderstorms that swirl around the central zone (the eye); the wall is where storm activity is at its highest, with heavy precipitations and strong winds

• Zone 3: rain bands stretch from the eyewall towards the outside; they’re a weaker reflection of the eyewall, comprised of storm clouds, precipitations, and possibly tornadoes

Preparing For An Incoming Hurricane

As I’ve said before, there is nothing you can do that is 100% hurricane proof, but every measure of precaution you take might just be enough to save you or your property. First and foremost, my main advice is to consider of building your very own underground bunker or disaster-proof room somewhere in the vicinity of your home and have it filled with as many provisions as you can. Just be sure to consider flooding and the need for oxygen. If such a room would be too much trouble, you can also reinforce a room in the house (possibly the basement), turning it into a safe room and hope for the best. If you want to save as much of your property as possible and limit the damage, cover your windows with special, permanent storm shutters; if you can’t find any in your vicinity, just use some plywood instead. Roof straps will reduce the damage and maintain the structure of the house as whole as possible. Trimming your bushes, trees, and shrubs around the house will make them less likely to fly off and damage or even kill somebody; the trimmer they are, the less “grabby” their surface will be when it comes in direct contact with the wind. Rain gutters should be unclogged, in order to fight off flooding.

What To Do During The Storm

If there’s a massive storm coming your way, you need to stay informed. Follow any sort of alerts and directions the authorities issue on the tv, radio or internet. Secure your house as best as you can by closing all the doors, even those inside the house. The less the air flows through, the safer you’ll be. Any sort of small object left in your shed or front lawn should be moved in the house. If they get picked up the storm, they could become serious projectiles that can do permanent damage or even kill. When the storm hits, turn off all the utilities and keep away from the phone as much as possible. Propane tanks should be switched off, as well as the refrigerator. If things get serious, go to your panic room or your provision room. Keep enough food and water supplies. Your cars should be fully fueled, because if the opportunity should arise, you must be able to drive without stopping as far as you possibly can. Also, keep cash on you; banking and ATM systems will most probably be shut down. If you’re eager to evacuate, take a moment and think things through; acting on impulse might cost you your life. Wait for things to settle down a bit and listen to the directives given by the local authorities.

Dealing with a hurricane is a stressful and life-threatening situation. Take all the necessary precautions you can in order to limit the damage, but remember that nothing’s more important than saving your life. Your safety should come first, before everything else. So if you’re taken by surprise, flee for safety and don’t waste any time in securing your property.

By My Family Survival Plan