

The $300 Lock You Can Break in Seconds - wiks
http://blogs.forbes.com/marcwebertobias/2011/02/01/the-300-lock-you-can-break-in-seconds/

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jiffyjeff
These locks are silly and can be opened in seconds without a magnet. They can
be brute forced easily due to the few number of combinations afforded by their
design. There are only 5 digits to choose from, and a code can use a given
digit only once. While there is a configuration that requires the pressing of
two digits at once, I've rarely seen this used. If you assume a 3 digit code,
the number of combinations to try is 5 * 4 * 3, or 60 tries. A 4 digit
combination requires at most 5 * 4 * 3 * 2 tries (120). We used to have these
locks in my office. After code changes i would try my hand at "breaking" into
them (before reading the email containing the new code). In every case I had
the lock open within 2 minutes. The hardest part was actually pressing the
handle down 30-60 times.

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blurpin
There has been a lot of commentary on Reddit about this author's
presumptuousness in posting the video showing how to crack this lock behind a
password-protected site. I'd be curious to know what the HN community thinks
about that.

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pontifier
Sounds to me like if you have access to a lock like this, and a strong magnet
you could probably figure out what to do with it. I think it won't stop the
truly malicious (almost nothing will), but it might stop many tinkerers that
may have strong magnets sitting around but don't have the follow through to
find a lock like this and experiment for a while... until the exact method is
posted somewhere.

Also, I thought most locks had brass or other non-magnetic components just for
this reason.

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js2
Don't miss this profile on Tobias in Wired a couple years ago:

[http://www.wired.com/techbiz/people/magazine/17-06/ff_keymas...](http://www.wired.com/techbiz/people/magazine/17-06/ff_keymaster?currentPage=all)

