• Lock your doors, whether you are home or away. Not all burglars work at night and a professional burglar can be in and out of a home in under 10 minutes--as long as it takes you to run an errand.
• Trim back trees, bushes and shrubs in which burglars might hide.
• Engrave your driver's license number on TVs, stereos, cameras, etc. with an engraving tool often available through the local police department. The engraved number will act as a deterrent and, if your property is stolen, help you identify it if it is recovered.
• Consider getting a dog that loves to bark at strangers. A noisy dog doesn't have to be big to be an effective deterrent to crime.
• To discourage a burglar from lifting a sliding door out of its track, put a dowel or an old broomstick in the door track. You can also use a dowel or broomstick, cut to the right length, to brace a sliding door shut.
• When adding locks to doors, be sure a burglar can't reach it by putting his arm through a broken window. It's best to use a deadbolt lock with a one-inch throw, a 5- or 6-pin tumbler cylinder and a cylinder guard ring.
• Make sure all doors, especially back and side doors, are kick-proof. They should be constructed of solid wood or metal.
• Don't leave a spare key outside. Burglars know to look for a key under the doormat, in a planter or on top of the door frame. If you must hide a front door key, conceal it in the backyard in an unlikely spot. Better yet, ask a neighbor to keep a spare key for you.
• Take extra precautions if you are away all day. Most burglaries occur during the day when occupants are not home. Try to make it sound as if someone is home. Turn on the TV, a stereo or a radio talk show before you leave.
• Turn on a few lights when you go out at night. A good approach is to install an automatic timer that turns lights, radios and TVs on and off in a lifelike pattern. Most people use timers for vacations, but it is just as important to set them during your regular nights out.
• Don't hide valuables in one location. Disperse them throughout the house.
• Better still, get a safe deposit box to store valuables.
• Vacations take planning, especially when it comes to discouraging a burglar. The best way to deal with home security in your absence is to make it appear that you're at home. Stop all deliveries and newspapers, ask the post office to hold your mail and have a neighbor pick up whatever winds up in your mailbox or on your doorstep.

  Ask a neighbor to stop in and rearrange the drapes and window shades and reschedule the automatic timer. Have the grass cut or snow removed. Snow piled up at your front door or an unkempt lawn is an open invitation to a burglar.

• If you happen to wake up or come home to find a burglar in your home, don't confront him and don't panic. The sooner he gets what he wants, the sooner he will leave.

For more information on home security, visit the National Crime Prevention Council.