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Comment by bluGill | Hacker News Reader

60 years ago it wasn't hard to hot wire a car. Car locks are very good, 20 years ago encryption was added so you can't start the car withour the authorized keys. Decades before that the lock was attached to the steering wheel so you couldn't drive even if you srarted.it. and car locks are hard to pick (unlike many house locks)

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... btw, since we know how to make locks that are harder to pick, why _don't_ we use them basically everywhere including houses. Are they a lot more challenging to manufacture?

I'm not an expert, but my understanding it is about tolerance and quality control, both of which increase costs. It is rare for someone to pick a lock to get into a house so it isn't worth the costs.

All locks can be picked, but it takes more skill for the better ones. Modern encryption is (so our math says, though i'm not sure what the limits are) essentially unbreakable, and so a better solution.

When theft via lock picking becomes an issue, people will buy those locks. I doubt it will be an issue as long as bolt cutters and batter powered angle grinders exist.

In a practical sense the lock is an indicator of limited access.

The ability to gain entry is trivial given a few minutes and intent.

The locks in my house are there so the glass has to be broken. The glass is there to give me enough time to respond.

If someone is picking my lock they are involved in a hit, not theft.

Good question. My apartment in Europe had a steel plate door with a gargantuan lock that with 10 latch points. My apartment in the US has a cheap ~$30 commercial deadbolt you could defeat by pushing really hard. I looked at getting one of those locks and the price was astronomical.

I was working on adding a deadbolt to an exterior door. I started doing a lot of fine measurements to drill it out because I didn't want to crack the glass which was kind of close to the edge of the door.

Which I then questioned what the hell am I doing adding a deadbolt to a door with a massive window. If someone wants to get in, they're gonna get in. The only thing that really keeps my family safe is the fact the vast majority of my neighbors don't want to hurt me, not some lock on my door.

Actually it is probably easier to punch through the walls bypassing the door completely as opposed to breaking the glass. Though glass does break and so that is what someone will try.

The vast majority of my exterior is brick, but the area in question is just vinyl siding so you're not entirely wrong. A few more layers to get through: the vinyl siding, foam backing on the vinyl, vapor barrier, old cellulose insulation, then interior wall.

Just further shows the futility of putting an expensive lock on a regular home door. If someone wants in, they'll get in. The lock is definitely more of a "please don't come in" than anything real.

Locks keep honest people and opportunistic criminals out. A high end lock does you no good if it's left unlocked or an employee props open the door with a chair. If someone is willing to break and enter the lock is no longer the weakest point.

Cameras and alarms help a bit more.

The possibility of someone being home or men with guns responding is a big deterrent. Smash and grabs are usually done on cars not homes.

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