this post was submitted on 24 Jun 2024
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These aren't secrets, but may not be well known (unless you watch LPL):
Sentry Safes aren't safes, they are fire boxes with a fancy lock.
High security locks are not high security because of the lock design, but because the keys are very difficult to have duplicated.
No one (except maybe intelligence agencies) breaks in to a house by picking a lock, especially in the US. Windows, weak door frames, and, in a pinch, making a hole in the wall are all faster ways of getting in.
Car keys are so expensive because many manufacturers charge a subscription or per-use fee to access and program the keys to the ignition. These costs are passed on to consumers
No one is picking your locks just to move things around or steal small, insignificant items. You are either suffering from a mental disorder or a trusted member of the household is gaslighting you (it's not gaslighting though, ~~you're~~ your grasp of reality is slipping. Don't call me for a pick proof lock, just get help please)
Some manufacturers (you know, in China) will put any sticker you want on the products they produce, including UL and ANSI stickers. Before buying a product that is supposedly fire-rated, such as a fire safe, check the UL website to verify the item is actually listed with them.
"Grade 1" door hardware sold in stores like Lowe's or Home Depot is, at best, Grade 2, and is likely Grade 3 (residential grade). These grades are really just about how durable the product is over time, and how much abuse they will endure by the public.
And just a little practical advice. Find a qualified, honest locksmith before you need one. We're like plumbers. If you wait until you have an emergency to find one, the quality will be questionable. There are a lot of scammers out there. If you don't have a resource for locksmiths beyond Google, look on the ALOA website for members in your area. The good ones will know who the other good ones are, and won't be shy about sharing that info if they are unavailable or too far away
I learned to pick locks in my youth. I absolutely have picked my way into places and things to fuck with friends and family, but I always tell them. At some point.
One of my favorites was getting into my friend's garden shed and turning everything upside down, then a few weeks later rearranging everything so it was a mirror image of how it was previously.
Spooks (including the domestic FBI-type ones) definitely pick locks. They also have things like spray-on dust to hide the fact they've been in a place.
I have someone like this. Glad to hear it's common-ish. She's "getting help" but the doctors can't do much more than we can.
Yeah those cases are sad. I tend to just say my prices really high, and if they persist in wanting me to come out I suddenly don't have availability because of the "big government project" I've been hired to do. Even if they were worth the trouble of all the follow-up "someone broke in, you have to fix my locks" calls that inevitably come, I couldn't in good conscience take their money.
Last time it happened a lady wanted me to install Schlage Primus deadbolts on her house because her neighbor was "breaking in and moving things to mess with me". I gave her a quote that was 5x higher than it should have been. I kid you not, she said, "Okay, but I'll have to wait a couple of weeks to get the money. My husband said I couldn't change the locks anymore and that this is all in my head." Poor lady. I saved her number so I wouldn't forget if she called again, but I never heard from her. Hopefully she got the help she needed, but probably she got divorced and is living on the streets.
New excuse for when someone complains about how I haven't cleaned recently.
The fact that breaking a wall to get into the house is even a viable option honestly baffles me as a person living outside the US
Our cops do it during armed stand offs. Sometimes they have a special vehicle that rips out the wall. Murica!
Jfc. That is utter insanity
If there's one thing the Lockpicking Lawyer taught me, is that the vast majority of locks only work because almost nobody bothers to learn lockpicking. Some "extra safe" locks being defeated by a fucking magnet of all things always amuse me
Deviant Olam is another good one for physical security. After seeing a few of his videos on gun "safes", I looked into genuine gun safes (TRTL 30x6 or better, and/or DoD-approved weapons containers) with S&G mechanical locks, and the prices are eye watering. An S&G lock by itself ain't too bad--about $600, IIRC--but the safe body itself was $15k+, easy. ...Without shipping included, since there's no fucking way I'm getting that into my basement myself. Most gun "safes" are not even UL-listed Residential Security Containers, and you get into $2000+ for one that meets that basic, very, very minimum level of protection. (Yes, I looked in the local gun stores that carry them.) The fact that most gun "safes" aren't capable of resisting an 18" prybar that's used continuously for 15 minutes is not a pleasant thought to think about.
Judging by the one I bought when I went off to college to keep some documents safe, they don't even have fancy locks. I misplaced my key, but I was able to open it in the same amount of time with a pumpkin carving knife as a jiggler.
Yeah that's was probably a 1200 or their document box. I was thinking of the "safes" they sell with a dial or keypad lock. They can be defeated in about the same amount of time. I won't say how, but YouTube has more than one video showing how it's done
You just said how.
(And I'm kidding!!!)
your* grasp of reality is slipping
GODDAMMIT GBOARD
Well at least nothing was randomly capitalized this time
Fucking GBoard, man!
or it's probably monoxide poisoning.
The UL one is very applicable.
Chinese motor manufactures will often copy a design (completely rip it off) and make changes to make it even cheaper to manufacture. These make the motor no longer UL compliant. Sometimes these changes lead to it becoming unsafe, but good luck suing a Chinese manufacturer in China if your house burns down. However, they will still put a UL sticker on it and call it a day.
I used to work in motors and turbines and will outright refuse a motor made in China. Always buy motors from US or Mexican manufacturers (inside the US, cannot speak for EU). A good way to find out where the motor was made is looking to see the company that made it - and 100% your HVAC company didn’t manufacture the motor, they bought it from a B2B supplier you likely never heard of.
It reminds me of a friend who visited me from Colombia (we grew up together down south.) We were walking around a neighborhood in Vermont. He said "I'd love it if we had houses like this one in Bogota. Why don't we?!" And I replied "Because they'd be broken into in two seconds."