We added motion sensor lights that also include a day/night sensor to both the front of the garage and to the porch and love them. One of the settings keeps the light dimmed at low power all night long and comes on when we pull up in the car or walk up the drive. Then during daylight hours they are automatically switched off by the sensor. The lights can also be switched off completely via a normal wall switch.

You might ask your friend if that kind of motion sensor light would give the her the security she is looking for. Another benefit is they would eliminate the hassle of keeping track of a remote control. Our lights came from Lowes and were about $25.00. I'll check the model and manufacturer if you are interested.

I second the use of motion sensor controlled lights as a simple solution.

If there are additional security concerns and a need to control more lights (and maybe more), I would get a security system with an integrated Z wave controller and a number of z wave switches, ...

A good place to start looking is frontpointsecurity.

Here is a link that might be useful: Security ++

Here are several motion detecting lights from Lowes. The one we got has two switches that allow control over the time it goes from dim to bright or off to on as well as how many hours the motion sensor is active.

http://www.lowes.com/pl_Portfolio_4294857035+4294965576__s?Ntt=Motion

I recently bought and installed many Smarthome Insteon switches (either from Amazon or Smarthome.com). It can be used to replace the switch that controls an outdoor garage light of couse, with a wireless remote. For her set up, 1 dual-band switch and a controller would be around $130. But she can keep the controller in the car, and turn the light on only when she needs to. She can also install additional switches for light inside the house, which can be controlled by the remote.

Installation is not too hard, as long as she can find someone who knows how to replace a wall switch.