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From the few I've watched, most of the time he just seems to end-run around the supposed security of whatever it is. The double-crescent-wrench trick is a class

by taneq 5y ago

From the few I've watched, most of the time he just seems to end-run around the supposed security of whatever it is. The double-crescent-wrench trick is a classic, "here take this super expensive fancy electronic lock, watch what happens when we just snap it in half with two tools I can fit in my pocket."

Arrath 5y ago
How is that in any way a detriment to his content? He's highlighting the utter failure of the product to provide the security it purports to. See: where he opens the small safe with a plain kitchen butter knife Maybe if he was blatantly 'cheating', by using a battery powered sawzall or an oxy-arc torch to just blast off the lock. But he uses more mundane items, like the knife, or two crescent wrenches.
- camtarn 5y ago
  I think the Ramset videos might count as 'cheating' - there probably aren't many locks designed to take the force of a .22 blank powder charge to the body and survive. And the ones about shooting locks with a 50 cal rifle definitely count ;) Still really interesting to see the limits of lock endurance nevertheless - really underscores the idea that no lock is undefeatable, it's just about how far somebody is willing to go to defeat it.
  - maxerickson 5y ago
    It's $100 at Home Depot, if people are gonna market locks as being tough it's a reasonable test.
    - camtarn 5y ago
      Huh, I had no idea they were that cheap! Always assumed it would be some multi-hundred-$ professional gadget.
- taneq 5y ago
  I meant that those are my favourite episodes, not that I see them as poor form. If you can trivially bypass an expensive "high security" lock without even bothering to pick it, that's something potential buyers should know! Too many companies focus on the fancy bling parts and ignore the fundamentals of security. It's like that 'secrets of physical pen-testers' talk where half the time they can bypass security with a combination of simple low-tech tools (eg. under-door tools) and creative thinking (eg. blowing cigarette smoke through a door to trigger the sensor). The most efficient way to get through security is to not have to break it at all. This goes for software as well as physical security.
capitainenemo 5y ago
As I recall the double crescent wrench thing was mostly for demo purposes, and to show how he thought he had a more effective technique than another youtube channel. While he sometimes he does destructive attacks just to highlight weak security (zinc, plastic) or poorly fitted parts, the vast majority of his videos are picks, often using specialised tools, like the disc detainer he helped design.
- pugworthy 5y ago
  > disc detainer he helped design You mean, to quote, "the tool that Bosnian Bill and I made"?
  - capitainenemo 5y ago
    yeeeeep ^_^
camtarn 5y ago
He tends to do several videos in a row on a theme - for instance, slicing through 'cut-proof' bags, or snapping shackles with spanners, etc. But you just need to go back maybe ten videos and you'll find that the majority of his content by far is about lock picking.

by taneq 5y ago

Arrath 5y ago

How is that in any way a detriment to his content? He's highlighting the utter failure of the product to provide the security it purports to. See: where he opens the small safe with a plain kitchen butter knife Maybe if he was blatantly 'cheating', by using a battery powered sawzall or an oxy-arc torch to just blast off the lock. But he uses more mundane items, like the knife, or two crescent wrenches.

camtarn 5y ago
I think the Ramset videos might count as 'cheating' - there probably aren't many locks designed to take the force of a .22 blank powder charge to the body and survive. And the ones about shooting locks with a 50 cal rifle definitely count ;) Still really interesting to see the limits of lock endurance nevertheless - really underscores the idea that no lock is undefeatable, it's just about how far somebody is willing to go to defeat it.
- maxerickson 5y ago
  It's $100 at Home Depot, if people are gonna market locks as being tough it's a reasonable test.
  - camtarn 5y ago
    Huh, I had no idea they were that cheap! Always assumed it would be some multi-hundred-$ professional gadget.
taneq 5y ago
I meant that those are my favourite episodes, not that I see them as poor form. If you can trivially bypass an expensive "high security" lock without even bothering to pick it, that's something potential buyers should know! Too many companies focus on the fancy bling parts and ignore the fundamentals of security. It's like that 'secrets of physical pen-testers' talk where half the time they can bypass security with a combination of simple low-tech tools (eg. under-door tools) and creative thinking (eg. blowing cigarette smoke through a door to trigger the sensor). The most efficient way to get through security is to not have to break it at all. This goes for software as well as physical security.

capitainenemo 5y ago

As I recall the double crescent wrench thing was mostly for demo purposes, and to show how he thought he had a more effective technique than another youtube channel. While he sometimes he does destructive attacks just to highlight weak security (zinc, plastic) or poorly fitted parts, the vast majority of his videos are picks, often using specialised tools, like the disc detainer he helped design.

pugworthy 5y ago
> disc detainer he helped design You mean, to quote, "the tool that Bosnian Bill and I made"?
- capitainenemo 5y ago
  yeeeeep ^_^

camtarn 5y ago

He tends to do several videos in a row on a theme - for instance, slicing through 'cut-proof' bags, or snapping shackles with spanners, etc. But you just need to go back maybe ten videos and you'll find that the majority of his content by far is about lock picking.