

How do keys work? Explained in one Gif - macalicious
http://theultralinx.com/2013/01/keys-work-explained-gif.html

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tokenadult
How blogspam works. This is blogspam upon blogspam. I dare not say that this
link

<http://delima.soup.io/post/295576131/how-keys-work>

is the original link, but it's at least two links closer to the original
source than the link submitted here to HN.

AFTER EDIT: Many thanks to the HN reader who found the original source, which
deserves traffic much more than blogspam. I flag blogspam relentlessly since
another HN user asked about the issue.

<http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4583307>

~~~
quasque
Yep, looks like it's originally from here (and in much higher quality):
[http://www.lockpicking101.com/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=43120](http://www.lockpicking101.com/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=43120)

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SquareWheel
Locks are a relatively simple a fun mechanism to play with. Lock picking can
be explained similarly. It's essentially simulating that key by popping the
pins up to the shear line (the horizontal plane) and applying tension via your
tension/torsion tool so the pin doesn't fall down. Then move onto the next
one. If you get all pins to the shear line, the lock opens.

It's also a pretty cheap hobby to get into. Though the legality varies by
country/state so do check into that first if interested.

~~~
Joeboy
A few years ago I went and bought myself the cheapest Yale type lock I could
find in order to teach myself to pick it. After repeatedly failing I took it
apart and discovered some of the pins had recesses that were designed to
defeat this kind of attack (I think they're called "spool pins"). I never
managed to put it back together again, and that was the end of my lock picking
career.

~~~
TurplePurtle
Here's a video with more info about these anti-picking mechanisms and how to
defeat them:

<http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZQVsI4qyl3g>

~~~
tonybaroneee
I got caught up with this guy's videos and watched all of them because they
are so cool. Thanks for the share!

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shocks
Old but still relevant. I learnt about locks here.

<http://www.lysator.liu.se/mit-guide/MITLockGuide.pdf>

~~~
brianpan
> ...it is worth pointing out that lock picking is just one way to bypass a
> lock

A sobering insight after a break-in and a conversation with a locksmith. A
lock is only as good as the latch, and door that it's sitting in, and the
hinges attaching the door, and the molding surrounding it, and the wall it's
in.

~~~
derleth
... and the person who is responsible for locking the door, and the person who
is responsible for following up on reports of suspicious behavior near that
door, and the person who is called out when someone finally discovers the lock
must have been picked at some point in the past, and the legal system
surrounding all of them, and the civil society that gives that legal system
authority and legitimacy, and the broader cultural scope that gives the civil
society a foundation and a sphere in which to act confidently, which depends
on people believing that, if they do wrong in that society, someone will
punish them.

So picking a lock in Compton might be perfectly safe assuming you don't get
shot outright, unless Compton's been gentrified while I wasn't looking.

On the flip side, you won't even get close to Fort Knox with bad intent,
largely because you _know_ you won't get close to Fort Knox with bad intent.

~~~
martinced
_"...you won't even get close to Fort Knox with bad intent..."_

Depends how powerful you are. Why did the gold audit that was supposed to take
place been refused? Maybe because there's not anywhere as much gold in Fort
Knox as what there's supposed to be. If this is true, people with bad intent
managed to bypass the "locks": there's more than one way to defeat the purpose
of locks ; )

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enneff
As a kid, I learned how keyed locks work by playing the video game ZZT.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ZZT> In "Town of ZZT", one of the built-in
worlds, there is a board where you have to move what are effectively tumblers
to clear a path through which a column can move freely.

Ah, here's a screenshot of the board!
<http://tf2tags.com/dr_dos/img/zzt/town/zzt_036.png>

This board is show as a whole, but in the game the board was "dark" and so you
could only see what was within about 5-6 blocks from your character.

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lucb1e
Seen a similar image a while back. Locks suddenly made a lot of sense then.

Perhaps make another one about how walker keys work with locks like these? If
I remember correctly, they were keys with filed down teeth. You had to put the
key all but one tooth into the lock and then nudge it all the way in while
turning, which would knock the top half of the metal rods up, allowing the
lock to open.

~~~
gameshot911
Same thing as a bump key? Basically you cut down all the notches to the lowest
setting (ie the deepest cut for that model of key), and then exactly as you
described you put the key in up to the penultimate notch, at which point you
apply rotational pressure on the key and knock the key in with some force (aka
"bump" it in). The force of the insert bumps _all_ the pins up, and the torque
applied to the key catches the top half of the pin in the "open" position as
the mechanism falls. If you catch all the top halves, the lock is breached.

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nulluk
I have been brought up picking since I was in secondary school (Both Father
and older Brother are locksmiths). It's very interesting stuff and once you
see the in's and out's of peoples daily "security" you realise it's just about
a game of not being the lowest common denominator. If a thief wants in, they
aren't going to spend there time picking (or even bumping) they go straight
for the snapper, or simply put the window through.

Apologies on the video music, you might want to turn it down but this is the
first Video I come across of snapping a euro cylinder on youtube:
<http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vVeij3jffCM>

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jjclarkson
This design is a good visual for why lock bumping is fairly easy on most
residential locks.

