How to Protect Your Home, Health, and Money

Choose the right lock. All exterior doors should have deadbolts with reinforcement plates around the cylinder secured with long screws—to help prevent kick-ins—like the Kwikset below. Or consider a smart deadbolt lock, which lets you open the door via a smartphone app.

Protect windows and doors. Lock all windows on the ground floor and install deadbolt locks on sliding-glass doors. You might also want to add sensors to first-floor windows and all glass doors. Some emit a sound; others, like the one below, alert you to an open door or window via a phone app.
Swann Wi-Fi Window/Door Alert Sensor,* $20

Brighten outside areas. Motion-activated outdoor lights turn on if anyone approaches your home or enters your yard after dark. Install these at all access points, including side doors, sunrooms, and your garage, says Timothy Dimoff, founder and president of SACS Consulting & Investigative Services in Akron, Ohio. Some security cameras, like this Blink model, have such lights.

Know who’s knocking. A video doorbell like the one below lets you see, hear, and talk to anyone at your door via a smartphone, tablet, or smart display on a product like the Google Nest Hub even when you’re away. Concerned about porch pirates? Some video doorbells have package detection and alerts for arrivals.

Pretend someone’s home. Light timers—small devices that automatically turn on lights at specific hours—are more convenient than ever to set up. Just plug WiFi-connected timers into outlets, then plug in lamps. You can control them when you’re far from home, too. An inexpensive timer that’s simple to set up, like the Defiant 24-Hour Indoor Plug-In Basic Mechanical Timer*, $7, can also do the job, says Daniel Wroclawski, a senior home and appliances writer at CR.

Consider a security system. These multidevice packages, which may include security cameras and entry and motion sensors, are a smart investment, Dimoff says. With a subscription system, an alarm company monitors your home and can dispatch emergency services. (SimpliSafe, which performed well in our member satisfaction survey, starts at $1.06 per day for monitoring.) Without a subscription plan, you manage alerts via an app.
SimpliSafe 6-Piece Starter Pack,* starting at $280

Don’t get burned. Turn pot handles toward the center of the stovetop so that you can’t bump one and spill its scalding contents. Protect your hands by using silicone handle covers or opting for pans with handles that always stay cool, as this one did in our tests.

Install a smoke detector. Place it right outside (not inside) your kitchen so that it doesn’t go off every time you cook. Consider a device that can also detect odorless, colorless carbon monoxide.

Pick a good fire extinguisher. For home use, CR’s pros recommend an ABC dry chemical/powder extinguisher, which can work on grease, wood, and electric fires. Make sure it’s certified by UL Solutions, CSA, FM Approvals, or ETL.
Kidde FA110G Multipurpose Fire Extinguisher,* $55 for a 2-pack

Clean your oven right. You may worry that your oven’s self-cleaning cycle could cause a fire. But according to UL Solutions—which tests and certifies products—“We have not observed safety problems with an oven’s self-cleaning function." Still, it’s wise to take these steps: Remove crumbs and any food residue from your oven before you turn self-clean on, keep a window open, and never leave home while the cycle is running. Also, before using oven cleaner, confirm that your oven’s manufacturer says it’s safe.

Chop with care. A good chef’s knife with a comfortable grip, such as the CR-evaluated Henckels Premio 8" Chef’s Knife*, $70, makes cutting all sorts of foods far easier, says Paul Hope, a deputy editor at CR and a trained chef. For safety, always begin with the knife close to your body and move it out as you slice or chop.

Stabilize cutting boards. If they move as you slice and dice, your knife could slip and cut you. A damp paper towel under the board helps keep it in place. The Farberware Nonslip Bamboo Cutting Board*, $17, has slip-resistant corners.

Sharpen knives regularly. If you’re unsure whether a knife needs sharpening, hold a piece of paper in one hand and try to slice it from top to bottom. A sharp knife will cut it cleanly. The sharpener below was an editor’s choice in a CR evaluation.
Chef’s Choice Model 15XV 3-Stage Professional Electric Knife Sharpener,* $180

Optimize your bed height. Ideally, your feet should be flat on the ground when you’re sitting at the edge of your bed—that gives you better stability for standing up. If your mattress is thick and high, a sturdy step stool with handles can help you get into and out of bed more safely. Some, like the one below, have a motion-activated light to help you see better in the dark.
Step2bed Step Stool,* $212

Replace old carpeting. Over time, carpets can bunch up in spots, increasing your chance of tripping. Check your carpeting periodically for wrinkles and wear. It’s also wise to ditch small throw rugs, which can slide and cause you to slip and fall.

Pick nonslip footwear. For optimal stability on uncarpeted floors, socks alone simply won’t cut it, according to Louis Papa, MD, a primary care physician at the University of Rochester Medical Center in New York. Have a pair of well-fitting shoes reserved for use at home or slippers with a rubber sole that fully encase your feet, like the wool Glerups Shoe With Rubber Sole*, $140.

