Bump keys are the simplest way to bypass common locks. You can make one in a few hours and it’s pretty much universal.
Most doors aren’t that strong. You can’t pick a lock but you can just knock the door in.
If you can’t knock a door in, try a window.
House has a security system? Get a ladder and go to the second floor. Most security systems are only installed on the first floor.
Or cut the phone line outside the house as that’ll disable the security system entirely (unless it’s wireless).
If the security system has a combined control panel and main board, just run in and smash it. Good systems separate the control panel from the main board to delay the burglar finding it and allowing the system to call for authorities.
Basically locks, security systems, cameras, reinforced door frames, and protective film on windows are just delays, not preventatives. The idea is to delay the burglar enough such that they either get caught or so they decide to hit the next house without as many obstacles.
> You can’t pick a lock but you can just knock the door in.
A knocked-out door has the disadvantage of being noisy and visible - random passersby may spot either the act or the result and alert the police, whereas most won't even spot the difference between someone using a legit key and a comb key.
The more time passes between the burglary and the discovery, the better for the burglar - if you're already two counties away when the police establishes local roadblocks these won't catch you, CCTV camera or ALPR records get deleted, phone tower (=which phone was logged in at a certain time in a certain area) records grow bigger and harder to sift through, potential witnesses forget details.
Bump keys aren't quite universal. There are different keyways. Plus, not all locks are pin-tumbler locks.
Also, this I'm not sure of, but I think some quality pin-tumbler locks are bump-resistant.
That's all true, but what's interesting is how ubiquitous the worst pin-tumbler lock design is. (I'll be honest, I never shopped for a good lock either! I've only bought one extra lock for an apartment once, and didn't care to get anything but the typical kind!)
The LPL is really similar to a lot of us, complaining that "right-click isn't really hacking, view-source isn't really hacking, come on your system is trivially broken" but about the locks practically everyone uses.
We also complain about companies marketing Super Military-Strength Proprietary Encryption but basic key management not making sense ... similar to how LPL likes to get the Pro Max Security big beefy trailer/fence locks and show how they have some of the same trivial design bugs as the cheap locks.
Last time I called a locksmith to let me into my house (me losing my keys and locking myself out is a somewhat frequent occurrence) he didn’t even bother trying to pick it. Just took a few plastic wedges and used a rubber mallet to hammer them in between the door and the frame and the whole thing popped open. Took maybe 5 seconds.
Of course, you can reinforce your door frame and this doesn’t work. But the next locksmith (like I said, regular occurrence) used a bump key to pick it and was in just as fast.
Needless to say, I don’t trust door locks anymore.
The simplest were the old car-jacks that you could put sideways across a door: a few clicks to expand the jack and you could push the door frame out of linear enough that you can swing the door right open — lock catch no longer reaches.
This is my go-to technique for lockouts (I'm a firefighter, we'll get called for more "urgent" lockouts... a young child still inside, something on the stove, etc).
There are plenty of custom made tools on the market that do a great job (with built-in pads to protect the door frame, etc).
The only issue they commonly run into is a deadbolt with a throw long enough that you have to destroy the jamb and surrounding frame before it comes free.
Is this technique non-destructive and the frame returns to its original shape? From the description it sounded like it'd be way worse than something that destroys the entire door.
Ideally, yes. Wood is surprisingly flexible. Generally the worst that happens is that the paint cracks at the seams between the frame and the trim, or the jamb.
In cases where the deadbolt extends significantly into the frame, then yes, it tends to be destructive. But doors with locks that substantial tend to be sturdy enough that brute forcing the door in any fashion (even if you're just attacking the door itself) is likely to damage the frame.
There are options for "through the lock" forcible entry, where you attack the lock directly, using something like a Rex tool[1]. That will definitely destroy the lock, but usually preserves the door (but isn't suitable for every type of lock).
You're just bowing the framing out enough for the bolt to clear, so maybe 1/4" inch in each direction. The studs will pop right back, but you might need to re-align the hinges or the bolt plate after.
I had a friend who had a car with different keys for the door and the ignition, and he lost the door key. I fashioned a coat-hanger wire into a tool to slide down the window and unlock the door.
By the time he got a replacement key, I was literally faster at opening the door with my tool than he was with his key — once you get the knack of it...
(of course the tool was much more clumsy to carry around than a key, and 2 seconds vs 3 isn't enough to care)
My new door has a mechanism where you first have to pull the handle up to engage this hook-like bolt and then lock the door with key or knob. I thought it was a bit tedious but now I finally understand the purpose. The bolt would prevent the door from being pulled apart from the frame easily.
I saw a video where someone was opening doors with a hydraulic thing that moves heavyb things up (I do not know the English word for that, an inversed press).
You find a strong pint to lean on (a wall, or the ground) and the door is forced open in a matter of seconds (something gives away, hinges or lock).
This is why my lock is a smart one, to make it easier for people to get in (the ones I want to) and I know that a burglar is not going to analyze the emission spectrum but just force my door open.
I would definitely prefer him to use technonoly and not break my door.
I'd sooner get door jam reinforcements for this reason. For everything else, there's alarms. Some are meant to detect windows breaking, but motion sensors are also a good catch all. Security-film on windows also makes breaking them more tedious.
Glass break sensors are almost never installed in residential homes; motion detectors are a lot cheaper, easier to install and more effective since a lot of attacks against windows don’t involve breaking the glass.
