Author: Bjørn Madsen

Maple Leaf Locksmith LLC now has the capacity to clone high security transponder-enabled car keys that are milled.  If your key looks like one below, I can probably clone it.  I am working on a javascript selector so that the end user can find out if I can clone their key before they call.

Interesting developments in the game of leapfrog between security researchers and criminals.  Looks like the criminals figured something out before the white-hats this time.  The prevailing theory on the matter is that thieves have figured out how to open cars that use fobs (plastic bits that replace the need for a key; the driver can operate the car simply by having a fob in their pocket) by using a signal amplifier.  The signal amplifier in effect increases the range so that the car is fooled into thinking the fob is in close proximity.  That is to say, thieves may have figured out that they can buy a $20 amplifier that will amplify the signal of your fob.  The amplification of the fob’s signal means that the challenge/response communication between the fob and the vehicle can happen from 500 feet away instead of twenty feet, for example.

In the linked articles researchers suggest that keeping your fob wrapped in tinfoil will block the signal from being amplified.  They also suggest keeping your fob in a freezer.  They suggest that the freezer acts as a Faraday cage.  I suspect that it does not act as a Faraday cage but rather has lots of insulation that prevents the signal from getting out.  I don’t think that there is a lot of electricity going through my freezer’s door.  If it works though, it works.

UPDATE: I made a video illustrating how to fix this problem yourself if your lock is not covered by Baldwin’s lifetime warranty or you don’t care about it. This weekend three separate  customers called about their Baldwin locks not working from the outside (though in two of the cases, they worked from the inside).  In two of these cases it was because of stripped gears made of cheap die-cast metal.  The replacement part is 5399-003-G for many of these, which are usually from Baldwin’s “Image” line.  Baldwin made some of these parts kind of weak so they released a conversion kit to replace these parts that are known to fail.

You can take the piece apart that the thumblatch interfaces with.  It has a thin piece of metal covering some gears.  The thin piece of metal is held on with either screws or little metal tabs that must be bent back.  Once you have it off you have to turn the gears 180 degrees and then put it all back together correctly.  And then alleviate the issue which caused the problem in the first place.

The important thing to know about these Baldwin parts that frequently fail is that they are covered under a lifetime warranty.  The other important thing to know about them is that you must alleviate the issue that caused them to fail in the first place.  After the part is replaced, make sure that it is really easy to use the thumblatch.  If it is difficult to use, there will be too much pressure on the gears in the lock.  This may be because the strike is installed too close to weatherstripping so that the latch binds against the strike, or it may be because the lock was installed slightly off center so that there is undue pressure on the latch.  Baldwin hardware runs on the heavy side, and if you screw it in where it hangs it will be pulling the latch down from where it should rest.  That translates to premature failure.

If you are handy with a screwdriver, take your broken thumblatch off the door and take it to a Baldwin dealer.  They can supply you with a replacement part free of charge due to the lifetime guarantee from Baldwin.  If you live somewhere more rural or don’t want to deal with it all call 800-566-1986 and describe the problem.  Baldwin will mail the parts out to you.  You can then hire somebody like me to swap the broken parts.

Good luck with your lock!

Sometimes people are shocked to find out that they can have a lost key replaced simply by having somebody who still has the key send a picture of it in text message to me.  If the code isn’t stamped on the key, the code cuts of the key can still be decoded.

I accomplish this by using a photo manipulation program that has the ability to measure distance from pixel to pixel.  I first make sure the key in the picture is perfectly horizontal.  Then I measure the distance from the top to bottom of the key where the key hasn’t yet been cut.  Then I measure the distances in pixels from the bottom of the key cuts to the bottom of the key.  If I then compare the width in pixels of the key where it is cut compared to the width where it is not cut and then multiply that ratio by the real world width of the key in inches or mm, I get a real world cut depth for that cut.  Do it five more times and you have real world depth cuts for that key and can make a pretty good copy, either by cutting with a metric card or by looking at the closest known depths for that key and cutting to those depths.

If you cut to the nearest code depths chances are that your new key will work much better than the one in the picture!  This is a great real world use of algebra if any middle school teachers out there want an application.  Using algebra in this case saves my customer at least $100 and also allows me to cut a key without putting my coat on.

For some reason people in the former USSR are really interested in getting into this website.  Somebody from Moldova even got locked out 50 times, meaning they must have tried at least 100 login and password combinations.  I don’t know why these people want to bother with this website, but the following is a list of IP addresses belonging to the scuzzbuckets: