Cheap lock can be opened with a pipe wrench or pair of channel lock pliers. Many exterior doors are so lightly built a heavy kick will snap off the door stile containing the lock (it may only be held to the rest of the door by 6 wood dowels). The typical lock strike plate screws barely go into the casing, and there is a very small amount of wood from the lock bolt to the edge of the door casing. Windows are also a very easy point of entry. All you want is something that looks solid enough to make someone move on to an easier target. Creating the idea that the home is occupied is still probably one of the better methods. With the heavy presence of firearms in US houses, not many burglars want to encounter an occupant.

Advice from a 60+ yr old woman, just go to a home improvement store and buy new ones-even ACE or ACO have new locks & door handles. The cost for a locksmith will be about $60 per lock, plus the visit and hardware. From the store, you can get them all keyed alike in the finish you want (brass, chrome, brushed stainless). All you will need is a scewdriver, to remove the 2 screws (usually on the inside of the house) (or one inside and one outside) and the 2 screws on the side of the door---and ask the store worker if you are unsure of doing that kind of work. Take a good look at your handles/locks at home before you go-and measure the thinkness of the door. You can always return the locks and call a locksmith. . I work in the yard alot, so I installed a push-button lock door handle from the garage into the house. No need to carry a key, and I put in a code that is easy for me to remember (not the house addresss, or my birthday)and I can change that code at any time. Some theives would see the garage door open and enter the house while the homeowner was mowing the back yard. I just use it for peace of mind. I do have a hidden key incase the batteries fail, but it has been about 3 years now, and it is still working great. Also think about using longer screws (2") for the striker-so it is into the frame of the house and not just the moulding. Doing many home repairs is so easy with all the information available on the net. I recently replaced a broke garbage disposal, the hardest part was getting back up off the floor when I was done. Be empowered and same some money!!

I rekeyed all the locks at work, changing a few out so that all the keyways were the same, Schlage SC-1. The hard part was figuring out just how master keying works, there being masters, grand masters, janitors, restricted janitors, departments, sub departments, common, and guest keys. Those are my names, not official jargon names. Once that was done, I had a scheme that worked, so I did our house too. We have master keys (the 'rents), common keys (the younger people we were stuck with for eighteen years), and neighbor keys (can't get into the bedrooms or storage closets of the above key holders). Then my wife said to me something like "I wish MY work was that easy..." So I did that too. Except for one high security lock at the first job, and an odd gate key at my wife's job, one key opened all the locks at three different locations. Pure luck! We just couldn't tell anyone... PS: all our padlocks are high quality brass rekeyable ones (old habit from a hard learned lesson), so they were included in all that, so that's four locations if you include the rental storage site. One master key (on a very small key ring).

Millworkman's link seems to be a bit curfuddled. This is the link below. https://blainewindow.com/