The Fireproof Safe Buying Guide

February 7th, 2010

If you’re looking to buy fireproof safes then the first thing you need to do is shop around online. Most decent online stores offer free delivery as part of their deal and at a 1 year guarantee on the product their selling. This is one of the first things you should look for when choosing a fireproof safe however there are a couple of other important points to consider.

You’ll need to think about what kind of documents you’ll actually be storing inside your fireproof safe. Jewelry, cash, documents, DVD’s and tapes are all common types of valuables that are stored in a safe. The reason you need to think about these types of valuables different is because each of them is destroyed at a different temperature.

Data such as CD’s, DVD’s and tapes are the most fragile items when it comes to heat. If you’re going to store these items away in a fireproof safe you’re going to need a specially made data fireproof safe that has been built to keep temperatures below 52°C on the inside. Once raised above this temperature data begins to become damaged so it can not be stored in a normal fireproof safe.

On the other hand a document fireproof safe is able to keep data under 177°C without the any items being destroyed. The paper inside will not ignite unless it starts to rise above this temperature and the safe has been built to keep temperatures below this level in case of a fire. Therefore only items such as documents or jewelry should be stored inside the fireproof safes.

Think about what type of safe it is that you’re willing to buy: freestanding, portable, floor or wall. Each one comes with it’s own set of advantages and disadvantages. A freestanding safe is easy to access but is also more vulnerable to flames. A floor or wall safe may be more flame resistant but is more expensive and difficult to access. Finally a portable fireproof safe is easy to access and move around but cannot store many items.

Your fireproof safe shouldn’t be the only way in which you protect your business or home from fire, instead it should be only the centerpiece of a fireproof system. Fire alarms should be fitted throughout your building as part of a early warning and smoke detection system. Doors should be built to automatically close which will stop the fire spreading if a blaze were to occur. Finally sprinklers should be installed on the ceiling of your rooms which should automatically turn on once they sense a strong amount of heat. All of these factors would help to ensure a dramatic strengthening of your fireproof security system.

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The 5 Different Types of Home Safes

February 3rd, 2010

When you’re searching for a home safe there’s a couple of different types of safe that you can choose from. Knowing the advantages and disadvantages of the different types of home safe will allow you to make the right choice and also hopefully save you a little money as well.

1. One of the most common forms of safe is the freestanding home safe. This safe is usually bolted to the floor and should be placed in a room that is out of the way such as a back office. This form of safe is relatively easy to install and generally less expensive. As with most types of safe this can either be chosen in electronic or traditional lock and key format.

2. The home floor safe is one of the more difficult types of safe to install. A hole must be dug in the ground before the safe it can be placed inside and once in, concrete must be poured around the safe and left to set so that it will be secured to the ground. Floors safe however are very strong, almost impossible to remove and are incredibly well hidden once properly installed.

3. The home wall safe is another type of safe that can be easily hidden. The installation of home wall safes should be left to professionals, as you need to make sure the dimensions of your walls and structure of your house is strong enough for the installation to go ahead. Home wall safes not only provide security but are also good forms of floor protection as they tend to raised highly off the ground. They can also be easily hidden by placing object in front of them such as a mirror or painting

4. Home Key Safes – a home key safe is a type of key cabinet in which you can place your house security keys and other types of keys. They’re an excellent additional layer of security that can be installed on your home and are necessary because they will stop the burglars gaining easy access to all your rooms and locks.

5. Fireproof Home Safe – whilst not necessarily a type of safe in itself, the fireproof home safe is definitely a type of feature that you should add to your checklist. Fireproof home safes will not only protect your against theft but will also be able to withstand fire that last from 30 minutes all the way up to 4 hours depending on the model.

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How A Fireproof Safe Can Protect You

January 31st, 2010

If you’re buying a fireproof safe then you’re making a brilliant choice as not only are your protecting yourself from burglary but you’re also protecting your valuables from a fire as well. This alone makes a fireproof safe much better than a normal safe however there are a couple of other things you need to think about.

You need to decide what types of objects you’ll be storing in your safe. You’ve got a choice between document safes and data safes. Fireproof document safes aren’t as strong as fireproof data safes. A document safe keeps temperatures below 177°C but you’ll only be able to store papers and cash inside it. On the other hand a data safe will keep temperatures inside below 52°C allowing data such as tapes and DVD’s to be guarded from the fire and because of this a data safe can store documents as well. If you’ve going to be buy a fire safe then it’s recommended you buy a data safe if you’re got the money.

