30 Jun
2012
30 Jun
'12
1:25 p.m.
Got a bit of a scare this week. I have most of my equipment stored and I received a call
indicating
that the lock on one of my units was missing. The management put a "temporary"
lock on the unit
until I could get down and survey what was going on (and put a new lock on it).
I went down this morning and there in front of the door to my unit was my lock that had
been cut off
(I suspect with bolt cutters). Fortunately, there doesn't appear to be any mischief
(other than having
to replace the lock). I suspect that someone was confused (and probably lost the key to
their lock)
and opened my unit. When they saw what was in it they moved on. The reason that I
suspect this
was that nothing was disturbed and there are several obvious items near the front that
would've probably
gone missing if theft was the motivation.
I put a new high security lock in place of the old padlock and will probably replace my
other padlocks
with high security locks to prevent this sort of thing in the future.
TTFN - Guy
30 Jun
30 Jun
1:33 p.m.
On 06/30/2012 01:25 PM, Guy Sotomayor wrote:
I put a new high security lock in place of the old
padlock and will probably replace my other padlocks
with high security locks to prevent this sort of thing in the future.
First, glad to hear it wasn't something dire!
Second, what qualifies as a "high security lock?" Is the shackle
specially hardened or something? Any brand/supplier recommendations? I
suspect that many (myself included) have at least one storage locker or
shed and wouldn't mind a little extra insurance...
Thanks,
--Steve.
1:38 p.m.
On Sat, 30 Jun 2012, Guy Sotomayor wrote:
I put a new high security lock in place of the old
padlock and will probably replace my other padlocks
with high security locks to prevent this sort of thing in the future.
What do you consider a "high security lock"?
--
David Griffith
dgriffi at cs.csubak.edu
A: Because it fouls the order in which people normally read text.
Q: Why is top-posting such a bad thing?
A: Top-posting.
Q: What is the most annoying thing in e-mail?
2:05 p.m.
----- Original Message -----
From: "David Griffith" <dgriffi at cs.csubak.edu>
To: "General Discussion: On-Topic and Off-Topic Posts"
<cctalk at classiccmp.org>
Sent: Saturday, June 30, 2012 4:38 PM
Subject: Re: Break-ins
On Sat, 30 Jun 2012, Guy Sotomayor wrote:
Don't thieves look for "high security locks" when looking for somebody to
rob (as in something good is inside)?
http://www.storagefront.com/storagetips/self-storage-basics/choosing-a-good…
Looks like the high security locks are just harder to pick and cut off.
I put a new high security lock in place of the
old padlock and will
probably replace my other padlocks
with high security locks to prevent this sort of thing in the future.
What do you consider a "high security lock"?
2:22 p.m.
On 30 Jun 2012 at 17:05, TeoZ wrote:
Don't thieves look for "high security
locks" when looking for somebody
to rob (as in something good is inside)?
Reminds me of the "40 pound rule" on bicycle locks. To wit, if you
have a 35 pound bike, a lock weighing 5 pounds will be sufficient to
secure it. If you have a 20 pound bike, you should invest in a lock
that weighs no less than 20 lbs.
Those living in metricland, divide the above quantities by 2.2.
--Chuck
2:12 p.m.
On Jun 30, 2012, at 1:38 PM, David Griffith wrote:
On Sat, 30 Jun 2012, Guy Sotomayor wrote:
They're the round locks that have a circular bolt. The good ones have hardened
cases?the cheap ones
are stamped. The idea is that a lot more work is involved in breaking in as there's
no really good way to
get bolt cutters on them (or more specifically the bolt).
TTFN - Guy
I put a new high security lock in place of the
old padlock and will probably replace my other padlocks
with high security locks to prevent this sort of thing in the future.
What do you consider a "high security lock"?
4:53 p.m.
On Sat, 30 Jun 2012, Guy Sotomayor wrote:
On Jun 30, 2012, at 1:38 PM, David Griffith wrote:
AKA Discus locks? I use those.
--
David Griffith
dgriffi at cs.csubak.edu
A: Because it fouls the order in which people normally read text.
