Category: Blog
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Hands-Free locksets are here
Months ago I was pondering taking apart a car’s authentication system and using a car ignition as my front door lock due to the added security of transponders and the car’s ECU, which is two-factor authentication, somewhat rare on consumer door hardware. Today I noticed that manufacturers of door hardware have caught up with the…
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Identity Theft and Your Mailbox
There are some crews around the Seattle area pillaging mailboxes and using the information gleaned from their bounty to steal your identity! One thing you can do to prevent this is to get a locking mailbox. Before you go out and buy a locking mailbox though, you have to know what kind of locking mailbox. …
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Worried about lending out your key?
Here is the dilemma: you need to let somebody into your house while you aren’t there for some reason, but you are worried that the key may be used for an ulterior motive. I have the answer for you. 1. The cheapest solution is to have a side or back door keyed differently. Make the…
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If you get the wrong key stuck in your ignition…
Today a charming lady called me because she was locked out of her car. After making quick work of opening the 2003 Saab, I returned to my own car to get back home before my better half. In my haste, I inserted my motorcycle key into the ignition. It felt like the first tooth might…
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Could somebody steal from you without entering your house? Of course!
If you are like most Seattlites, you have a wireless access point transmitting and receiving your data for all the world to listen to. If you are smart, you will encrypt this traffic using WPA2 using a complicated passphrase involving letters, numbers and symbols. If you are really cagey, you won’t transmit information wirelessly at…
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Restricted Keyways Now Available
If you are concerned about lending out a key to somebody and then they go to the hardware store (or Fred Meyer’s) and copy it and then give it back to you without telling you that they still retain a copy, you can prevent this hypothetical problem with getting keys in a restricted keyway. This…
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Masterlock “bump-proof” locks
Today I was reading lock related periodicals as I am wont to do when time weighs heavily and I came across some interesting information regarding masterlock. Nobody thinks of this company as producing anything that could be called high security as everybody knows somebody that can open their combination locks using a pop can or…
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A long day for this locksmith
Some days we start at 5am and don’t stop working until after midnight. There’s plenty of time for a nap in between jobs though!
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Increasing the Security of Your Door
Today I only had a few jobs and it left me some time to reflect on increasing door security (these are the things locksmiths muse about). A common mantra amongst the security conscious is that your total security is only as good as the weakest link in the chain. A good lock is only as…