You’ll need to think about how long it is you’re going to need your valuables to be protected for. Fire resistance for fireproof safes lasts anywhere from 30 minutes all the way up to 4 hours. The longer the fire resistance lasts the more expensive the safe tends to be. So think about how much your valuables are worth to you and how you think a fire would last in your building and buy the correct safe accordingly.

It’s a good idea to not only have a fireproof safe but to only fit out your place with other forms of fire protection. Having automatically closing doors will really stop a fire spreading around a building and installing sprinklers is an expensive but very effective method of stopping a fire. Also a cheap and easy way to protect yourself from fires is to install an alarm in each room in your building making sure your change the batteries every couple of months.

When you do install your fireproof safe it’s best to not attempt to do this yourself and let the professionals finish the job. When you’re buying online a lot of web stores will provide you with free delivery however you might be charged for the extra installation fee. Unless you really know what you’re doing then the extra will definitely save you the time and effort involved by trying to install the fireproof safe yourself and it’s recommended that you pay it.

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Secure Your Business With A Key Safe Cabinet

January 27th, 2010

People who are ready to buy a key safe cabinet shouldn’t just jump in and make a purchase. There’s a couple of important things they need to take into account if they’re to make the right decision. Read through the 5 tips stated below to learn how to choose the right key safe cabinet and probably save some money at the same time as well.

1. Make sure you buy your key safe cabinet from a reputable brand such as Burton, Churchill, Able or Sentry Safes. These are trusted brand names which are known to create high quality key safe cabinets and so look for stores which stock these items. The advantage of buying from these manufacturers is that they often come with a 1 year guarantee so look out for this when you’re making your purchase.

2. Think about what type of business you’re in. If you have a car garage which sells Ferrari’s then you’re going to want to have a stronger and more expensive key safe cabinet than if you have a key safe cabinet with keys that access the cleaning closets in your building. High end security key safe cabinets are worth the investment if you’re dealing with expensive stock. Also think about how large you need your key safe cabinet to be. Luckily key safe cabinets range from those that store 10 or so keys all the way up to key safe cabinets which store several hundred. Find out how many keys you’ll need before you make the purchase.

3. Know where you’ll be installing your key safe cabinet and on what type of surface it will be installed. Concrete and brick surfaces will be more secure for you to fix your key safe cabinet onto however they will also be more difficult to install and will probably require a drill. Wooden surfaces on the other hand will be very easy to install however they will provide less security for your key safe cabinet and run the risk of someone ripping them off.

4. You’ll need to think about where it is you’ll be installing your key safe cabinet. If you’re running a small operation then it’s a good idea to place it at the back of your office so you can decide who gets what keys and when. If on the other hand you’re running a big company then consider assigned a single patrolman or security cop to be the key master who controls who will get access to which parts of the building. This should be left with someone who you’ve got a strong amount of trust with as they’ll be given a large amount of power.

5. Finally you need to think about what type of key safe cabinet you’ll be using. Lock and key safe cabinets are the cheapest forms of key safe cabinet however they’re also the ones which comes with the most problems. If you lose a set of keys then you’ll have to get replacements made and if you’ve got a high employee turnover rate then it’ll be expensive installing new locks every few months or so. The codes to combination and digital safes on the other hand can be reset whenever you like and can be used by as many people as you tell. If you’ve got the extra cash then the combination or electronic key safe cabinet is definitely worth the upgrade.

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Why You Need A Fireproof Safe For Your Valuables

January 24th, 2010

When a normal safe is placed in a fire it’s resistance to the heat will not be very long. The flames will heat up the metal casing very rapidly and turn the safe into a cooker in no time at all. Papers, media and cash will all be burnt within a short period of time. This is why you need a specially built fireproof safe.

A fireproof safe is specially designed to be resistant to the heat. This special design allows it to withstand being engulfed by flames from 30 minutes all the way up to 4 hours depending on the model. The longer the safe is able to be resistant to the flames the more expensive the safe generally is. So it’s important to think about where the location of the safe will be in the house.

You must also decide what type of media you will be storing. You can get two different types of fireproof safe: a data fireproof safe and a document or paper fireproof safe. Data fireproof safes tend to be more expensive because the inside temperature must not rise above 52°C otherwise the CD’s and DVD’s would be destroyed. A document fireproof safe on the other hand is able to withstand temperatures of 177°C, therefore it is cheaper but only paper documents should be stored inside it.