Q: Why is top-posting such a bad thing?
A: Top-posting.
Q: What is the most annoying thing in e-mail?
On Sat, 30 Jun 2012, Guy Sotomayor wrote:
They're the round locks that have a circular bolt. The good ones have
hardened cases?the cheap ones are stamped. The idea is that a lot more
work is involved in breaking in as there's no really good way to get
bolt cutters on them (or more specifically the bolt). I put a new high security lock in place of the
old padlock and will probably replace my other padlocks
with high security locks to prevent this sort of thing in the future.
What do you consider a "high security lock"? 
1 Jul
1 Jul
12:48 p.m.
What do you consider a "high security lock"?
Abloy :-)
More seriously, a high secruity lock will have hardened stteel parts so
it can't be sawn or drilled (easily). It will be dififcult to pick,
either due to the design (the Abloy sidebar mechansim) or anti-picking
fetures. In the case of a padlock, there will be limited spare cound the
chackle so you can't get a crowbar in.
Any lock can be picked, any material can be cut or ground through. THe
idea is to make 'chummy' desicde that some other building is an easier
target :-)
-tony
30 Jun
30 Jun
3:10 p.m.
I was once told that locks were made to keep honest people out. If
someone wants in bad enough, they will get it.Thermite, anyone?
On Sat, Jun 30, 2012 at 3:25 PM, Guy Sotomayor <ggs at shiresoft.com> wrote:
Got a bit of a scare this week. ?I have most of my
equipment stored and I received a call indicating
that the lock on one of my units was missing. ?The management put a "temporary"
lock on the unit
until I could get down and survey what was going on (and put a new lock on it).
I went down this morning and there in front of the door to my unit was my lock that had
been cut off
(I suspect with bolt cutters). ?Fortunately, there doesn't appear to be any mischief
(other than having
to replace the lock). ?I suspect that someone was confused (and probably lost the key to
their lock)
and opened my unit. ?When they saw what was in it they moved on. ?The reason that I
suspect this
was that nothing was disturbed and there are several obvious items near the front that
would've probably
gone missing if theft was the motivation.
I put a new high security lock in place of the old padlock and will probably replace my
other padlocks
with high security locks to prevent this sort of thing in the future.
TTFN - Guy
3:37 p.m.
On 30 Jun 2012 at 17:10, Paul Anderson wrote:
I was once told that locks were made to keep honest
people out. If
someone wants in bad enough, they will get it.Thermite, anyone?
The point of a good lock is that it will look like it's too much
trouble and the crooks will just move on to the next unit...
--Chuck
1 Jul
1 Jul
7:35 a.m.
One could go old-school on the problem. Weld up a piece of iron
water pipe, such that one end is capped and there's a slot cut near
the top end to fit over the staple on the latch. The lock is placed
inside of the pipe and fastened through the staple as normal. If
done correctly, it's extremely difficult to get to the lock or latch
with anything but a key as the pipe restricts access to the lock as
well as the staple.
You landlord may not like that, however--but I've seen setups like
this all over the place here on timberland gates.
--Chuck
2:07 a.m.
Paul Anderson wrote:
I was once told that locks were made to keep honest
people out. If
someone wants in bad enough, they will get it.Thermite, anyone?
Doesn't take anything near that fancy. I needed a diskus-style padlock
removed recently. (Yes, it was my own lock, protecting my own stuff,
and stupidly I lost the key.) Someone cut it off for me using a
high-speed cut-off tool that looked similar to a Harbor Freight #68523,
and cut through the whole central diameter of the lock in under 15 seconds.
Eric
3:10 a.m.
On 7/1/2012 2:07 AM, Eric Smith wrote:
high-speed cut-off tool that looked similar to a
Harbor Freight
#68523, and cut through the whole central diameter of the lock in
under 15 seconds
Even though it's fake, watch Storage Wars. for a demo. Doesn't matter
if it is the shank of a padlock or a disk it makes quick work of the
lock. Not quiet though.
