• Put a quality lock between your family and an intruder.A hotel room door lock and key. image by Vitaliy Pakhnyushchyy from Fotolia.com
  
  A lock set is a complete locking system for a door. Exterior doors help to protect the people inside. It is important to use quality door lock sets. Choose the best quality locks that your budget will allow. Intruders have many ways of getting past locks. There are some high-security locks available that may deter an intruder from attempting to enter your home.
  
  

Deadbolt

• Deadbolts help prevent break-in attempts with a crowbar, hammer, wrench, saw, lock picks and blunt force. High-security deadbolts will contain one or more of five special features. They may come with keys that cannot be copied. Keys, in general, have two or more grooves that correspond with levers inside the deadbolt. A high-security deadbolt will have a minimum of seven levers with at least one made of brass or steel. Saw-resistant bolts are bolts that spin. An anti-drill feature means the deadbolt contains hardened steel chips that destroy a drill bit. A collar between the cylinder and bolt makes lock picking impossible.
  
  

Mortise

• A mortise lock set is one of the more common choices for an entry door to a home. This type of locking device is a large rectangular-shaped lock that fits into the edge of the door. The mechanisms inside the body of a mortise lock control all working parts, such as the lock, knob, latch and deadbolt. This lock works by turning a key that slides a thick steel bolt into an opening in the door frame. A mortise lock is similar to a deadbolt. The difference is that a mortise lock is seated in the door and covered with a metal plate that is flush with the door face and a deadbolt is surface mounted.
  
  

Keyless

• Keyless entry locks for homes are unlocked by a code or magnetic card. Many magnetic card locks will record the dates and times of entry into the home. Most homeowners prefer the code-operated version because cards can get lost or stolen. Many apartments, hotels and businesses utilize magnetic cards for entry.