Category Archives: CT Commercial Locksmith

CT Commercial Locksmith, CT Residential Locksmith

Frozen deadbolt locks

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frozen lockWhile the weather outside can be frightful during the winter months in New England –  you could be sitting nice and warm inside enjoying a crackling fire and a hot beverage. Sounds wonderful and cozy, right? But you might have a problem when it comes to going outside and trying to lock your door. All of the sudden you can’t! Or even worse, you’re outside and you can’t unlock the door even though you have the key. What’s going on?

During the frigid temperatures of winter, moisture from rain and snow that enter the lock can freeze and stop the lock from turning or even prevent the key from fitting into the lock. A quick fix to this problem is using a lock de-icer – they are available in small tubes and spray cans. Your best bet is to get a de-icer that uses silicone as its first element in the mix.

Sometimes however the de-icer doesn’t work. Usually because there’s not just a build-up of ice inside the lock but a combination of oil, dust and ice. With this frozen gunk inside the lock just won’t turn. To get the inside of the lock cleaned you’ll have to remove it and take it apart. After cleaning the lock it’s a good idea to add a lubricant as a preventive measure.

Many home owners will have no problem disassembling the lock, but if you don’t feel comfortable doing this on your own give Jim Arsenault a call, 860-678-9797, or email him.

Jim Arsenault is a Connecticut licensed Master Locksmith with over 30 years experience.

CT Commercial Locksmith, CT Residential Locksmith, Online Safety, Scams

Misleading websites are key in locksmith wannabe business

Yet another locksmith scam is making the rounds with the help of tech savy con artists. The way the scam works is that people create websites that imitate a legitimate locksmith company’s website. Going so far as to even imitate the domain name by simply adding a letter or dash to the domain. This confuses customers into thinking they reached a reputable company. When customers call, believing they are talking to someone at an established, trustworthy company, the scam locksmith cashes in. Not only does he hurt the real locksmith company, but when the phoney locksmith arrives the consumer pays more than what they should have paid.

In Palm Beach, Florida, a man was arrested because he set up websites over the past several years that closely resembled the names of established South Florida locksmith companies. Consumers would look up one of the legitimate companies but end up on a website created by the con man, police said. He registered domain names that were exactly the same as the real locksmith company’s domain with an s added at the end and then created his own website. He used that same tactic with at least five other locksmith companies and created 40 misleading websites.

Police said they spoke to victims of the scam, many said they were quoted one price, then charged another. The customers thought they were calling the established locksmith companies.

Jim is a CT licensed Master Locksmith with over 30 years experience. He’ll repair and install a new lock at your Connecticut home or business and you’ll never have to worry. Just email or give him a call at 860-678-9797.

CT Commercial Locksmith, CT Residential Locksmith, CT Small Business, Home Safety, Security

What is a bump key and should you be concerned?

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bumping keyPin tumbler design locks are probably the most popular locks in the world. These types of locks come in different sizes and finishes, can be used in exterior and interior doors, and they’re suitable for residential and commercial applications. They can also be picked quite easily with a “bump key,” sometimes also called a “999 key,” which is a normal key cut to a specific code that can then be used as a lock picking tool.

What exactly is key bumping? Security.org describes the technique in this way:

“The term “bumping” refers to the process of forcing the key to interact with the pin tumblers by “bumping” or rapping it with a plastic mallet while it is inserted into the lock. This process entails hitting the head of the key, causing it to rapidly move forward. When the key is struck correctly, each of the bottom pins is “bumped” upward for a brief instant, thus allowing the lock to be opened.”

Bump keys are nothing new. They have for many years been part in a variety of techniques used by legitimate master locksmiths to open locks that are malfunctioning or in instances where the key was lost. Professional and ethical locksmiths did not share this technique with the public.

So what’s the commotion all about then? In 2005, after a television program demonstrated the technique, the video ended up on the internet for anyone to see and by now there are many more videos available on this topic – making it extremely easy for criminals to learn about key bumping and how it’s done.

Should you be concerned? Standard pin tumbler locks offer very little resistance to key bumping, if you have a standard lock contact us. Higher security grade locks offer better protection, but they are not 100% secure if a burglar really wants to get in. Electronic and magnetic locks offer the best protection, a bump key cannot be used with these types of locks.

Finally, key bumping involves a lot of banging and is pretty noisy. Chances are that a burglar will not opt for this method to break into a residence when people are at home or neighbors are within earshot.

Have a question about the effectiveness of your pin tumbler locks in your CT residence or business? Email Jim Arsenault or call him at 860-678-9797.

CT Commercial Locksmith, Security, Technology

Print your own key

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We’ve heard of computer hackers that illegally access credit card companies’ servers and steal credit card information. We know of hackers that bring down entire websites or deface them with their own message. Now we’ve been presented with a new hacking experience – three MIT students unveiled their technique on how to duplicate a key that is supposedly “not-duplicatable.”

The electrical engineering students focused on lock maker Schlage’s Primus* locks. These locks are advertised for use in high-security environments such as government facilities, healthcare settings, detention centers, etc. and are generally thought of as being beyond the average hardware store keymaker’s ability to be reproduced. The only way to get a copy of the key is to go directly to Schlage.

With a flatbed scanner and their software the students were able to render a precise 3D model which they uploaded to the online 3D printing service Shapeways.com that produced a working key made out of nylon for around $5, a more durable titanium key from i.Materialise.com cost them $150. iMaterialize has stated on their own blog that had they known the intentions of the students, the key would not have been printed.

At Def Con 21, the hacker conference held from August 1–4, 2013 in Las Vegas, the students released a piece of code that anyone can use to create a key with readily available 3D printing tools. Does that make these three young men evil? We think it just shows that because something worked for a long time, it shouldn’t be assumed that it will work forever. 3D printing is bound to result in new concerns for manufacturers and security professionals, but as we know with anything technology related, once it’s here you can’t stop it.

Perhaps the answer for high-security institutions is to move from mechanical locks that are vulnerable to key duplication to electronic locking devices.

*To be fair we have to point out that “high security locks” from other manufacturers would be just as vulnerable to duplication with this method as Schlage’s Primus model.

Have a question about how to implement electronic locks in your CT business or institution? Email Jim Arsenault or call him at 860-678-9797.