5 ms·

What do you mean? I tried looking up what a mechanical lock is, it's not clear to me. Would it be bad for a locksmith to sell one to you?

hannasanarion 5y ago
In this context "mechanical" means "non-electronic". Mechanical locks are desirable because they have no unknown exploits, are not reliant on third party services, don't need batteries, and cannot be attacked remotely or en-masse.
- vkou 5y ago
  Attacking a lock remotely still requires physical access to the property in order to reap the benefits of that attack. Given that most mechanical locks can be trivially picked, I fail to see the disadvantages of electronic locks. Yes, the failure modes of mechanical locks are better understood - they are understood to be incredibly serious, and easy to exploit. An $80 snap gun will open most locks, and requires zero skill or training to use. Saying that you prefer a mechanical lock to an electric one because its failure modes are well-understood is like saying that you prefer ROT13 encryption to <My homebrew encryption>. Are homebrew systems stupid? Yes. Is it likely that my homebrew system has problems? Yes. Are those problems well understood? No. Is it probably better than ROT13..? Yes, because ROT13 can be broken by a child.
  - hannasanarion 5y ago
    Security isn't the only thing that locks provide, they also provide access, which electronic locks will always be worse at. I say this as a person who used to own a smart lock and went back to a regular one because I was tired of getting locked out by dead batteries and malfunctioning bluetooth. Also on one occasion someone who was not authorized (fortunately a guest), unlocked my door and entered my house with the electronic lock because I happened to be sitting near the door on the inside. More electronics does not mean more better.
    - vkou 5y ago
      I'll agree with you on these points. The failure modes for an authorized user of an electronic lock are worse than for a mechanical lock.

hannasanarion 5y ago

In this context "mechanical" means "non-electronic". Mechanical locks are desirable because they have no unknown exploits, are not reliant on third party services, don't need batteries, and cannot be attacked remotely or en-masse.

vkou 5y ago
Attacking a lock remotely still requires physical access to the property in order to reap the benefits of that attack. Given that most mechanical locks can be trivially picked, I fail to see the disadvantages of electronic locks. Yes, the failure modes of mechanical locks are better understood - they are understood to be incredibly serious, and easy to exploit. An $80 snap gun will open most locks, and requires zero skill or training to use. Saying that you prefer a mechanical lock to an electric one because its failure modes are well-understood is like saying that you prefer ROT13 encryption to <My homebrew encryption>. Are homebrew systems stupid? Yes. Is it likely that my homebrew system has problems? Yes. Are those problems well understood? No. Is it probably better than ROT13..? Yes, because ROT13 can be broken by a child.
- hannasanarion 5y ago
  Security isn't the only thing that locks provide, they also provide access, which electronic locks will always be worse at. I say this as a person who used to own a smart lock and went back to a regular one because I was tired of getting locked out by dead batteries and malfunctioning bluetooth. Also on one occasion someone who was not authorized (fortunately a guest), unlocked my door and entered my house with the electronic lock because I happened to be sitting near the door on the inside. More electronics does not mean more better.
  - vkou 5y ago
    I'll agree with you on these points. The failure modes for an authorized user of an electronic lock are worse than for a mechanical lock.