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Getting Started with Lockpicking

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Re: Getting Started with Lockpicking

#21

Post by mulmen »

Pinegulf wrote: post #15
Animats wrote: post #2

It's entertaining watching the Lock Picking Lawyer's videos. He's very good. And far too many locks are embarrassingly bad. Lockpicking ought to be exponentially hard. You should have to try all the pin position combinations. Something like 5^6 for a 6-pin cylinder. But is in practice, it's not much worse than linear. You can tell when you're making forward progress. That's considered a total fail in a cryptographic…

I'm no lockpicker, but fan of the LPL. To me very simple solution would be to have 2x keys requiring to be turned simultaneously. Since picking requires tension and probing no human should be able to pick two spots at the same time. Then again, as noob I suspect there may be very simple reason why this isn't implemented.

I think you'll like this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dd-ZIIcgzPI.

Re: Getting Started with Lockpicking

#22

Post by masklinn »

1cvmask wrote: post #17
Claude_Shannon wrote: post #13

I wanted to pick that as a hobby after binging on LPL. Unfortunately, even owning lockpicking tools in my country is a crime according to the law :(

Which country is that? Japan? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lock_picking

Per the link, it’s also a misdemeanour in poland, and illegal in england unless you’re in your own home.

Re: Getting Started with Lockpicking

#23

Post by joshgrib »

Gigachad wrote: post #18
Animats wrote: post #2

It's entertaining watching the Lock Picking Lawyer's videos. He's very good. And far too many locks are embarrassingly bad. Lockpicking ought to be exponentially hard. You should have to try all the pin position combinations. Something like 5^6 for a 6-pin cylinder. But is in practice, it's not much worse than linear. You can tell when you're making forward progress. That's considered a total fail in a cryptographic…

There is no point making a lock more secure. No one actually picks locks other than for fun. They just cut them or hit them with a hammer. That custom design lock shows a lot about why we don’t have ultra secure locks as it takes an insane design with huge numbers of moving parts which aren’t so reliable and extremely expensive to produce.

One interesting case of "locks" getting less secure is for bank bags. On one of the recent LockPickingLawyer videos he talks about how these bags are easy to cut through but that's not usually an issue because they're mainly designed to be tamper-evident. Using a real lock is more of a risk so many banks are switching to an adhesive seal instead of a zipper-lock.

Re: Getting Started with Lockpicking

#24

Post by szszrk »

masklinn wrote: post #22
1cvmask wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Which country is that? Japan? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lock_picking

Per the link, it’s also a misdemeanour in poland, and illegal in england unless you’re in your own home.

Correct, in Poland formally even owning lock-picking tools is illegal when you are not a certified locksmith. Which is a bit funny because buying those on Aliexpress and similar sites is very popular.

Recent law changes make it illegal to own an ammunition shell. I have had one huge artillery shell as an umbrella holder at home, hope my parents got rid of it.

Re: Getting Started with Lockpicking

#25

Post by GameOfFrowns »

Pinegulf wrote: post #15
Animats wrote: post #2

It's entertaining watching the Lock Picking Lawyer's videos. He's very good. And far too many locks are embarrassingly bad. Lockpicking ought to be exponentially hard. You should have to try all the pin position combinations. Something like 5^6 for a 6-pin cylinder. But is in practice, it's not much worse than linear. You can tell when you're making forward progress. That's considered a total fail in a cryptographic…

I'm no lockpicker, but fan of the LPL. To me very simple solution would be to have 2x keys requiring to be turned simultaneously. Since picking requires tension and probing no human should be able to pick two spots at the same time. Then again, as noob I suspect there may be very simple reason why this isn't implemented.

>Then again, as noob I suspect there may be very simple reason why this isn't implemented.

Not everyone has two hands or all fingers for a good grip? I have made the interesting observation that on very cold days my fingers are sometimes too numb to turn the key around in order to unlock the door. I then need to use both hands to turn the key to get inside my apartment to warm up.

Re: Getting Started with Lockpicking

#26

Post by szszrk »

chmaynard wrote: post #5

As I see it, the real purpose of locks is not to prevent theft or entry but to keep people honest by introducing some friction.

A string with a knot and "do not enter" sign also provide some friction. I don't see it as a justification for modern, widely-sold locks to be that poor.

People buy these believing it's actual physical protection, yet it's usually not.

Re: Getting Started with Lockpicking

#27

Post by skinkestek »

mulmen wrote: post #21
Pinegulf wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm no lockpicker, but fan of the LPL. To me very simple solution would be to have 2x keys requiring to be turned simultaneously. Since picking requires tension and probing no human should be able to pick two spots at the same time. Then again, as noob I suspect there may be very simple reason why this isn't implemented.

I think you'll like this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dd-ZIIcgzPI .

I'd note that for a motorcycle disc brake I wouldn't complain about this.

If it takes a lockpicking artist more than a minute to pick it while being able to move it around in three dimensions it would take so time on the street too.

Re: Getting Started with Lockpicking

#28

Post by zikzak »

123pie123 wrote: post #8

for those people in the UK, snapping the lock is suposedly the most common way of burglars getting through doors. This involves (as the name implies) just twisting the lock if it sticks out or using a blow tourch to melt the handle or just snapping the handle off, to a get purchase on the lock see https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JBqHryHXSj8 btw LockpickingLawer did a review of imho of one of the better locks to prote…

When I was a kid, people would bring a hammer a screwdriver or wrench to a set of lockers. One guy moves down the line sticking the metal bar through the lock and smashing it with the hammer to pop the lock open, the rest of the guys clean out the lockers, then everyone runs (they would abandon the tools which were probably also stolen). Not sure what they would actually get away with but things like Sony Walkmans and other valuables (e.g. expensive coats) would be stolen all the time.

Re: Getting Started with Lockpicking

#29

Post by geomark »

Somehow my 11 year old got interested in lockpicking (maybe happened upon LPL?). So I got him a kit consisting of a clear-bodied lock and picking tools. He had mastered it within a couple of hours. Then he taught me. And since them we've picked every pad lock and door lock in our house. The biggest and meanest looking ones turned out to be all bluff and the easiest to pick. I hadn't thought that it might be illegal where I live. Maybe better check.
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