Author: Bjørn Madsen

If you have a Kaba Simplex 1000, it has a big vulnerability that must be fixed! They are a common pushbutton combination lock for businesses and government facilities.  If you do have one, you had better call me so that I can install the non-ferous upgrade kit to prevent any goofball with a rare earth…

In the last week, it has come to my attention that at least 10 buildings have had their entry keys compromised by a person or persons who are targeting the lockboxes outside a building’s front door which contains an entry key and/or a master key capable of opening any door in that building, for use…

If you are reading this, chances are that you are holding the head of a broken key.  Usually when keys break it is because people are either torquing them too hard in the lock because they are turning the lock in the wrong direction, the lock is installed improperly, or the lock needs lubrication.  When…

Locks, like other mechanical systems with moving parts, need to be lubricated to increase their lifespan of trouble-free functioning.  If you don’t lubricate your lock, it will become fussy after some years.  If you have trouble with your lock not turning even though you or your husband or wife has been liberally coating the inside…

Imagine this: you have just come home from a long day with the groceries and your feet hurt and you need a cup of tea and an easy chair in a bad way.  You stick your key in the lock and unlock the door and turn it back to the position for removing the key,…

Most sliding doors can be retrofitted with a lock cylinder.  If your sliding door doesn’t have a lock on it and you want to be able to enter through this door, check to see if there is a small circular indentation in the middle of the handle on the outside.  If there is, this is…

This morning I was browsing my usual collection of websites and rss feeds when I came across some really interesting stuff: these guys combined an arduino with some 8 sided magnets to make a decoder for magnetic locks such as the mcs and the miwa.  What does this mean?  It means that somebody with one…

If you own a warehouse in a bad part of town, people at some point might try to get into it.  They usually attempt brute force attacks like hammering the lever or deadbolt off of the wall, or twisting the lever as hard as they can until a small part breaks inside which is why…

Snow seems to throw people for a loop because it interrupts their well-practiced routines.  When it gets really cold and starts snowing and icing, people do silly things that result in getting locked out of their houses and more often their cars.  They turn the car on to get warm while they scrape the snow…