We have walked through the aftermath of break-ins where every one of those systems was present and running.
Here is what we have learned: most homeowners are spending money on products that make them feel safe without making them safe. The marketing is excellent. The gap between what these products promise and what they physically deliver is significant.
This is our honest assessment of the most popular residential security products on the market: what each one does, what it cannot do, and how we would rank them for securing a home.
The Framework: What Does "Security" Actually Mean?
Before reviewing any product, we want to establish the only metric that matters: does this stop a criminal from entering your home?
Detecting, recording and notifying all happen after the fact. What matters is whether it can stop someone.
Most residential security products cannot. They are notification systems. Many are well designed and useful, but notification is not protection. If your alarm goes off at 2 am, police response in the GTA can take many minutes, depending on call volume and your location. A residential break-in is over in under 90 seconds.
We evaluate every product against four functions:
- Deterrence: Does it make a criminal choose a different target?
- Detection: Does it identify a breach quickly and alert the right people?
- Delay: Does it physically slow forced entry?
- Denial: Does it physically prevent entry?
The further down that list a product operates, the more valuable it is. Keep that in mind as you read.
Ring Video Doorbell
Category: Deterrence / Detection Rating: 4/5 for what it is | 2/5 for what people think it is
Ring is excellent at what it does. The camera quality is good, the app is reliable, the two-way audio works, and the neighbourhood alert network has real value. We recommend it to almost every client.
But we want to be direct about something: Ring does not stop anyone from entering your home. It films them doing it.
The deterrence value is real. Visible cameras do make opportunistic criminals reconsider. But the word “opportunistic” is doing a lot of work in that sentence. A determined criminal, or anyone who has cased your property in advance, is not deterred by a doorbell camera. They know the footage goes to your phone and the cloud. They know the police are not watching a live feed.
Honest verdict: Buy it. It is worth the money. Just understand you are buying a documentation and deterrence tool, not a security system. The moment someone decides to proceed despite the camera, Ring’s job is done.
ADT / Telus SmartHome / Monitored Alarm Systems
Category: Detection Rating: 4/5 for detection | 1/5 for physical protection
Professionally monitored alarms are the most misunderstood product category in residential security. Homeowners consistently rate them as their primary security measure. In terms of physical protection, they provide almost none.
What they do well: the monitoring centre calls you, then calls police. The response is faster than a self-monitored system. The yard sign and window decals provide genuine deterrence value. And some insurance providers do offer premium reductions for monitored systems, which partially offsets the monthly cost.
What they cannot do: the alarm triggers after entry has been attempted or achieved. The siren is loud and unpleasant. It does not stop anyone. Police response to a residential alarm in the GTA takes minutes, not seconds, and longer during high-demand periods. Homes get cleaned out in that window.
The glass break sensor add-on is worth paying for. It triggers the alarm the moment glass is struck rather than waiting for a door contact to open, which buys you a few extra seconds of response time. But it is still a notification, not a barrier.
Honest verdict: A monitored alarm is a necessary layer and we would not go without one. But if you think your ADT sign is keeping your family safe while you sleep, we want to respectfully challenge that assumption.
Smart Locks and Deadbolts
Category: Delay Rating: 3/5
A Grade 1 ANSI-rated deadbolt is a meaningful upgrade over a standard builder-grade lock. Smart locks with app control, auto-locking, and access logs add genuine convenience and some security value.
But here is the thing most people do not know: the lock is rarely the weak point. The door frame is.
A standard residential door frame will fail in one or two kicks regardless of what lock is installed, because the strike plate is held in place by 1-inch screws going into soft wood casing rather than into the stud behind it. A determined intruder with no tools at all can defeat most residential door locks in under 10 seconds.
The fix is straightforward and cheap: a steel door frame reinforcement kit with 3-inch screws anchored into the stud costs under $100 and dramatically increases kick resistance. We are consistently surprised at how few homeowners know this.
Honest verdict: Upgrade your deadbolt, but spend the $80 on frame reinforcement first. And understand that a reinforced door only protects the door. It does nothing for your windows or glass doors, which are almost always easier to breach.
Security Window Film
Category: Delay Rating: 2/5
Security film is widely marketed as a meaningful window protection solution. To be blunt: it is not.
