Seattle's Maple Leaf Locksmith LLC – (206)335-4559

Category: Blog

  • Is Your Security System Safe?

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    by

    Bjørn Madsen
    in

    Some alarm systems are wireless instead of wired.  That means that somebody can listen into radio signals and spoof commands to the security system.  Lots of systems from big companies like ADT employ wireless signals, and somebody can disarm these systems remotely with some high tech tricks. Of course, it is also possible that somebody…

  • Keep Your Door From Being Taken Off Its Hinges

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    by

    Bjørn Madsen
    in

    So you put a nice thick deadbolt on your door and you think your house is secure.  Did you consider whether or not the hinges are on the outside of one of your doors?  If they are, somebody could knock the hinge bolts out of your door and pull the entire door out of the…

  • When A Cheap Lock Breaks

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    Bjørn Madsen
    in

    Update: I edited this page to remove specific brand names because the CEO of one of the manufacturers mentioned as being cheap called me and informed me that his locks are in fact manufactured in the USA and that his company’s lock probably broke because it was installed wrong.  I have reservations about why his…

  • Do Not Duplicate: Who Will Copy This Key For You?

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    Bjørn Madsen
    in

    So you have a key that says Do Not Duplicate on it?  The reason is whoever owns the property that key works at doesn’t want you to duplicate that key.  In fact, they probably paid a dollar extra for the key to say this on it.  If you have a good reason to duplicate that…

  • Is Your Patio Door Secure?

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    Bjørn Madsen
    in

    Patio doors are sometimes the easiest entry point for criminals.  People leave them slightly open and think because it is not on the ground floor it is out of reach of criminals or putting a dowel in the track will deter criminals from entry.  Unfortunately I have news for you: craftier criminals know how to…

  • When to Replace Your Door Closer

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    Bjørn Madsen
    in

    There are two good reasons to replace your door closer if you suspect it is failing.  The first and most important is security.  If it fails it may not close all the way and the door may not latch and some unwanted person may enter the premises the lock on the door is meant to…

  • Fix or Reinforce Your Door Cheaply with a Mag Plate!

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    Bjørn Madsen
    in

    Mag plates, or wrap around plates, are useful in numerous situations.  Consider the unfortunate soul whose house has been broken into, or at least was attempted.  The rapscallions may have used a crowbar or something to attempt to pry the door open or pry the lock off the door, leaving unsightly marks in the wood…

  • Key Control: Practical Ideas for Your Property

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    Bjørn Madsen
    in

    If you own or manage a property that you must let people use, you are probably familiar with the idea of key control.  You must give people keys that they can use but perhaps that they hopefully cannot duplicate.  Ideally perhaps these people can only go into the property at certain times. Some people in…

  • The Most Secure (and Least Secure) Cars

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    by

    Bjørn Madsen
    in

    I like to read technology news and sometimes this news intersects with my work as a locksmith.  Today I was reading about research (after reading it appears to only be speculation though) being done by men examining how secure or insecure automobiles’ internal data communications networks are.  This may be shocking to some, but your…

  • Turn Your Entry Knob Into a Passage Knob

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    by

    Bjørn Madsen
    in

    So you have an entry knob and you want to disable it for some reason?  Maybe you keep locking yourself out or maybe you don’t want to pay a locksmith to rekey the knob since there is a perfectly good deadbolt just above it.  This is the situation I found myself in today.  My customer…