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Lock Picking – A Basic Guide

hackthis.co.uk

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Re: Lock Picking – A Basic Guide

#61

Post by codezero »

lostcolony wrote: post #57
codezero wrote: post #51

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I see, I guess what I am thinking is that if you are applying pressure to one pin, you must be applying (at least some) pressure to all the other pins since you apply the pressure via torque from turning the cylinder which turns (presumably?) uniformly from front to back. I guess the entire cylinder can jostle slightly within its chamber, so that could affect where and how pressure from torque is applied.

No. When you apply pressure to one pin, you're not applying pressure (well, on a macroscopic level to where it would in any way bind it) to any of the others. The pins aren't in a perfect straight line, nor are the holes perfectly uniform, due to the machine tolerances. We're talking on the order of microns here, but that's enough. Turning the slug will thus cause one pin to bind against the cylinder first, and as so…

Thanks, this is starting to make a lot of sense now, much appreciated!

Re: Lock Picking – A Basic Guide

#62

Post by emhart »

codezero wrote: post #59
emhart wrote: post #58

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No problem :) They are really beautiful, complex systems, and as amazing as it is to understand and then manipulate them, I passionately believe that the real genius is holding them all together in your head before they've ever existed in the first place. Lock engineers have incredibly sharp minds.

The video you shared gave me a much better idea of what's happening I'm sure it's still not close to what really is going on, but thanks for that. Unrelated, are there any locks which use full length pins that are hollow and encapsulate the spring? It seems like a big source of the misalignment that allows setting is from the pin itself being able to move off its axis where it attaches to the spring.

Great question! Yes, there are a few locks that have hollow pins that the springs rest in. Typically they do that for space constraints, though, rather than to improve alignment.

There's a great example whos name is escaping me at the moment...its a South American company. Anyway, they have a lock with two rows of pins, one normally aligned and the other coming in from the side. However, there isn't as much room horizontally (you'll notice most plugs are located toward the bottom of the housing, yet centered horizontally) so they use the encapsulating pins to make up for the lost space.

That's one of the most interesting challenges in lock engineering, actually. There are a handful of standard formats for locks around the world, and whatever you build needs to fit within those agreed-upon (and very compact) formats, or you won't enjoy wide adoption of your concept.

Re: Lock Picking – A Basic Guide

#63

Post by pavpanchekha »

markdown wrote: post #55
chongli wrote: post #34

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Also, just owning the tools is illegal in some states. Which is just completely silly. Who is going to pick the lock on somebody's house to break in? The idea of the highly-skilled locksmith cat-burglar is complete fiction.

> Who is going to pick the lock on somebody's house to break in? Wait, why wouldn't this be better than smashing a window to get in?

Because it takes forever. Front door locks are admittedly not so strong, but it could still take a good pick-lock several minutes, while a window could be broken through in seconds. As for being stealthier… Windows can be cut stealthily, and crouching by a door for five minutes looks rather suspicious by itself.

Re: Lock Picking – A Basic Guide

#64

Post by pavpanchekha »

Theodores wrote: post #44
jheriko wrote: post #4

A much cheaper and easier approach that works for most locks is to get a coke bottle and tear a strip out of it, then use it to do the 'hollywood credit card trick'. unlike a credit card it doesn't snap or break very easily - the type of plastic will become softer when placed under pressure and is very flexible but strong - if you continue to force it in the right area it will work its way around hard corners and int…

I did this a few times when I was a student. A variant on this is to wedge a kitchen knife between the door frame and the door jamb. Sure some paint gets damaged but it gets you in... Another use for the coke-bottle strip is with padlocks - simply push inside and it opens using the method you describe on most of them. In fact there are so many ways to get round a lock that going to all of the trouble of picking it is…

In fact, key blanks and stampers can be purchased online.

Re: Lock Picking – A Basic Guide

#65

Post by thirdsight »

pavpanchekha wrote: post #63
markdown wrote: post #55

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Who is going to pick the lock on somebody's house to break in? Wait, why wouldn't this be better than smashing a window to get in?

Because it takes forever. Front door locks are admittedly not so strong, but it could still take a good pick-lock several minutes, while a window could be broken through in seconds. As for being stealthier… Windows can be cut stealthily, and crouching by a door for five minutes looks rather suspicious by itself.

Actually when my friend was burgled, they stuck a Hi-Lift jack[1] on the frame horizontally and cranked it until the frame came off. The police reckoned the door was open in under 20 seconds and their place was emptied of valuable stuff in under 4 minutes. They got spooked and left the jack on the street but they managed to nick everything.