It is also highly recommended that the contents inside a fireproof safe are placed within a waterproof bag. This is because when the fire services hose down your building to put out the flames the safe is likely to be soaked with water. As fireproof safes are not built to withstand water this could damage the items placed inside.

Also remember that a fireproof safe doesn’t only protect your items from fire. It’s designed to be resistant to burglary as well, the difference between a traditional safe and a fireproof safe simply being that you have to pay more for one to be resistant to fire as well.

If you do decide to have a fireproof safe then it’s absolutely necessary that you have some type of plan. If you’re buying a fireproof safe then you’ll want to have a fire alarm placed somewhere inside the building as well. Once this alarm sounds you need to know which items you will immediately place inside the fireproof safe for safe keeping. An even better idea is to make backups of your must important documents and data and store the originals inside the fireproof safe. Therefore if a fire does strike when you’re away you’ll have peace of mind knowing that your valuables are protected.

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The Wall Safe Buying Guide

January 20th, 2010

Before you buy your first wall safe there are a couple of things you need to think about. The following advice will give you a good idea of what factors you should consider when buying a wall safe.

1. Have you thought about how you’re going to install your wall safe? It’s not as difficult as you might think. You need to figure out the dimensions of the hole you’ll be cutting the safe into and you’ll need to find out if your wall is structurally strong enough to support the safe. Then unless you really know what you’re doing it’s usually best to leave the rest to a professional to install.

2. You don’t have to have a ton of cash lying around to use a wall safe but have you considered exactly what valuables you’ll be storing in your safe. In order to know the how big you’ll need your safe to be first you’ll want to list all the items you’re be storing inside your size and check that they’ll be able to fit inside with the product specifications.

3. When deciding on which wall safe you’ll buy it’s important that you choose a trusted brand name. The reason why this is important is because the more reputable brands will offer a 1 or 2 year guarantee. If you don’t buy from one of these companies, if there’s problems with your wall safe, you’ll have to shell out more of your own cash to fix it.

4. You need to choose how you’ll be covering up your wall safe. The traditional way is to use a poster and painting, however burglars know of these methods and will tear them off the wall as soon as they’re seen. A better idea is to place a bookshelf in front of the wall safe or have a mirror placed over it to cover it up.

5. Finally you’ll have to consider how much you’re willing to spend on your wall safe. If you’ve got a business or home which has lot’s of cash lying around then it’s absolutely necessary that you install some type of safe. The more cash you have the stronger you want your wall safe to be and the more expensive it will be. Look at the cash rating system of the wall safe and this should give you some idea of how much protection the wall safe will be able to offer.

So if you’re really buying a wall safe then follow these guidelines listed above and you’ll end up with a much stronger and durable wall safe.

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Why Would You Want A Wall Safe?

January 20th, 2010

So you’re thinking about installing a wall safe? Well there are quite a few important factors you should think about before you make your decision. But if you follow this helpful guide you’ll soon realise why a wall safe will be such a great choice for you.

1. Wall safes are very easy to hide. If you’re doing things on the cheap you can easy just throw up a plain old poster. However it’s recommended that you secure a mirror, bookshelf or something more substantial in front of the wall safe. What I wouldn’t recommend is to place a painting in front of it. The first thing a thief will do is to throw all the paintings he sees of their walls. A detachable mirror on the other provides a greater chance of fooling the thief.

2. Free standing safes take up a lot of room and because of this it’s recommended that you cover them up or hide them, and once you’ve done this you’ll realise that a freestanding safe will take up a lot more room than what you first considered. Wall safes on the other hand, take up absolutely no space at all since they’re cut into the wall itself. This is a major advantage if you’re located in a small city apartment block that is low on space.

3. A Wall safe is just far easier to access than a free standing or floor safe. You can open them at standing height so you don’t have to bend down like you do for a freestanding or floor safe. The door openings tend to much wider than floor safes which have circular canisters placed on their tops and you won’t have to remove some carpet, tiles or floorboards as you might have to do when accessing a floor safe.

4. Wall safes can be placed quite a way up the wall so they’re excellent if you’re looking for a home safe since inquisitive children will be out of reach. Also because wall safes are hidden, visitors and guests who are passing through your home or office will come and go without noticing the safe; however the same can’t be said for a freestanding safe.

