Lock Bumping And Ways To Prevent

Many homeowners are unaware of a potential security risk that over 90 percent of American households today are susceptible to Lock Bumping, according to Littleton Locksmith Pros. The following is a brief explanation of how residential locks work, what Lock Bumping is, and also the best methods of preventing your home from falling victim to this domestic security threat. The normal American house has Pin Tumbler locksets introduced.  The essential mechanical components of Pin Tumbler Locks contain a progression of spring stacking stacks known as stick stacks. Each stick stack is made out of a Key pin, which is the pin that touches the core when it’s initially placed into the lock, and then there is the Driver Pin, which is the spring-driven pin. The proper alignment of all Key Pins and Driver Pins is what enables a locks cylinder to be turned. This proper alignment is accomplished when the correct key is inserted into the lock. A lock will not open if there is misalignment, which will occur when no key, and or an incorrectly cut key is inserted into the lock. Lock Bumping is a Lockpicking technique used specifically to bypass Pin Tumbler locksets. The Lock Bumping method is carried out by the user placing a key created for the sole purpose of “bumping” your pin tumbler lock, which is called, a bump key, slightly into the key hole entry way of any Pin Tumbler Lock, and then proceeding to strike the Bump key with a very small amount of force, which will in turn cause the pins within the lock to give way for only a split second, but in that split second anyone willing will gain almost immediate access, leaving little to no evidence of a forced entry onto your property! These reasons combined with the fact that Lock Bumping Keys are inexpensive and easily made is what makes Lock Bumping a serious threat! Advances in lock technology seem to be met with new ways of breaking front door locks. Bumping, drilling, or snapping of locking cylinders are now highly common methods of forcing entry through a front door. They each require tools, and as such true high-security locks have reached an impressive level of sophistication.

The best new high-security front door locks from leading companies feature mechanisms designed to thwart drilling and bumping. Firstly, hardened steel rods in the locking cylinder body and the core itself increase resistance to drilling. Furthermore, hardened steel tumbler pins increase resistance to tampering and core extraction.New high-security locking mechanisms have been developed in addition to those inside the core locking cylinder. Machined metal dead-bolts increase impact resistance but the impressive modern locks feature hooks. When a door is locked, from two to four machined metal hooks are thrown into metal keeps in the door frame. These provide greatly increased structural resistance to brute force. Also, they are not affected by successful tampering of the main locking cylinder. That’s right folks. If your main lock is somehow overcome, hook locks provide a further line of defense in your front door.

Another high-security feature in modern front doors is the use of a dual-spindle in the locking mechanism. In reality more of innovation than technology, a dual spindle will allow the internal door handle to lock and unlock the door independently of a key, while from the outside a key is needed to open the door. For example, if you wanted to lock your door from the inside, but couldn’t find your key, the internal door handle alone can be used to lock the door. From the outside, the door is locked, and a key is then required to open it. It might seem like a small addition, but add this feature to a high-security composite door, and you’ve got a well-rounded door fit to be called high-security.

To compete against all of the sites on the internet that promote the criminal use bumping of a lock, there are public service sites on the web such as lockbumping.org that do provide awareness and methods of protecting your home from Lock Bumping. There are many different ways, and expert opinions concerning this matter, but the popular consensus came down to the conclusion, of a higher security grade level of lock! Yes, the one sure way to prevent your home from a lock bump is to install locks of a higher security grade. The drawback of higher security grade locks is, of course, a more expensive lock, but they can be purchased from your local locksmith or home improvement store.

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