The storage lockers are opened and inventoried by the storage mgmt
companies, by the way, to determine that all contents can be sold, and
they don't cut off locks like they patched together in the silly
show(s). Also at the storage yard I use there is a fairly petite girl
who wields a mean bolt cutter for most locks.
Mini Mobile has a patented lock system that won't yield to the cutoff
blade w/o taking out a portion of the container. If you implemented it
in better grade steel than they do, you might make something that would
require cutting thru the structure, as the lock would be there to stay.
It is designed for the disk locks and has a hardened steel surround the
whole thing lives in. You put in the disk lock in a cylinder open, lock
it and pull the key. You'd have to cut the armor as well as the lock.
Jim
5:10 a.m.
yes, either that tool or an angle grinder would do the trick on a lock if
you want to brute force it... but as lock designs are very old, and we as a
people have advanced, many weaknesses have been discovered in standard
tumbler locks, I.e. bumping, picking, etc. This can be done with easily
obtainable items. I explain this to someone I know who insists on locking
their doors every 5 minutes, thinking someone will just walk in, when in
reality, the thin weak pressboard doorframes on most modern homes (compared
to the aluminum/metal frames, like the one on my old house built in the
50s) would do very little to stop an actual intruder from knocking the door
in and busting the deadbolt and latch right out of the frame with a single
kick... oh but that false sense of security fools most. this is also the
land where people post their most personal information to the public on
facebook.
I remember my high school years early 2000s, working at a hardware store,
we locked the gate at night with a Medeco "high security" padlock. At the
time, there were claims it was pick-proof bump-proof and practically
bulletproof. We had it seize up locked on the gate after years and years of
heat-cold-salt-snow-rain-ice and daily locking and unlocking. they couldn't
get a grinder or any other tool on the shackle to cut it off as it had the
armoring around the shackle, so they had no choice but to call a locksmith
to get it off. Just recently people have figured out how to circumvent
these things, WITHOUT brute force, which is scary seeing as these "high
security" locks are used to secure various facilities, including places in
the white house, pentagon, etc.
As said before, locks only keep honest people out...
On Sun, Jul 1, 2012 at 4:07 AM, Eric Smith <eric at brouhaha.com> wrote:
Paul Anderson wrote:
I was once told that locks were made to keep
honest people out. If
someone wants in bad enough, they will get it.Thermite, anyone?
Doesn't take anything near that fancy. I needed a diskus-style padlock
removed recently. (Yes, it was my own lock, protecting my own stuff, and
stupidly I lost the key.) Someone cut it off for me using a high-speed
cut-off tool that looked similar to a Harbor Freight #68523, and cut
through the whole central diameter of the lock in under 15 seconds.
Eric
7:07 a.m.
Subject: Re: Break-ins
From: useddec at gmail.com
I was once told that locks were made to keep honest people out. If
someone wants in bad enough, they will get it.Thermite, anyone?
On Sat, Jun 30, 2012 at 3:25 PM, Guy Sotomayor <ggs at shiresoft.com> wrote:
Hi
My friend had one of the nice locks. Instead they just cut
the bold bar on the latch.
If these places really cared, they'd put a checking and alarm
wire on each unit. Each person would get a unique address
for the gate that would alarm if another unit was opened
other than the one/ones asigned to that gate number.
Dwight
Got a bit of a scare this week. I have most of
my equipment stored and I received a call indicating
that the lock on one of my units was missing. The management put a "temporary"
lock on the unit
until I could get down and survey what was going on (and put a new lock on it).
I went down this morning and there in front of the door to my unit was my lock that had
been cut off
(I suspect with bolt cutters). Fortunately, there doesn't appear to be any mischief
(other than having
to replace the lock). I suspect that someone was confused (and probably lost the key to
their lock)
and opened my unit. When they saw what was in it they moved on. The reason that I
suspect this
was that nothing was disturbed and there are several obvious items near the front that
would've probably
gone missing if theft was the motivation.
I put a new high security lock in place of the old padlock and will probably replace my
other padlocks
with high security locks to prevent this sort of thing in the future.
