When it comes to crime, everyone is vulnerable. If you are working to protect your home from burglars, don't forget about your garage. There are several ways criminals can gain access to your home through your garage. Knowing these weak points and how to fortify them will further protect your home from being a criminal's next target. Below are 3 easy ways you can secure your garage and garage door from thieves.

Garage Door Opener

Many people use their garage as storage, leaving their cars parked in their driveways. While there isn't anything wrong with parking your car in your driveway, you need to be aware that it only takes a second for a criminal to break into your car to gain access to your garage door opener. Once they have the opener, they can come in right away or save it to get into your home at another time.

Instead of leaving your garage door opener in plain view, hide it somewhere in your car. Keeping it from being in plain sight could mean the difference between easy access and no access at all. If you are leaving on vacation or for an extended period of time, remove your garage door opener altogether from any cars in your driveway.

If you have built in controls for your garage door on your visor or review mirror, these can't be removed. Most of these buttons are discrete enough that a thief won't waste their time poking around to find them. However, if you are leaving town, disable your garage door opener function from the control panel located inside your garage.

Padlock the Garage Door

If you have a manual garage door, you may be concerned about the small lock that comes with the door. It can be easily broken as is located on the exterior of the door. Secure your garage door from the inside by inserting a padlock through a hole in the roller track of the door. If the door is opened, the padlock will prevent the door from rolling up any further.

If you have a manual door, investing in an automatic garage door system may be worth the cost. It offers you the security of being able to completely disable the function of the door with the flip of a switch on your interior control panel.

Lock All Doors

Locking the exterior garage access door is something that you should be doing anyway, but don't forget the access door from the garage to the interior of your home. Most people assume their home is safe because their garage door is closed. Unfortunately, thieves are clever and should you forget to secure your garage, you don't want them to gain access to your home. Make it a habit to lock the interior access door every time you leave and at night. Use a locking system like you would on your front door. Something that is reinforced and difficult for thieves to get past, like a deadbolt locking system, works well.

Secure your valuables by securing your garage. Garages often offer easy access to homes, cars and the valuables inside of them. Keep your garage door opener out of sight. When you are leaving town for any length of time, be sure to deactivate your electronic door opening system. If you have a manual door, invest in an padlock to prevent the door from opening from the outside. Lastly, always lock your doors. After all, they are your first line of defense when it comes to crime.