What do you know about bump keys? Have you even heard of bump keys? I had not before receiving an e-mail a short while ago from one of my friends. I don't want to go on and on about a topic such as this one, and so I won't. However, it is probably best to be informed.
This is what a typical bump key looks like ...
and its function is to pick open a pin tumbler lock. Isn't that wonderful? I guess we can thank the Danes for this who, in the 1970's, shared a technique for knocking on a lock cylinder while applying slight pressure to the back of the lock plug.
Just in case you are mechanically challenged, as I am, Wiki has a really good explanation of how a pin tumbler lock works. Even I understand it! Wiki goes on to describe some of the various countermeasures, mostly ineffective, that have been tried and are currently being tested to thwart lock bumping.
If you choose to Google "bump keys", you will see that over 9,000,000 others have already done the same thing. There you will find ad after ad after ad trying to lure you into spending your hard-earned $$ on a countermeasure that doesn't work. I find this outrageous!
An article published in 2007 by snopes.com gives you even more information on this subject. In addition to confirming what I have just written, it goes on to suggest what your best options might be. You should probably avail yourselves of the opportunity to read it. It's short and to the point.
4 comments:
Your posts are like reading the newspaper for me Goldenrod, I find myself grazing on stories but yours always pique my interest. Thank you for being so informative
Makes one wonder if it's even worth locking your doors.
I would rather not be quite so informative sometimes, Craig. I swear, there are portions of our society who (seemingly) are doing their very darndest to try and bring the rest of us down to their level.
My sentiments exactly, Chuck! But, did you read the Snopes article? It does make mention of the types of locks that (currently) are impregnable. Even as I write this response, however, I'm absolutely positive that the fiends are furiously at work trying to solve those! :(
Public site about lock bumping and how to protect against it!
http://lockbumping.org
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