I pwn t3h m3d3c0z in 5 m1nut35!

[Heliox]

Yeah, that helps a lot. Makes me feel much better about them, but I still don't like that they can be impressioned.Carrying around 3^6 bump keys per keyway isn't feasible.

Anyone know where I can get a Kaba Penta in the US(or Houston or Texas)? Or how much I can expect to pay? It's looking like THE lock from limited information I've been able to locate.

[devildog]

It sounds to me like you're looking for a lock that is literally IMPOSSIBLE to open without a key. Let me help you end your search--it doesn't exist and it never will. Not only can Medecos be impressioned but they can be decoded as well (John Falle makes a kit for it as well as a special kit for PICKING Medecos, and no, it doesn't matter if it's 'government only' as if someone wants it bad enough, then they'll get the bloody thing). As to the EVVA 3KS, the lock that is supposed to never have been picked, I recently (believe it was in LSS+) found out that John Falle makes a decoder for it

[n2oah]

As to the EVVA 3KS, the lock that is supposed to never have been picked, I recently (believe it was in LSS+) found out that John Falle makes a decoder for it

Yes, John Falle does have a decoder for the 3KS. I'd like to get my hands on some of Falle's amazing tools. Too bad that most are available to governments only. Maybe I'll become a g-man someday....

[devildog]

Yeah, and it's especially too bad that he's in the UK and not here--you can't make certain patents 'classified' here like you can over there, as here in the U.S. all patents are open for public viewing. I also know that if he held his patents here that I wouldn't be the only one running down to the local machine shop with the schematic and tech specs on a lot those patents

[n2oah]

Yeah, and it's especially too bad that he's in the UK and not here--you can't make certain patents 'classified' here like you can over there, as here in the U.S. all patents are open for public viewing. I also know that if he held his patents here that I wouldn't be the only one running down to the local machine shop with the schematic and tech specs on a lot those patents

I thought he was in the US? At least that was the impression I got from the MBA website. He must have patents here in the US, too? If you were to get a picture of one of his tools, it would be legal to recreate that tool here in the US?
And here comes that obvious question: What kind of lock does Falle have on his door?

[Chrispy]

And here comes that obvious question: What kind of lock does Falle have on his door?

A Kwikset ofcourse.

[Heliox]

It sounds to me like you're looking for a lock that is literally IMPOSSIBLE to open without a key. Let me help you end your search--it doesn't exist and it never will. Not only can Medecos be impressioned but they can be decoded as well (John Falle makes a kit for it as well as a special kit for PICKING Medecos, and no, it doesn't matter if it's 'government only' as if someone wants it bad enough, then they'll get the bloody thing). As to the EVVA 3KS, the lock that is supposed to never have been picked, I recently (believe it was in LSS+) found out that John Falle makes a decoder for it

I know there's not an unpickable lock, but I'm looking for something that will cause serious difficulty for anyone looking to bypass it. I've found bypass methods for everything from RFID to FIPS authentication keys. I'd actually prefer a combination of electronic and physical security devices but I always remember one thing:

DOD specs for storage facilities of top secret info and nuclear weapons have one thing in common. No matter the lock, no matter the construction or location. ALL aspects are weighted against one thing. How long it takes to get an armed response team on-site. It is ALWAYS a matter of time and effort to bypass anything.

I can detect lock tampering, I can detect unauthorized entry. What I need to be able to do is maximize the space between the start of the attempt and the entry. A lock that's impossible to bump and hard or impossible to impression is the best place for me to start. In fact, an extremely obscure mechanism might work in my favor here though I would prefer something that didn't depend on obscurity for difficulty.

[Chrispy]

I can detect lock tampering, I can detect unauthorized entry. What I need to be able to do is maximize the space between the start of the attempt and the entry. A lock that's impossible to bump and hard or impossible to impression is the best place for me to start. In fact, an extremely obscure mechanism might work in my favor here though I would prefer something that didn't depend on obscurity for difficulty.

Hmmmmm.... a really big rock covering the doorway?

There's always the train of thought, why should they bother with the lock, when there's a window? It comes down to what it is you're securing. Although you may not want to tell us what that is.

[vector40]

It's called layering, and the goal is indeed to make getting in enough of a hassle that the crook gives up -- or at the very least, you have time to get out of bed and haul ass to your safe room, or pad out of the shower blinking, or whatever.

Marc MacYoung has some good home defense info on his site. http://nononsenseselfdefense.com/propertycrime.html

[Chucklz]

Pay the big bucks to get some Chubb 110's shipped over. Quite obscure in the US, and rather difficult to bypass. Throw in an abloy deadbolt, and an attacker would take a rather long time to get in.

[TOWCH]

Go for the Kabe X-09/Abloy Protec combo. It's pretty cool.

[Chucklz]

Yeah, go for the Chubb, the Kaba, the Abloy, but keep them on your Lowe's special door, with the nice raised panels, and the pine frame.......

[TOWCH]

Well, I was originally going to suggest he upgrade those to something made by Diebold but figured that would be over the top.

[devildog]

Someone mentioned that you can't focus only on the lock. Anything really high security, like some of the ones mentioned, would be pointless unless you're willing to seriously harden ALL of the walls as well as the windows, because all the walls are is drywall and the occasional 2x4, and you can just kick a hole through drywall, very quickly as a matter of fact (it HAS been done before, in fact I helped 'deconstruct' a house to sell as scrap for Habitat for Humanity and I can tell you right now that a regular wall takes all of about 15 seconds to put a hole into big enough to climb through if you're 'motivated' enough, and this is just by kicking the crap out of it, let alone if you've got a good sized crowbar or 40 pound sledge hammer). So, unless you've got brick exterior, you're looking at hardening all the exterior walls with kevlar, steel, or god knows what, and then replacing the windows with thick plexiglass or acrylic, or better yet Level IV rated armored glass. Unless you're willing to take such serious measures, as well as a high-end alarm system, then anything much beyond a good Medeco/ASSA V-10/Primus/Mul-T-Lock is really quite pointless.

I think that as amateur locksmiths/hobby pickers we tend to focus only on the lock when looking at our own home security and it's really a mistake, kind of like the example, albeit a bit exaggerated in this particular context, about the locksmith talking with the homeowner that's bragging about how good a job he did without any help of securing his home, and the lockie comes to find out that Medeco he's got is on a hollow white pine door

[Heliox]

The issue is covert entry. It's relatively easy to go through a brick wall if you know how, but that sortof leaves evidence of the entry. I'm sticking to locks resistant to impressioning, bumping and the like that fit into a standard US door hole. Looking at it, the Penta is looking like my best bet, if I can find it and if it comes in a US form factor.

Now that I think about it, I'm really suprised that you can bump a Medeco sidebar, even if you know the pin angles.

As I'm a network geek, I'm protecting a bunch of computer equipment that I'd really rather have the insurance company pay for than to have to spring for out of my own pocket. They will not pay if there's no evidence of theft.

I'm also trying to protect a couple of datacenters that have some serious $$ worth of personal information and CC numbers.