The casual car thief can usually be deterred by basic security measures. Deterrence simply means doing certain visible things, which will send the thief looking elsewhere. This can successfully reposition the liability away from your own vehicle, to another.

Thieves, like electricity or water, will normally seek out the path of least resistance. The professional car thief can also be deterred, but only on a system basis where he is confronted by multiple security counter measures that assure his discovery, identification, and arrest. Only this will send him looking elsewhere. Where the casual thief is reckless, the professional will carefully measure and compare his chances for success, versus failure.

Your self-protective objective is to firstly lower the degree of opportunity that is available for the thief to steal the car, and secondly, to increase the odds that if he does steal your car: he will subsequently, and quickly, be discovered, identified, arrested, and successfully prosecuted.

Car Alarms:
Auto security has three basic functions - to warn away, to alert and to provide convenience.

1. The warn-away is an attempt to prevent someone from attempting to vandalise or steal your vehicle. This is accomplished through multi-stage shock sensors, the flashing LED, voice modules with microwave sensors and similar devices.

2. The second stage is to alert the owner of an attempt to violate his vehicle. If someone tries to steal the wheels, break into the car, or vandalise it, the alarm will respond. Sirens, flashing lights, strobe lights, screamers, pain generators, smoke or voice response are all means of alerting. Also, a pager or cellular interface can be used if desired, to alert you from a distance.

3. The last function of an alarm is to provide convenience to the owner. Automatic doors locks, power windows, remote start and trunk release are examples. These are features that make use of the vehicle itself more convenient for the owner.

These days car alarms have many new and innovative features to make them more convenient and more difficult to circumvent. Code hopping, multi function remotes, multiple auxiliary outputs, anti car-jacking and things such as dome light surveillance, multiple remote acknowledgment, cellular interfaces, multi function sensors and even computer programmability. All these provide more value to the alarms and the ability to control more features and functions.