TTFN - Guy
2:52 p.m.
On Sun, 1 Jul 2012, dwight elvey wrote:
If these places really cared, they'd put a
checking and alarm
wire on each unit. Each person would get a unique address
for the gate that would alarm if another unit was opened
other than the one/ones asigned to that gate number.
That's what the ezStorage place I had in MD did. They also had the
employees live in an apartment on the property, so there was always a
responsible party on the premises. Tried to find that here in Raleigh but
no luck.
Alexey
3:05 p.m.
On 07/01/2012 05:52 PM, Alexey Toptygin wrote:
I thought nearly all storage conglomerates were doing the
people-living-on-the-premises thing nowadays. They do that near here in
PA, and at the three places I've had lockers at in FL.
Those corporations really milk those employees for all they're worth.
One of them was a friend of mine. The horror stories were...well,
horrible. The apartments generally suck (similar build quality to that
of the storage lockers), they are paid very little, and Corporate works
them like dogs. :-(
-Dave
--
Dave McGuire, AK4HZ
New Kensington, PA
If these
places really cared, they'd put a checking and alarm
wire on each unit. Each person would get a unique address
for the gate that would alarm if another unit was opened
other than the one/ones asigned to that gate number.
That's what the ezStorage place I had in MD did. They also had the
employees live in an apartment on the property, so there was always a
responsible party on the premises. Tried to find that here in Raleigh
but no luck.
30 Jun
30 Jun
3:34 p.m.
New subject: dirtbags, was Re: Break-ins
On 06/30/2012 04:25 PM, Guy Sotomayor wrote:
Got a bit of a scare this week. I have most of my
equipment stored and I received a call indicating
that the lock on one of my units was missing. The management put a "temporary"
lock on the unit
until I could get down and survey what was going on (and put a new lock on it).
I went down this morning and there in front of the door to my unit was my lock that had
been cut off
(I suspect with bolt cutters). Fortunately, there doesn't appear to be any mischief
(other than having
to replace the lock). I suspect that someone was confused (and probably lost the key to
their lock)
and opened my unit. When they saw what was in it they moved on. The reason that I
suspect this
was that nothing was disturbed and there are several obvious items near the front that
would've probably
gone missing if theft was the motivation.
I put a new high security lock in place of the old padlock and will probably replace my
other padlocks
with high security locks to prevent this sort of thing in the future.
I'm sorry that happened to you, Guy. This is terrible. At least
nothing was missing! You got lucky there.
It's strangely coincidental, but a coincidence is really all it can
be. As you've no doubt heard, I've moved from FL to PA. I'm actually
still in the process of moving; eight trucks and counting. There's not
much left in my old house, mostly my collection of antique scientific
instruments. About sixty pieces, mostly 100+ years old. Also the last
ten or so racks, and my VAX-11/730.
Anyway, that house was broken into two nights ago. My mother, who
lives a few miles away, has been driving by to check on the house. She
was kind enough to deal with the detectives, etc in my absence. The
friggin' dirtbags stole some stuff and just wantonly destroyed a bunch
of other things. And, in true dirtbag fashion, left cigarette butts
everywhere.
When they were all done, many hours later, my mother returned home to
find that HER house had been broken into in her absence!
We think it was the same person, a day-laborer who she and I have both
hired on occasion to move things, etc.
I am angry beyond words.
The world is going to hell in a handbasket. There are scumbags
everywhere and they are reproducing like crazy.
-Dave
--
Dave McGuire, AK4HZ
New Kensington, PA
4324
days inactive
4325
days old
17 comments
13 participants
participants (13)
-
alexeyt＠freeshell.org -
ard＠p850ug1.demon.co.uk -
cclist＠sydex.com -
classiccmp＠crash.com -
dgriffi＠cs.csubak.edu -
dkelvey＠hotmail.com -
eric＠brouhaha.com -
ggs＠shiresoft.com -
jlobocki＠gmail.com -
jws＠jwsss.com -
mcguire＠neurotica.com -
teoz＠neo.rr.com -
useddec＠gmail.com