Introduction

Here we will discuss securing physical property in buildings (not automobiles) and, to a lesser extent, the safety of the people in a building, either from rapists or from fire.

We are not concerned with fortifications that aid the occupants in the defense of their building against an armed attack. If you are a prepper or survivalist who anticipates holing up in your house after the collapse of civilization, this is NOT the blog for you.

I am not one of those ALOA people trying to whitewash the fact that there is a whole community of burglars who know how to pick and bump open locks. But neither am I one of those gurus trying to get my 15 seconds of fame by teaching the slavering internet masses these skills.

I will provide an honest assessment of how well locks resist picking, bumping or twisting the plug. I will discuss modifications that can be made to existing locks and will propose a new design that will eliminate these problems with far less complication and expense than Medeco, the current standard. I will also address the Matt Blaze problem.

I am a locksmith, not an interior decorator. The price of locks varies significantly depending on their color and other style feature. When I rank locks by price, I will choose them all in the same color. If you have a particular color or style in mind, it is probably not available in high security.

I have not been paid to review any lock, nor will I accept payment for a favorable review. But neither am I one of those more-sarcastic-than-thou bloggers who sneer at everything; I understand that lock manufacturers must balance security against cost.

This blog can be profitably read by IT people who need to secure their server, and also by people living in low-rent apartments who just need a good $20 lock to keep their scruffy neighbors from stealing their $200 TV.