5. Finally one of the best reasons to get a wall safe installed is that the installation and delivery comes free of charge. This is a major bonus point if you think of all the advantages that a wall safe brings over a free standing safe and then you consider that the wall safe comes with free installation and delivery – suddenly a wall safe seems like the perfect choice for your home and office security needs.

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Storing Data Using Floor Safes

January 20th, 2010

If you handle any sensitive data in your business then it’s a good idea to install a form of security such as floor safes to protect these valuables. There are some important things you need to know when storing sensitive data in floor safes so use these following guidelines.

1. When you begin storing away your data in a floor safe ask yourself whether or not this data actually needs to be stored away or not. The reason why this is important is because floor safes come with limited space so you only want to store away the data that is absolutely necessary. If you keep storing all your data files you’ll soon end up with a floor safe full of CD’s and you’ll have no room for anything else. If you’re running out of room in your floor safe and the data isn’t highly sensitive then consider whether or not you actually need to store this data away for safe keeping.

2. You’ll also want to ask yourself how often do I need to access this data. It’s not recommended to be always opening and closing your safe doors as there’s a high likelihood that you might leave the safe door ajar. If you’re dealing with sensitive data then encrypt it and store it away at most once a day, usually after a hard days work. This is an important practice to implement because safes and especially floor safes should only be accessed when absolutely necessary.

3. You don’t have to be storing away top government secret files in order to implement data security measures. Any sizable business that handles sensitive information should have a method of handling and storing away their confidential information. When deciding on whether or not you need to store away your data in a floor safe ask yourself: if someone knew about this data, what type of damage could be done with it? This should give you a good idea of whether you’ll need to store the data in your floor safe.

4. Ask yourself this question: if there was a fire or a flood, would my floor safe be able to protect my data? Check the labeling and product specifications to know how fireproof and waterproof your safe is. Most floor safes offer a certain level or water and fire resistance however it’s still best practice to place your data inside a water and fire proof bag inside your safe.

5. Have you considered the often overlooked point of how long your data will last in it’s current medium. CD’s and DVD’s are only built to store electronic information for a couple of years before they begin deteriorating. More permanent ways of storing electronic information such as magnetic tapes may be a better solution. Take the data out of your floor safes and check the label on your CD’s. Contact the CD’s or DVD’s manufacturer to discover how long you’re got left before you need to replace you and make a copy of your sensitive information.

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The Key Safe Cabinet Buying Guide

January 20th, 2010

So you’re looking to buy a key safe cabinet? Well first of all there’s a couple of things you should know. Almost all types of business need one form of security or another and key safe cabinets are often an essential form of protection needed when running a business. Below lists some of the key concepts you need to consider when buying and installing a key safe cabinet.

You’ll need to think about how many keys you’ll need for your key safe cabinet. List all the doors, padlocks, safes and other forms of locks that you’ll need a key for. Each of these will count towards the number of keys in your cabinet and should give you a good idea of how large a key safe cabinet you need to buy. It’s also recommended that you buy a size slightly larger than the number of keys you actually have because it’s likely in the future you’ll be needing more key pegs as your business expands.

Deciding on the type of key safe cabinet that you’re going to buy is an important step. Traditional lock and key system are cheaper to initially buy however if you lose these sets of keys then the replacement costs can begin to add up. Combination keys are even better since they can easily be reset if employees leave and can be used by as many people as you tell their code to. Finally a digital key safe cabinet is a great choice if you have the money for it. Not only are these key safe cabinets much more secure than the other forms of key safe cabinet but they’re also the easier type to set up and access.

When looking at the different websites from which you’ll be buying you key safe cabinet from you’ll need to think about what special offers are available. Most reputable security companies offer free delivery and guarantees for their products. It’s highly recommended that you choose a company that provides both of these services for your key safe cabinet.

Deciding who will have access to your key safe cabinet is a very important decision to make before you buy and install one into your business. You’ll want to separate your keys into different groups depending on their security levels. Then once you’ve done this you want to only give the people who you trust the most the keys to your highest levels of security. When your key safe cabinets are grouped into these separate sections then you’re on your way to adding another strong layer of security. High level security keys might include your security safes, floor safes and wall safes. Lower down security levels may only include keys which give access to closet doors or hotel rooms.

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