<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lock_bumping>

~~~
jjclarkson
On residential locks the tolerances on each pin's traveling cylinder are loose
enough to allow you to apply shearing force on the pin by holding the lock
tight (as if trying to open it) and quickly bump each pin up so they land on
the salient edge of the entire cylinder block and avoid dropping back into a
locking position.

~~~
tadfisher
Wikipedia disagrees with you, albeit without a citation:

"High-quality locks may be more vulnerable to bumping unless they employ
specific countermeasures. More precise manufacturing tolerances within the
cylinder make bumping easier because the mechanical tolerances of the lock are
smaller, which means there is less loss of force in other directions and
mostly pins move more freely and smoothly. Locks made of hardened steel are
more vulnerable because they are less prone to damage during the bumping
process that might cause a cheaper lock to jam."

<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lock_bumping>

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nsxwolf
I'd like to see a version of the gif done with lock picks.

~~~
mepet
<http://i.imgur.com/kaOa0G3.gif>

Here's a version I found on reddit a while back.

~~~
vinhboy
what exactly is that little dirt stain that moves from cylinder to cylinder
supposed to be? is it supposed to represent tension or something?

~~~
tptacek
It's the currently binding cylinder. With the right amount of tension applied
via the wrench, one pin binds at a time, which is what allows you to set the
pins one at a time.

~~~
RandallBrown
why does only one cylinder bind at a time?

It seems to me like the lock shouldn't be able to turn at all until all of the
cylinders are pressed to the right height.

~~~
SquareWheel
Due to imperfections in the lock. It only takes a tiny difference for that
tension to not be applied evenly so you can focus on one pin at a time.

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skeletonjelly
If I wanted more content like a single gif in a blog post I'd go to reddit.
This is currently #1 on HN.

~~~
superasn
I don't see what is wrong with it. It appeals to hackers and explains it
instantly. Would you be happy if it was 1000 word article instead?

~~~
skeletonjelly
Right. Because I'm dissatisfied with a single gif I want an essay. Sandwiches
appeal to hackers. All I'm saying is that there are other places that this is
more suited to and this isn't one of them in my opinion.

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unreal37
Did anyone follow that blog post, back to Gizmodo, back to the source it
originally came from? (Soup) What a weird site, showing all manner of strange
things. The internet is a weird place sometimes.

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Connorhd
This page seems to have debug.phonegap.com script tag included, means anyone
can see everyone else viewing the page (and execute javascript in their
browser)... <http://debug.phonegap.com/client/#ultralinx>

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dougk16
I recommend "Practical Lock Picking" by Deviant Ollam for those whose interest
was piqued by this. Besides all the technical goodies, it contains some
interesting moral views on locks and lock picking that apply to the digital
world as well.

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gggggggg
That's a great way to explain it.

However, can anyone explain how lock picking works, that GIF makes it seem
like it would be very difficult. On TV at least they do it in a matter of
moments.

~~~
borlak
SquareWheel explained it very well.

As for the difficulty, you'd be surprised how easy it is. I started picking a
few weeks ago for fun and I've been able to pick your basic store bought locks
within a couple minutes with the hook tool (where you have to lock each pin
individually).

There is another tool, called a 'rake', that tries to set several pins at once
-- it basically has several jagged edges, much like a key. With rakes I can
beat these locks in a matter of seconds, and I'm a newbie! I'm working on the
lower end of locks, but even still, it has made me more wary of home security.

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brk
This is how the most common lock works, but it doesn't cover side-bar locks,
Medeco's, or other slightly more advanced setups. Still, good reference point
for a basic understanding.

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TheBoff
It makes me wonder how strong the cylinders are. They look quite small, so it
seems like with a tool shaped like a "T" with a wide top you'd be able to
force a lock open.

~~~
run4yourlives
Pretty sure they are stonger than any key you could make, so the key would
snap before the cylinders do.

Plus, you need to be able to allow the entire mechanism to turn in order to
disengage the lock, which the broken cylinders would interfere with.

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jorgeleo
One cut more to every drum and it would explain master keys

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jazzychad
I remember seeing this explained on Mr. Wizard as a kid :) He used a giant
cardboard key and a poster with moveable tumblers attached to demonstrate it.

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JTxt
Since I'm on HN, I was expecting and hoping this to be about public-key
cryptography.

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esusatyo
It doesn't explain MacGyver at all.

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suyash
Very well done

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martinced
What about Mul-T-Lock double-sided keys? Is there any .gif or YouTube video
showing how they work?

They seem to be much much harder to lockpick. My key-guy can lockpick garage
doors and cars and whatnots but if I forget my Mult-T-Lock double-sided keys
he needs to drill through the hole and destroy the entire system to be able to
open the door, which then needs a new mechanism.

One of my neighbour got robbed and the thiefs did the same: they drilled
through the Mult-T-Lock hole.

Can these be lockpicked? If they can, it seems to be way harder than regular
keys or than typical double-sided keys.

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IheartApplesDix
Welcome to the new Reddit

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aviswanathan
Whoa, mind blown

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usaphp
I wonder how did people come up with a structure like that...back in the days
people were smarter.

~~~
ramses0
This is super interesting as well!

<http://woodgears.ca/combolock/index.html>

Now you know why you had to go twice around when opening your school locker.
;-)

