Around-the-house Security Checklist

Is your home Fort Knox? If you work there, maybe it should be. From lighting and foliage outside to window shades and deadbolts inside, it's smart to protect your property and yourself from any possible threat. Here's a quick list that will help you secure your office from the outside in.

DRAW THE SHADES (1) When you're not in the office--or you're working at night--lower the shades. (2) Dim or turn off the computer screen when you're not working; a monitor's glow announces the presence of a computer.

PROTECT YOURSELF (3) For added security, consider keeping a can of Mace, a personal audible alarm, or a handheld panic button for your alarm system next to your workspace. Also keep a fire extinguisher nearby.

SECURE THE OFFICE (4) If your home office is in a dedicated room, install simple locks, so windows cannot be forced open from the outside, (5) and a two-key deadbolt on the office door. This will protect the office if someone breaks into the home; it can also help keep young children from playing in the office when you're not around.

ALARM YOURSELF (6) Install a home alarm system. Today's burglar and smoke/heat alarms can cover "zones" of your home, so the office can be protected while providing you access through other doors. Install panic buttons around your home and office. Test alarms frequently, and change their batteries annually.

LIGHTEN UP (7) Illuminate the yard with bright flood lamps. Connect them to motion detectors, so they'll turn on when someone approaches your home.

GET GREEN (8) Plant thorny bushes (such as cacti, bougainvillea, or small palms) or thick hedges beneath windows, especially outside your home office. As they grow, they'll impede access and discourage peepers. Just be sure not to create hiding places for prowlers.

FINAL APPROACH (9) Ask your insurance agent: Are there stones between the curb and your door that might cause visitors to trip? (10) Should your dog be kept in a bedroom or yard when customers arrive?

Dallas-based marketing consultant Carla McClanahan was working from her bedroom-turned-home-office last summer when Travis, her 60-pound English pointer, began barking. From her chair, the owner of CMcC Communications spotted a man in jeans and a T-shirt walk past the 6-foot fence that lines her backyard, then prop a ladder against a phone pole and begin fiddling with the junction box.

If not for her alarm company's recent warning of burglars' cutting the phone connections that link alarms to police, she wouldn't have been so concerned, McClanahan admits. As it was, she called her husband, Mark, from her portable phone, then confronted the stranger and asked for ID--which he produced, as a technician with the local cable company. Both then went back to work.

According to McClanahan, she's never had any close calls. But after a nearby home was broken into twice last year, she realized, "No area is 100 percent secure"--and working from home, she laments, the silence is sometimes deafening.

In fact, the solitude used to unnerve her, until she decided to do something about it. The McClanahans installed an alarm system that chimes anytime a door is opened. For example burglar alarm,intruder alarm etc. Carla also obtained a concealed weapon permit and now keeps a handgun in her office, she says, "in the event that someone enters our home uninvited."

Taking an active role in her own safety, McClanahan frequently watches her backyard from her office, and lets other members of the neighborhood crime watch know if she sees a suspicious character.

Even when she's away from home, McClanahan's guard is rarely down. She locks her car doors, never parks beside a van or in a parking garage, and--like Scheid--prefers to meet new clients in restaurants or cafes. She also tells her husband about appointment times and whom she's meeting with. "I'm not vulnerable. I'm very aware," she says. "I feel totally comfortable and secure in my home."

"It's not really paranoia, it's just being safe," agrees Scheid, who says her alarm, Mace, and other measures provide peace of mind as well as protecting her workplace. "You have to think about the things you'd think about if you were renting an office. Safety and security should be exactly the same as if you were working outside of the home."