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Slightly related to this, the Lock Picking Lawyer on Youtube has number of videos where he tries a Ramset gun [1] against different padlocks. For example: https://youtu.be/Wimo09WV-rY This was interesting as it was an attack that certainly would not have crossed my mind. Would be interesting to see how other types of locks would do against this kind of tool. [1] https://www.homedepot.com/p/Ramset-MasterShot-0-22-Cali…
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I like keypads. On a rental you can change them when tenants change. At home you can go out with keys or phone. Though it stands to reason you could put a keypad outside and run a wire inside, or use wireless though personally I'm glad my keypad lock isn't smart or wireless.
Keypads are good, especially for higher end rentals. Another lower tech (and probably more secure TBH) option is small format interchangeable core (SFIC) locks where the core can easily and cheaply be swapped out between tenants. Landlordlocks.com built a business selling this concept to landlords. I’m only jealous I didn’t think of it first :)
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Maybe, I probably wouldn't try to claim on the insurance though. My most expensive to replace thing is probably my cd collection, which as far as I'm aware thieves don't go for, my tv is small cheap and unbranded, my laptop is ancient and the battery is knackered. I suspect the most fence-able possession I've got is a Kitchenaid mixer. The only reason I even have contents insurance is because it comes with the buildi…
Ironically, perhaps, the case I was thinking of when I wrote the comment was my friend's insurance refusing to pay out on his CD collection being stolen because there was no sign of forced entry (he'd left the patio doors unlocked). This was a number of years ago though, whether thieves still take CDs is an interesting question.
https://www.economist.com/britain/2012/01/07/not-worth-nicki...
Isn't the point of a lock just to keep honest people honest? I mean you can buy the world's sturdiest, more secure lock and attach it to the world's strongest door, someone with a hammer can easily break a window. If someone is determined and willing, there really is nothing you can do to stop them from breaking into your house.
Take a look at some of the European armoured doors, especially those in Italy. The door and frame come as a single piece, where the frame is made from hardened steel. I assume the door is too, but they are covered in some sort of veneer. There is a basic cylinder lock which needs a 90 degree turn from the key outside, or the knob inside. Then there is the deadbolt mechanism which needs to be turned five or so times,…
some emergency services uses an hydraulic device [1] to open steel doors
Security is usually a lemon market. The buyer can't really tell if its secure or not, depressing what people are willing to pay, which makes it bad business to invest in making a secure product. It's rather difficult to find electronic locks, even for safes, that aren't obviously less secure than traditional options. Which is pretty sad considering that an electronic lock could be substantially more secure if it was…
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>Isn't the point of a lock just to keep honest people honest? I mean you can buy the world's sturdiest, more secure lock and attach it to the world's strongest door, someone with a hammer can easily break a window. In my home, the locks and windows (laminated glass[0]) are hard enough to break that when you attempt to do so I have time to ready my firearm. Something like this would potentially allow someone to sneak…
Out of curiosity, do you have a normal door lock on your door; one that uses the kind of key you can get a copy made of at home depot? If so, pretty much anyone can open it with a bump key and a couple seconds. You can see it in action here ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w0CIlwSxsvU ). His first try takes a bit longer than it should because he's turning too hard (simple mistake). Every attempt after that takes jus…
This guy claims that he was unable to bump Kwikset locks: https://www.frontrangelocksmith.com/blog/the-best-lock-for-y...
Isn't the point of a lock just to keep honest people honest? I mean you can buy the world's sturdiest, more secure lock and attach it to the world's strongest door, someone with a hammer can easily break a window. If someone is determined and willing, there really is nothing you can do to stop them from breaking into your house.
Yes and no. If someone desperately wants to rob you, and precisely you, then yeah they will most likely be able to break in. However that doesn't mean we should make it easy for them. The longer it takes to bypass my lock and security, the more noise they make, the more destruction they leave behind the more likely it is that someone will notice them and call the cops. The more likely it is that they leave something behind that can be used to trace them, etc.
The bigger reason to get quality locks is that criminals often target places with weak security, because hitting those location is easy. A burglar for example will usually case out a location they're targeting to figure out what they need to bring for the actual burglarly. Now if I have SuperArmorMax extra secure lock that takes the burglar an hour to bypass with power tools, but my neighbor has an aluminum smartlock that can be bypassed in 5 seconds with a regular drill, which do you think the burglar will target?
Sure they could also break windows, or try other more destructive entry methods, but those are much louder and rouse more suspoicions from other people. You want to be quick and minimize the time you spend doing something shady.
And again, you shouldn't make things easy just because a determined attacker can get through it, at least make them work for it.
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Essentially everyone has stolen at some point in their lives, and almost everyone has gone into private property they theoretically shouldn't have gone into. My door has a lock, but must adults could get in by kicking it a few times with determination. That's true of most locks in existence. They're there to stop people who don't actually want to cause any real damage.
>That's true of most locks in existence. Freaking American's and their "inward opening doors". Good luck kicking in any door in civilized countries in which doors open outwards.
An extreme example for sure, but there are pros and cons.
(Sliding door might not be the answer either: https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/katienotopoulos/brave-t... )
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That wouldn't work on a double glazed window.
you mean laminated glass ?
Windows are built like this in countries where the outside air temperature is far different than you'd want, as otherwise you spend a lot of money heating or cooling your windows, because glass is a poor insulator. But _air_ is a relatively good insulator considering it's transparent, the two sheets of glass stop the air from moving (and taking the heat with it).
If you smack a double glazed window, you are now trying to compress the thin layer of air, which is difficult. So in most cases the window will stubbornly not break. You could probably still smash it with a pry bar or similar tool, eventually but it won't be easy.
People have the idea from watching too many movies that breaking glass is very easy, in movies they are using sugar glass, it's _designed_ to smash easily and turn into impressive looking but not dangerous tiny pieces. In reality the glass mostly doesn't break, and so you hit it again, harder and eventually some of it smashes and you've got big shards of razor sharp glass, which you'd better clear away or you'll hurt yourself.
It's not magic impregnable nonsense, it's just inconvenient and dangerous to break.
"How do you know where to drill it? The lock has the manufacturers logo on the front face – drill the side of the lock in line with the top of the logo. How helpful!" In that case easy, move the logo elsewhere.
As such, they could remove the whole logo and it would still rather easy to approximate where to drill, it's not like measuring dimensions is impossible without a manufacturer logo.