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I've bought a reinforced travel bag similar to this one: https://www.bhphotovideo.com/images/images2500x2500/pacsafe_10480100_travelsafe_12l_gii_portable_153979

by simias 5y ago

I've bought a reinforced travel bag similar to this one: https://www.bhphotovideo.com/images/images2500x2500/pacsafe_10480100_travelsafe_12l_gii_portable_1539797.jpg https://www.bhphotovideo.com/images/images2500x2500/pacsafe_... The original lock is absolutely puny so I decided to learn more about padlocks to find a suitable replacement. As far as I can tell the short of it is that almost all of these locks are trivially unlocked without having to use brute force: - All mainstream combination locks are trivially decoded with a modicum of knowledge. You can teach yourself to do it in 5 minutes with a youtube video. It's annoying because not having to carry a key is definitely nice, but in terms of anti-theft measures you might as well put a "plz don't steal" post-it on your bag. - Many small padlocks use a spring loaded mechanism to lock the shackle (similar to the one in this post). Mostly for convenience as far as I can tell, since it means that you can lock it without having to use the key. It turn that means that most of these locks can be bumped (like in this post) or shimed. - Many (but not all) of these lock have a very poorly designed core that often allows bypassing the pins entirely (you insert a lockpick all the way through the keyway and you can trigger the unlocking mechanism at the back without having to actually pick anything). Even if that's not an option the vast majority of small padlocks out there are not hugely pick-resistant. Basically a semi-competent locksmith will be able to get them open in less than a minute. And of course at this size you don't even need any skill if destructive entry is an option, you can break them open with two wrenches. My conclusion is that these small locks are really about keeping honest people honest and preventing opportunistic theft, but if you want to go beyond that you'll have to take a big leap in size and cost.

CaptainZapp 5y ago
I never thought that a luggage lock is a great theft deterrent. It's useful that your luggage can't just be opened up quickly and on the sly. For example when you check a suitcase in by baggage handlers [1] Same goes for hotel room safes. I would certainly not store anything very valuable in there. But to lock away a couple hundred euros, some equipment and your cards, which you don't need to carry on your person it's good enough. Certainly much better than just having your valuables lying around openly. [1] Sure, a baggage handler with a set of TSA master keys can open it very quickly and possibly discreetly. Who has ever thought about anything which can go wrong with that implementation? e: clarification
- nucleardog 5y ago
  > Same goes for hotel room safes. I would certainly not store anything very valuable in there. But to lock away a couple hundred euros, some equipment and your cards, which you don't need to carry on your person it's good enough. For stuff like that I usually just try and find a good hiding spot. The hotel safes are trivial to open (most don't even bother changing the factory master password...) and that's the first place anyone is going to look for stuff to steal. It's kinda like if the hotel room had an open wicker basket with a sign saying "STORE VALUABLES HERE"--you'd probably keep them literally anywhere _but_ there.
jccalhoun 5y ago
From what I've seen on youtube, pretty much every lock you see on a day to day basis is trivially bypassed. Unless you buy a fancy lock (and even then there is probably a way around it if you work hard enough), they act as a deterrent but if someone wants to break in or steal something they can whether it is a padlock or a door lock.

by simias 5y ago

CaptainZapp 5y ago

I never thought that a luggage lock is a great theft deterrent. It's useful that your luggage can't just be opened up quickly and on the sly. For example when you check a suitcase in by baggage handlers [1] Same goes for hotel room safes. I would certainly not store anything very valuable in there. But to lock away a couple hundred euros, some equipment and your cards, which you don't need to carry on your person it's good enough. Certainly much better than just having your valuables lying around openly. [1] Sure, a baggage handler with a set of TSA master keys can open it very quickly and possibly discreetly. Who has ever thought about anything which can go wrong with that implementation? e: clarification

nucleardog 5y ago
> Same goes for hotel room safes. I would certainly not store anything very valuable in there. But to lock away a couple hundred euros, some equipment and your cards, which you don't need to carry on your person it's good enough. For stuff like that I usually just try and find a good hiding spot. The hotel safes are trivial to open (most don't even bother changing the factory master password...) and that's the first place anyone is going to look for stuff to steal. It's kinda like if the hotel room had an open wicker basket with a sign saying "STORE VALUABLES HERE"--you'd probably keep them literally anywhere _but_ there.

jccalhoun 5y ago

From what I've seen on youtube, pretty much every lock you see on a day to day basis is trivially bypassed. Unless you buy a fancy lock (and even then there is probably a way around it if you work hard enough), they act as a deterrent but if someone wants to break in or steal something they can whether it is a padlock or a door lock.