[ale] OT Fwd: Dc404-Chat New smart locks for your home

Pete Hardie pete.hardie at gmail.com
Wed Jun 19 12:25:49 EDT 2013


That's my big worry about wireless unlock capability - it makes it hard to
prove it was a burglary.  There was a concern a few years ago about lock
bumping, not so much that it was any easier to get into a house, but that
it made it look like it was not a burglary, but rather the owner trying to
defraud insurance companies.

If someone can get my lock to open without breaking it or the door, they
can steal small stuff for a long time.  How often do you/your wife look in
the jewelry box for the heirloom watch/brooch that you only wear on special
occasions?


Pete Hardie
--------
Better Living Through Bitmaps


On Wed, Jun 19, 2013 at 11:49 AM, Scott Plante <splante at insightsys.com>wrote:

> Although you have to keep things in perspective--given how terribly easy
> it is to pick most residential key locks, you're probably not losing any
> security by using one of these things. Also, given how easy it is to kick
> in a door or break/cut a window, in addition to the lock picking, home door
> locks mostly serve to keep out the honest and the naughty neighbor kids,
> and to raise the charge to "breaking and entering" over simple trespass.
>
> People sometimes complain about the weak locks on the little fire safes--a
> good lock is no use when you can pick up the entire safe and take it away
> with you. They just serve to keep the safe closed when the shelf it's on
> burns and it tumbles to the floor.
>
> ------------------------------
> *From: *"Ron Frazier (ALE)" <atllinuxenthinfo at techstarship.com>
> *To: *"ALE" <ale at ale.org>
> *Sent: *Wednesday, June 19, 2013 10:01:59 AM
> *Subject: *[ale] OT Fwd: Dc404-Chat New smart locks for your home
>
> Hi Guys,
>
> I'm cross posting this from the dc-404 group because I thought you'd like
> to see it.  If not, blame me, not Keith.
>
> Steve Gibson says most anything that merges security with radio waves is a
> bad idea.  I think cheap home rf based locks are a bad idea.  Of course, if
> you pay $ 500, then the developer might go to the trouble to put in fairly
> air tight security.  But, what if you pay $ 50?  Then, it's more
> questionable.  Also, the hacker might have to be "fairly" close to capture
> your signal, but 200 feet away with a directional antenna might be close
> enough.
>
> We routinely use garage door openers.  I've heard of those rf signals
> being hijacked, but it's probably not too common.  As Keith mentioned,
> there have been cases lately where thieves are somehow triggering cars to
> unlock their doors without having the factory key.  That's one reason I
> don't like a proximity based car key.  If you have that, they could hack it
> and not only get in the car, but also start the engine.
>
> Steve also reported a few months ago about a hack where bad guys could use
> the tire pressure monitoring system to play with the car's electrical
> system and potentially cause accidents.
>
>
> I don't want to even get started on rf based credit cards.  Steve's been
> reporting on various cases of those being abused again.  If I get one of
> those, I'm sending it back or zapping it in the microwave oven.  I wonder
> if that would destroy the magnetic strip.
>
> Sincerely,
>
> Ron
>
>
>
>
> -------- Original Message --------
> From: "Watson, Keith" <krwatson at cc.gatech.edu>
> Sent: Wed Jun 19 08:42:15 EDT 2013
> To: "dc404-chat at lists.kaos.to" <dc404-chat at lists.kaos.to>
> Subject: [Dc404-Chat] New smart locks for your home
>
> When was the last time a new product got security right out the door
> (pardon the pun)? Hotel keycards and burglars entering cars without a key
> come to mind. Several of the products practically admitted they aren't
> secure by basing them on Bluetooth. It is possible to have a secure
> Bluetooth based product but I can't think of one.
>
> Your Door Is About to Get Clever: 5 Smart Locks Compared
> http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2013/06/smart-locks/
>
> http://preview.tinyurl.com/k869hr9
>
> keith
>
> --
>
> Keith R. Watson                        Georgia Institute of Technology
> IT Support Professional Lead           College of Computing
> keith.watson at cc.gatech.edu             801 Atlantic Drive NW
> (404) 385-7401                         Atlanta, GA 30332-0280
>
>
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>
> --
>
> Sent from my Android Acer A500 tablet with bluetooth keyboard and K-9 Mail.
> Please excuse my potential brevity if I'm typing on the touch screen.
>
> (PS - If you email me and don't get a quick response, you might want to
> call on the phone.  I get about 300 emails per day from alternate energy
> mailing lists and such.  I don't always see new email messages very
> quickly.)
>
> Ron Frazier
> 770-205-9422 (O)   Leave a message.
> linuxdude AT techstarship.com
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>
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