picked a TSA003... Kinda!

[tima4h]

Hey all,
My housemate is travelling soon, and bought a TSA combo lock, and forgot the combination. I decided to give it a whirl to see if I could get it open. I found this link

http://download.security.org/tsa_luggag ... report.pdf

Which describes how TSA locks can be opened. But I found that this lock was slightly different. it 7 ridges on each wheel, with two double wide gates. Three ridges were single spaced, then a double wide gate, 1 ridge, another double wide gate, and the other three ridges, then a double wide gate. I aligned the single ridge on each thumbwheel, and VOILA! As it turns out, the combo was my housemates birthday, and she promptly remembered the code when I showed her what it was LOL.

The weird thing was (hence the kinda in the subject) is that the lock had TSA003 stamped on it, but was not the same as the TSA003 in the link I provided - it only had THREE thumbwheels, not four. Other than that, (and the different method of finding the correct code) it was the same.

[Doctor Hexagon]

This is quite interesting, and I hate to be the one to say it, but this looks like more advanced lock information, or at least on the borderline of advanced, and may not be appropriate for the publicly accessible areas. Did you clear this with an admin/mod before posting it?

[MacGnG1]

THANKS for the link I've been looking for something like that for a while!

[Raymond]

The TSA003 refers to the TSA key required to open the lock for inspection, not the type of lock itself.

[vov35]

TSA luggage locks are not advanced... they pick too easy for it. their combos, even with false gates are very easy to crack, and the keyed portion used by the tsa is generally very poor quality and has no manipulation resistance.

... and why should they? these locks are so tiny you can break them by forcibly bending the shackle out of place with your hands...

[Doctor Hexagon]

I agree. They, as well as pretty much any luggage lock I can think of, are fairly pathetic locks. The main reason I suggested that it may be advanced is because the TSA keys are a controlled item.