The idle musings of a former military man, former computer geek, medically retired pastor and now full-time writer. Contents guaranteed to offend the politically correct and anal-retentive from time to time. My approach to life is that it should be taken with a large helping of laughter, and sufficient firepower to keep it tamed!
Wednesday, June 4, 2014
Be careful what padlock you buy . . .
I received links to these two video clips via e-mail. They've certainly made me think about replacing a few padlocks . . .
Bolt cutters are pretty much the universal key on padlocks.
Quite honestly, all you can expect out of a padlock is for it to slow down the crooks long enough to where the risk/reward equation tilts too far in the wrong direction.
If you want to learn a lot about locks and their vulnerabilities in a short time, get "Practical Lock Picking: A Physical Penetration Tester's Training Guide" by Deviant Ollam, second edition, available on Kindle or in bound form. If you want to try out the things you learn in the book, get the associated learning set of six tensioners, six assorted lockpicks and six progressively difficult practice locks from The Open Organization of Lockpickers (toool.us)
You will really have an appreciation for the security of keyed locks after you've got the hang of the six-pin practice lock.
Second on bumping you get a key that has all the teeth ground down to the lowest position (there are generally about four to six different heights). You put the key almost all the way in the lock and then bump it in the rest of the way while applying a bit of tension. The tumblers will bounce and the slight tension will make them stop at the right (wrong) position.
Sparrows is a good place to start -- their small kits make great Christmas gifts to the budding juvenile delinquent in your family:
http://www.sparrowslockpicks.com/
They are in Ontario, CA so no problem buying stuff in the States
That works on those locks because the hasp has a notch on only one side with a single ballbearing to hold the hasp closed. Better quality locks have notches and bearing on both sides and won't pop that way because as you bounce one bearing out of its notch the other is being driven into its notch. 'Course as the man said in the end a lock only keeps an honest man honest.
Almost forgot - if you want a door-lock that isn't subject to bumping you have to go with higher security locks such as the Medco brand. That said one of their door-lock-sets will set you back more then the cost of most doors unfortunately, heh.
The real hazard with that techinque is that it leaves no evidence the lock has been opened, which can severely complicate an insurance claim.
Consider flying with guns, even in something like a Pelican case; if the locks can be defeated in seconds, you won't know your gun is missing until you reach your destination.
Hmmm... NOT good...
ReplyDeleteBolt cutters are pretty much the universal key on padlocks.
ReplyDeleteQuite honestly, all you can expect out of a padlock is for it to slow down the crooks long enough to where the risk/reward equation tilts too far in the wrong direction.
I've heard the top video technique called "bumping" - and it works great on door locks as well, even high security ones.
ReplyDeleteI would suspect it would work on most high security padlocks, not just hardware store Masterlocks.
It's a knack - easy if you have the touch - impossible if you don't.
If you want to learn a lot about locks and their vulnerabilities in a short time, get "Practical Lock Picking: A Physical Penetration Tester's Training Guide" by Deviant Ollam, second edition, available on Kindle or in bound form. If you want to try out the things you learn in the book, get the associated learning set of six tensioners, six assorted lockpicks and six progressively difficult practice locks from The Open Organization of Lockpickers (toool.us)
ReplyDeleteYou will really have an appreciation for the security of keyed locks after you've got the hang of the six-pin practice lock.
Second on bumping you get a key that has all the teeth ground down to the lowest position (there are generally about four to six different heights). You put the key almost all the way in the lock and then bump it in the rest of the way while applying a bit of tension. The tumblers will bounce and the slight tension will make them stop at the right (wrong) position.
ReplyDeleteSparrows is a good place to start -- their small kits make great Christmas gifts to the budding juvenile delinquent in your family:
http://www.sparrowslockpicks.com/
They are in Ontario, CA so no problem buying stuff in the States
I wonder if the technique for those circular bodies locks works the same way.
ReplyDeletePretty scary alright - thanks for making us aware of this.
That works on those locks because the hasp has a notch on only one side with a single ballbearing to hold the hasp closed. Better quality locks have notches and bearing on both sides and won't pop that way because as you bounce one bearing out of its notch the other is being driven into its notch.
ReplyDelete'Course as the man said in the end a lock only keeps an honest man honest.
Almost forgot - if you want a door-lock that isn't subject to bumping you have to go with higher security locks such as the Medco brand. That said one of their door-lock-sets will set you back more then the cost of most doors unfortunately, heh.
ReplyDeleteI though the disk locks were supposed to be the bee's knees for anti-speed-picking.
ReplyDeleteThe real hazard with that techinque is that it leaves no evidence the lock has been opened, which can severely complicate an insurance claim.
ReplyDeleteConsider flying with guns, even in something like a Pelican case; if the locks can be defeated in seconds, you won't know your gun is missing until you reach your destination.