Lock Picking Become Obselete?

[stonedsmurf]

Hello Everyone,

I was wondering, how long will it be before locks and lcokpicking alike become obselete. It is already becoming less useful, with fingerprint scanners etc., so whats your opinion?

[skold]

A long time...

Finger print scanners will have weaknesses, it may take 50 years before they are one every house.

Also, our mechanical locks are cheaper.

[devildog]

Don't use the word 'pick' (verb), but instead 'bypass' or 'hack'. In that case, the answer is NEVER

"But you can't 'pick' electronic locks". Sure you can, just not with picks designed for mechanical locks, instead you might have to use a homebrew electronic device or a computer, either way it's still picking as we think of it. It's just that most people associate picking with sticking little metal things in keyholes, and since electronic locks don't have keyholes in the traditional sense, well gee whiz, you can't pick them--*gasp* if I put an 'electronic lock' on my door, no one can pick it!! Naive morons

[pradselost]

...I think it'll be a long time before mechanical locks become obsolete. Firstly because they're so much more affordable than card systems or the like, and also because people can be very resistant to change. I think a lot of people feel safer with a heavy lock on the door, versus say a swipe card. It's a psychological thing, y'know?

I do feel that locks have improved dramatically in the last 50 or so years, and numerous advancements have been made. As these advancements become cheaper to incorporate, they'll be in more locks, as we see a lot of moderate level locks getting spool and mushroom pins now. I'm sure there's ALWAYS a market for cheapo locks though

[stonedsmurf]

You guys may be right, but hacking an electric lock is very different to picking one. It would involve more 'computerey' stuff, instead of good old tesion tool and half dimound.... it just isnt the same.. *sigh*

[pip]

It would involve more 'computerey' stuff,

if someone wanted to pick/bypass an electronic lock
they'd be learning something new about computers/electronics/security
the future/changes are coming whether we like it or not
it's up to us to adapt or be a dinosaur
i myself have just started to get into RFID

[devildog]

Currently learning electronics

Most of the way through 'Electronics for Dummies' (definately the best beginners text on the subject, as so many of the 'dummies' books are), and just bought a Weller WES51 soldering station off of ebay as well as a digital multimeter from radioshack (I'll be getting a Fluke when budget permits). Logic probe and oscilloscope will come later. Once I'm comfortable there I'll be moving along to computer hacking and programing, install and learn FreeBSD, Perl, C, assembly, etc.

[jamiemac2005]

think about it though..... maybe lock picking as you know it will become nearly obselete.. but new locks will come along and if a lock has a key it can be "hacked"/"picked"/ pretti much opened without needing a key.... its like web hacking new patches come along and so do new techniques to get past them....

[toomush2drink]

When you have locks like bramah about still using a very old design and still hard to pick i think it will a long time before lockpicking goes.Think of how many safes that rely on a key as back up even though they have a nice elctronic lock.Personally though i think clever marketing of the convinence factor will make it all go electronic just as its starting to happen now.You can get remote controll central locking for your own home now and there is now reason why you couldnt hook it up to a biometric scanner nitead of remote.Theres access control systems that will call your gsm phone if your out when vistor buzz's up to your flat. Personally i think a good old fashioned mortice type lock takes some beating and lasts longer.I still see a lot of locks that are 20 years old like old 114's and there is nothing wrong with them and still going strong, would this still be the same of say an electronic keypad etc ?

[raimundo]

Why do the english still use the old morticelever locks? is it because they are so into 'tradition', actually, mortice lever locks in bronze are also used on a lot of ships, the key is slightly larger, the tumblers are much larger, and this makes it more resistant to salt spray in the air. locks are made to be reliable over long periods of use or disuse. electronics will fail even when left untouched. Electronics are dependent on a highly developed infrastructure. things that cause potholes in roads will always win over a high tech infrastructure. (water, salt, temperature changes) you need forever batteries, or a generator (thats whats in the mas9 isn't it) but the failure of electronics from just age is a reality. every two years, my bank card with the magstripe fails. So if weather, wind, sand, etc remain inthe environment, there will always be some call for mechanical locks, and the electronic locks will need a corps of technicians to keep serviceing them and replaceing them with new ones when the flaws are discovered and exploited.

[p1ckf1sh]

I am with Raimundo (traditionality, conservative people want the locks they are used to, mechanicals superior to electronics in this specific application, etc.). It is weird how one is getting accustomed, I can only say it from my perspective though. but being relatively new to picking, locks always were tools for me that were used in some way. One was conditioned to use them that way. And whenever I see a picture of an lock mounted in US fashion my first thought still is "jerks, mounted it the wrong way!" even though now I understand that this is just the way it is done in the US and that it even makes quite some sense (less dirt getting into the lock, broken springs don't block the lock completely etc.)

But I see where the original poster is getting to - I had a thought about this as well. 10 years ago it was totally exceptional (to a normal guy) to actually see a dimple key. There may have been Winkhaus locks with balls/dimples for profile checking but they were still pin tumblers. Nowadays these locks are gaining more and more ground. They still have some of that "old feel" to people (you have a key of the same dimension, you insert it and rotate) but there is enough novelty to it to make people feel more secure with them. It is a gradual process in its entirety and for the individual not educated about locks. Electronic locks OTOH are completely different - no real key, just a fob and/or a combo. People distrust things like these. It will be a long time before they really catch on.

I think something that will hinder our hobby in the future is the trend to replace the common lock designs (pin tumbler, dimples, etc.) by completely or almost completely different locking designs sold in the same package - the eurocylinder is probably here to stay, but more and more companies will cram sophisticated mechanism into them like EVVA with the 3KS and this will eliminate the hand picking process sooner or later. In 50 years we probably will only be making and designing more and more specific tools that will only open a certain brand of locks (see the EVVA 3KS for example, I have not heard of anyone hand-picking it with a hook or HD, but rumor has it that John Falle has a decoder for it).

That's my 2,32 eurocent (incl. 16% tax), you may reject, spindle, mutilate, share or spread this opinion if you like .

[Raccoon]

Remember that there are, perhaps, 100 trillion US dollars worth of locks presently installed in doors around the world. Even if every locksmith was immediately employeed to remove and replace these locks with electronic thumb scanners, it would take a hundred years.

These are wild figures, by no means accurate.

[toomush2drink]

I personally think the reason why us english still use traditional mortice lever locks is because they are so secure compared to standard pin tumbler locks.They are not easy to drill open, not easy to pick,virtually bump proof and as yet there isnt an electronic pickgun etc which makes them easy to open unlike many cyllinder locks.Lets face it a lot of basic safe lock designs are not far off what a lot of us use on our front doors apart from a few extra levers.Some of the italian manufacturers stuff is actually using safe locks for front doors now so there must be something in lever locks.Love em or hate em they keep people out.

[SFGOON]

Another thing that will slow the introduction of high end computerized locks is the relative security theory. This basically states that the more proliferated a security device is, the easier it will be to bypass because there will be a higher demand for technitians to maintain these systems, and hence greater proliferation of the techiques used to bypass them. By keeping a security device in the esoteric realms, you are contributing to it's security.

[stonedsmurf]

Remember that there are, perhaps, 100 trillion US dollars worth of locks presently installed in doors around the world.

Pretty sure its not 100 trillion.

The entire cost of world war one and two for all participating countries was thought to be one trillion.

Valid point though