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Quite possibly the most dispiriting youtube channel I've seen. His chipper and near instantaneous lock picking expertise has basically caused me to fear imminent loss every time I lock my bicycle or a door. I suspect that not at all of his 1.8M subscribers are viewing for their entertainment pleasure. Still, something to behold. [0].

[0] https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCm9K6rby98W8JigLoZOh6FQ

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Then I would suggest you're missing a large part of the point. When's the last time you heard about a theft that actually involved a picked lock?

It's super rare in practice, because lockpicking is a high-skill sport, and most criminals are not doing crime for the skill or the sport of it.

Theft almost always relies on doors that weren't locked in the first place, chains that were locked but easily cut, or simply going Kool-Aid-man through a wall or a fence or whatever. The fact that locks CAN be picked for sport has nothing to do with how often they ARE picked in the real world.

Knowing about locks, though, gives you the advantage of a bunch more knowledge. Like how common the CH751 key is, or how stupid the "TSA lock" idea is. Or understanding why you shouldn't post proud photos of the key to your new house on social media. (If I ever do this, I plan to troll the audience by dangling a 1284X in front of the camera.)

It's a good point; once you start thinking about it you realize that the locks are only a (small) part of overall security. For example, can someone break a nearby window pane and unlock the door? Can they bust open the door with a strong kick? Are the windows on the second floor (for a house) always locked? A good book on this topic, about how differently thieves think about space and common security features, is "A Burglar's Guide to the City".

You’re generally trying to make a burglar rob somebody else’s house instead of your own, which is why things like visible cameras, nighttime lighting, and dogs are more important than locks.

You can’t really defend against a determined adversary. I lived down the road from somebody who had a significant collection of rare coins. He had good locks, hardened doors, and a state of the art security system which was bypassed by using a chainsaw to cut a hole in the wall of his house.

Also, some security mechanisms can make your home less safe by making it difficult to escape in the event of a fire. A fireman once told me he’s seen people die in fires because there were security bars over the windows and they couldn’t get out.

I've thought about that a lot recently as I have a double cylinder deadbolt I want to replace our single cylinder one with, since the door has 3 panes of glass that can be easily smashed allowing the single deadbolt to then be easily opened.

Sounds great until you think about a fire situation. I think we're just going to keep an extra key very close by but that solution only works because we don't have kids; I'm not sure I would go with the double cylinder deadbolt if we did.

(And yes I know it's against the building code but I also know people regularly do double cylinders on their own personal homes. You'd never do it in a rental, AirBnB or commercial building of course.)

At least in my region in France they would usually use a small haydraulic the-opposite-of-press to push the door. A few seconds, your lock does not matter, ghe weakest point will give up first.

That's kind of the point of his channel (and Bosnian Bill's too).

You pick a lock based on your risk tolerance and security needs. Not all locks will stop a determined attacker - and not all assets need "nuclear code" type security either.

For the casual passer-by, a locked bicycle is usually enough to deter theft.

> Not all locks will stop a determined attacker

I feel comfortable in saying that no consumer locks can stop a determined attacker.

Right, same as when talking about computer security and threat models.

> Quite possibly the most dispiriting youtube channel I've seen. His chipper and near instantaneous lock picking expertise has basically caused me to fear imminent loss every time I lock my bicycle or a door.

While that's fair, it also means that when he gives a bike lock recommendation[1], it carries a lot of weight.

___

1. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2_9x9iiJ_Z0

It's worth remembering that he's probably in the top 0.1 percentile of all lockpickers in the world. And he has a massive pile of tools, some custom-made, and experience with a huge variety of lock types. And usually picks or opens the lock the first time before shooting, so you're only seeing his well-practiced openings. And he doesn't produce video at all of any locks he hasn't been able to pick.

Though he is pretty up-front about which locks take elite skill and tools to pick, and which ones can be opened by a first-timer with a bent-up paperclip.

And yes, he really is up there in lock picking skills He literally won a lock picking competition last year [1] . Not to mention that you're seeing the end result of some amount of effort in each little video, he's talked a bit about it in the past [2], but like all of these sort of videos, you're only seeing the "good bits".

My big take away from his channel is two fold: Avoid locks that are well know to have big security flaws, like the paperclip attacks. Otherwise, the point of entry will probably be a broken window or busted door.

It's really a fun hobby, I've got a few locks I rotate from a larger collection on my desk that I try to pick anytime I'm waiting for a compile to finish.

[1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Avn7ABVHPYk [2] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lkfBKQuLkRc

He does have some videos about locks that neither he nor Bosnian Bill have been able to pick. It's usually a combination of circular core plus a very eccentric key that needs to be inserted a cerftain way to be able to access the pins.

>And usually picks or opens the lock the first time before shooting, so you're only seeing his well-practiced openings.

Probably true, but he does have some videos where he picks a fresh new lock sent to him, e.g. this one is uncut and includes the unboxing of the package:

https://youtu.be/UcEnYRa74zM

on the other hand, it's sort of alarming how many gun locks can be defeated with a strong magnet. no skill required.

I don't find it dispiriting so much as eye-opening and a good laugh. I can't help but laugh out loud when I see a pretentious-looking padlock defeated by a sliver of metal from a Red Bull can. Or, even better, a "smart" lock defeated with a magnet. Conversely, it's scary how many products intended to secure guns are really not up to the task - something to think about when you're looking for one.

But, as with all things, use the best tool for the job. In some places, a cheap Master padlock is all the security you need, though it wouldn't hurt to get something a bit better. It's definitely worth checking out his channel if you're thinking about buying a lock.

Don't fret, people who want to steal your bike are just going to use bolt cutters anyway. Most people who are too lazy to get a real job and resort to burglary are also too lazy to learn how to pick locks.

I'm bummed I live in a lame state that makes it illegal to own lockpicks.

I've heard portable/cordless angle grinders are used pretty commonly [1].

I didn't know there was any U.S. state (if that's what you mean by state) that makes it illegal merely to own lockpicks.

You might want to check out the TOOOL state laws page [2], it might be more nuanced than you think. For example you might be OK to own them but not travel with them. Or the burden might be on you to prove lack of intent - but if you only keep them in your own home, that would be easy.

[1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ppZW-PppbtI [2] https://toool.us/laws.html

Virginia makes it a crime to have lockpicks on your person in the process of committing a burglary. The next line states that having lockpicks on your person is considered proof that you are committing burglary.

https://law.lis.virginia.gov/vacode/title18.2/chapter5/secti...

Good point. But a counterpoint is, it's impossible to commit a burglary if you're in your own home or vehicle. You have a legal right to be there (by full ownership or a lease granting possession), so burglary isn't possible there.

He doesn't just pick locks - he also looks at difficulty of using bolt cutters, hydraulic cutters, angle grinders, etc. to break locks where relevant.

With bikes, they just cut the chain. The people who are stealing bikes and such are not exactly sophisticated smart crime masterminds.

If you think about it, the little money you get from stealing bikes are not really worth the risk and effort.

If you are concerned about locks being picked, look at Abloy Protec2 locks. Not cheap (also not the most expensive by far). But they come in whatever shape and size you need and they are more or less considered 'impossible' to pick. The more serious concerns will end up being what type of padlock and chain will you be using.

A little less pricey but still good are Schlage Primus locks. Deviant Ollam mentioned them in a recent video [1]. Like Lock Picking Lawyer ("LPL" in the locksport community), Deviant has a good mix of security talk and entertaining banter.

[1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pwkeSzbsLsU

Not cheap, but probably much cheaper than living someplace where things don't grow legs.

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