Light the way. Do you tend to get up at night for bathroom runs? Try a simple plug-in adapter that turns on a bedroom light when you clap your hands. Also good: motion- or voice-activated lights in the hallway from the bedroom to the bathroom.
The Clapper,* $23

Install sturdy grab bars. They’re crucial for staying steady in tubs and showers but also helpful next to toilets. Opt for the screw-in style because grab bars that stick on with adhesive or suction cups can come loose when you grab them, says Jennifer Northway, MPH, director of adult and pediatric injury prevention at University Health in San Antonio. Ideally, have them professionally installed and anchored to studs.
Designer Series Grab Bar,* $47 to $120, depending on size

Apply a nonslip floor treatment. If your bathtub or shower floors get slick when wet, consider coating them with a product like the No Skidding Anti-Slip Porcelain Bath Tub Treatment*, $25 for 8 ounces, which meets the certification standards of the nonprofit National Floor Safety Institute (NFSI).Skip bathtub mats. They could trip you up. Instead, use nonslip stickers for your tub or shower floor like the Kahuna Grip Non-Slip Safety Bath/Shower Treads*, $16 for a 5-pack, says Amy Cassady, a physical therapist at Cleveland Clinic. Their suction cups make them more secure.

Get a grip. Staircases inside and out should have handrails, preferably on both sides even in spots with just a couple of steps. Smaller, rounded handrails can be easier to hold on to, says Dan Bawden, a contractor and spokesperson for the National Association of Home Builders. You want to be able to fit your whole hand around the rail for stability.

Step securely. Anti-slip treads or strips of slip-resistant tape can give uncarpeted steps more traction, says Cassady. This tape, approved by the NFSI, comes in a variety of widths.
3M Safety- Walk Tape,* $51 for a 1-foot, 60-inch roll

Carry carefully. It’s better to take multiple trips up and down the stairs than to lug an armful of items at once. With laundry, because a hard plastic basket is unwieldy and can block your view of the steps, Northway recommends using a large mesh bag. You can toss it to the bottom of the stairs before you descend or pull it up behind you.

Brighten things up. Good lighting is key at the top and bottom of staircases to avoid a misstep as you begin to go up or down. For decks and outdoor stairs, you can add solar lights like those below, no electrical outlet required.

Secure your personal data. Scammers routinely use false identities—and, increasingly, AI—to impersonate representatives of businesses, government agencies, and financial institutions. To foil their attempts, never give out your Social Security number or credit card or banking account numbers, log-ins, or passwords to anyone who calls, texts, or emails, unless you’re absolutely sure it’s not a scam. If you want to verify that an organization is authentic, Eden Iscil, senior public policy manager at the National Consumers League, recommends contacting it separately with a phone number you know is legitimate.

Consider a credit freeze. This prevents anyone from accessing your credit report and applying for a new line of credit or loan in your name. (You’ll still be able to use your credit cards, though.) Contact Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion, the three big credit reporting agencies, to request a freeze at each. It’s free to place and to lift when you want to do so.

Pay the safest way. Credit cards are generally your best option because your liability in case of loss or theft is capped at $50 (some issuers offer zero liability). Be careful when paying with peer-to-peer payment apps such as Venmo: The FBI advises using them only to pay people or businesses you know.

Power up your passwords. If you’ve been using your pet’s name as your entry to everything from your checking account to your email, a password manager app can create unique, hard-to-hack passwords for each account. With some, you use a primary password to access all your accounts; others may automatically fill in passwords for you. This one is highly rated for security and usability.

Replace old routers. If your router doesn’t have automatic security updates, get one that does, says Henry Parra, who leads wireless router and smartphone testing at CR. That helps to protect you from malware, dangerous software that can steal private information from your devices.

Watch your wallet. Whether you’re on a European trip or running errands in town, one of the best ways to tote money, credit cards, and IDs is in a cross-body bag, says Kevin Coffey, a detective and travel safety expert in Calabasas, Calif. Those with interior zippered pockets, like this one, are hard for thieves to get into.
Travelon Anti-Theft Heritage Sling,* $94

Shred sensitive paperwork. That includes financial documents and any information about your Social Security account. In our tests, this shredder made quick work of credit cards and compact discs.

Lock up valuables. Consider buying a safe that’s heavy and not easily movable for items like jewelry. Keep it in your basement, which thieves tend to avoid. Documents like deeds and insurance policies are best stored in a safe-deposit box, where they’ll be protected in case of flood or fire.

Editor’s Note: This article appeared in the September/October 2025 issue of Consumer Reports magazine.

*This item was not rated by Consumer Reports, but it was evaluated or chosen by CR staffers or other experts.