[1] http://www.hi-lift.com/hi-lift-jacks/index.html

Re: Lock Picking – A Basic Guide

#66

Post by breischl »

corin_ wrote: post #10
runjake wrote: post #3

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Raking can open a lot of older locks pretty quickly, but that doesn't mean you're skilled. I disagree. Raking has opened a lot (most I've tried) of locks in my experience. So, I'd say I'm pretty skilled at picking locks.

I've managed to open a lot of unlocked doors (most I've tried) but wouldn't consider myself "skilled" at it, since it's a pretty easy task. I think the definition of "skill" implies something that isn't easy, thus being able to do something isn't automatically proof of skill.

>>I've managed to open a lot of unlocked doors

Me too! My success rate is over 90% for unlocked doors. Locked ones are harder.

;)

Re: Lock Picking – A Basic Guide

#67

Post by corin_ »

breischl wrote: post #66
corin_ wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've managed to open a lot of unlocked doors (most I've tried) but wouldn't consider myself "skilled" at it, since it's a pretty easy task. I think the definition of "skill" implies something that isn't easy, thus being able to do something isn't automatically proof of skill.

>>I've managed to open a lot of unlocked doors Me too! My success rate is over 90% for unlocked doors. Locked ones are harder. ;)

Do you refer to yourself as skilled at opening unlocked doors? :)

Re: Lock Picking – A Basic Guide

#68

Post by shocks »

smilliken wrote: post #37

The MIT Guide to Lockpicking[1] is the classic resource for getting started. It's an exceptionally good tutorial because it teaches you how locks work so you have a solid mental model you can refer to. [1] http://www.capricorn.org/~akira/home/lockpick/

I came here to say this. My father provided me with a printed copy of this book and a few locks from the garage and I learnt a lot. A very rewarding experience for a young mind.

Re: Lock Picking – A Basic Guide

#69

Post by saraid216 »

freehunter wrote: post #54
saraid216 wrote: post #38

Earlier quoted context omitted.

When did skill become a function of subjective goals?

When you factor in things such as "I'm a skilled programmer, but I don't know Ada." Are you still a skilled programmer? Sure, you're quite good at Ruby and Javascript. But you don't know Ada. Why not? Because your goal was never to learn every programming language. If you want to pick every lock available to you and you can do so quickly and successfully, you're a skilled lock picker. Buying harder locks just to show…

> When you factor in things such as "I'm a skilled programmer, but I don't know Ada." Are you still a skilled programmer?

"A programmer" is not necessarily "A person who knows Ada".

You're trying very hard to play semantics and it's not working for you. You don't get to call yourself a skilled swordsman because you sliced up some virtual goblins, simply because the only things you felt like slicing up were virtual goblins. That's not what skill is.

Neither does skill require some asinine qualification of "real-worldness". We can generally agree that many skills are non-transferable or narrowly applicable, such as skill in playing Starcraft or picking "academic" locks. But you're not a skilled carpenter or metalworker if you go out and buy furniture from IKEA. A person who walks casually across the stage doesn't qualify as a skilled dancer unless he actually does some dancing.

"Buying harder locks just to show you can pick them" is akin to "choosing a more difficult project to code up" or "requiring that your algorithm be more performant than it was previously".

Saying that raking locks is skill at lockpicking is like saying you're good at breaking into computers because you have a sledgehammer and a knowledge of where the data center is. Or brute-forcing a password. Yes, it works. That's great. "Doing something successfully" isn't skill.

Re: Lock Picking – A Basic Guide

#70

Post by na85 »

jheriko wrote: post #20
logfromblammo wrote: post #5

A good place to start is office furniture locks. They usually aren't very well made, and therefore easy to pick. The nearby office supplies can be used as your tools. You can use the large wire from one side of a binder clip as-is as your torque wrench, and a bent paper clip as your rake pick. First, straighten the clip, then bend the middle into a triangle shape. Bend the ends outward for better control over depth a…

actually i find that 'mechanically' opening these kinds of things is usually easier - I remember getting into one of those lockable little cashboxes (that every office seems to have) when I lost a key for it by prying the lid open and bending the case just enough to get one of my fingers far enough in to unhook the catch from the inside with it - pointless little boxes really.

They're not designed to be thief-proof. For that you need a bank vault or safe.

Those little boxes are designed to prevent me from swiping your $50 bill in your drawer when your back is turned or you step out of the room for 30 seconds.

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