Key to security: locks

Nearly half of all American homeowners fall short when it comes to maintaining the security of their home, according to the findings of an American Security Study (July 2009), conducted by Kwikset, the residential door hardware division of Black & Decker.

The study revealed that 47% of homeowners did not change or re-key the locks to their home when they first moved in, and nearly one-third have never changed their locks or had them re-keyed at any point since moving in.

"Probably the most significant insight from our study is that American homeowners may not even be aware that their home security levels are compromised," said Brent Flaharty, VP marketing of Kwikset.