Film holds shattered glass together after an impact. That is its entire function. A single strike from a hammer or a rock will still break the glass. The film just keeps the pieces from falling inward right away. In practice, this adds somewhere between 5 and 15 seconds to a forced entry through a window.
That is not nothing. But it is also not security. It is a slight inconvenience to someone who has already committed to breaching your home.
We see security film recommended as a standalone solution regularly. It is not a standalone solution. It is, at best, a low-cost addition to a system that already has real physical barriers in place.
Honest verdict: If budget is severely constrained and you cannot yet install proper glazing, film is better than nothing. In any other scenario, spend the money on something that actually stops entry rather than delaying it by a few seconds.
Security Bars and Window Grilles
Category: Denial Rating: 3/5 for security | 1/5 overall
Bars work. We will give them that. A properly installed window bar set will stop forced entry through that window. Full stop.
The problem is everything else that comes with them.
They are visually unappealing in a way that affects property values and neighbourhood aesthetics. They signal distrust and can make a home feel institutional. They reduce natural light. And the point we stress most with clients: they are a fire hazard.
In a house fire, your windows are your emergency exit. If those windows are barred and you cannot get them open quickly from the inside, you have traded one safety risk for a potentially more serious one. Ontario fire codes address this, but compliance varies and enforcement in existing residential properties is limited.
Honest verdict: We do not recommend bars for residential properties. The security benefit is real but the trade-offs are significant enough that better solutions exist. If you are weighing bars, read the next section first.
Strikeglass Security Glazing
Category: Denial Rating: 5/5
This is the product we recommend when clients ask what we would put on our own homes. To be transparent: 416 Security Solutions installs Strikeglass, so this is the product we know best. Weigh this section with that in mind.
Strikeglass is a polycarbonate-based security glazing panel that mounts over your existing windows and glass doors. It does not replace your glass. It reinforces the glass you already have. The result is a window that is up to 300× stronger than regular glass and very difficult to breach with the tools and timeframes available to residential intruders.
What separates Strikeglass from everything else reviewed here:
It is the only product in this list that actually denies entry through a window. Film delays. Bars deny but create new problems. Strikeglass denies entry without any of the trade-offs.
- No visual impact: it is optically clear and indistinguishable from standard glass from inside or outside
- No fire egress risk: your windows still open normally from inside
- No disruption to install: it is bonded onto your existing glass, and most homes are done in a single day
- No ongoing cost: there is no subscription, monitoring fee or battery to replace
- Benefits beyond security: UV protection prevents interior fading, noise reduction improves comfort, and better insulation reduces energy costs year-round
The honest limitations: it is a higher upfront investment than film or a Ring camera. And like any physical security measure, it should be part of a layered system rather than the only thing you rely on. Strikeglass on your windows combined with reinforced door frames and a monitored alarm is a difficult home to breach.
Honest verdict: If you are serious about physical security for your home and you want a solution that does not compromise on aesthetics, fire safety, or daily livability, this is it. The upfront cost is justified by the level of protection it provides and the ancillary benefits it delivers year-round.
My Honest Ranking: Home Security Products by Actual Protection Value
What We Would Actually Install, in Priority Order
If we were securing a home in the GTA from scratch, here is the order we would spend the money:
- Strikeglass on all ground-floor windows and sliding glass doors: this is the physical barrier that makes everything else more effective
- Door frame reinforcement on all exterior doors: cheap and fast, and it greatly increases kick resistance
- Grade 1 deadbolts on all exterior doors: pair them with the reinforced frame
- Professionally monitored alarm with glass break sensors and cellular backup: detection and deterrence working together
- Video doorbell and exterior motion-activated lighting: the visible deterrence layer that makes opportunistic criminals move on
That system, in that order, covers all four functions. It deters, detects and delays. Unlike most home security setups, it also denies entry.
The Bottom Line
The home security industry is very good at selling the feeling of being safe. It is less good at selling actual security.
Cameras, alarms, and smart locks are real products with real value, but they are notification tools, not physical protection. The moment your glass breaks, most of what you have invested in has already done its job and handed off to the next layer.
If that next layer is standard glass, you have a problem.
The single most underinvested area in residential home security is the physical protection of windows and glass doors. It is also the area where the most break-ins actually happen. Strikeglass closes that gap better than anything else we have seen.