In recent months various news casters plus several contributors to YouTube have created quite a stir regarding “bump keys.” These people lead you to believe that all locks are susceptible to this type of attack.

Bump keys are sold on eBay and other websites. They basically take advantage of one of Newton's Laws. Objects in motion tend to stay in motion and objects at rest tend to stay at rest.

Lock pick guns also use this science to open locks.

To set the record straight, no one technique works universally. The bump keys work better on certain shapes of keyways and also on locks that have greater tolerances. To use them you have to create a certain amount of noise. Noise works against would be burglars. It lets everybody inside and outside that there is something going on.

The same is true for pick guns either manual or electric.

If you are worried about such things, there are a few things you should do around your home or business.

The least expensive security tip is to cut down or trim bushes and branches near your door that might prevent a passerby or neighbor from seeing a person trying to get into your home or business.

Let you neighbors know just who they might expect to see at your home and what type of vehicle they drive.

Turn on your lights. Burglars do not want to be seen. If you have too much light on your property they will want to go visit someone else.

Alarms and alarm signs work in your favor. If you don't have an alarm but can get a professional sign in the front of your home, it can keep some dishonest people away. Just don't tell anyone outside of your family that the sign might be a fake one. Burglars are often from families that know you. All families have someone that you wouldn't want in your home. Keep personal schedules to yourself as much as you possible can.

Noise maker alarms can scare off some burglars. They don't have to be connected to an alarm station. If you can afford it, I recommend connecting your alarm. You could get a discount from your insurance company. You can't keep a burglar from going through a wall to get inside but a noise maker will scare off most.

Back to the bump keys. They and other varieties of picks won't work on several makes of locks.

Medeco, Abloy, Kaba, Primus are some that come to mind. They just aren't pickable. Bump keys will not work in this type of lock.

I remember attending a security convention. Abloy Lock company had some of their locks attached to their table. Behind the table was a large Plexiglas container filled with cash. $5000 worth of cash to be exact. They offered all at the convention that if someone picked their lock they would get the cash.

Several thousand locksmiths lined up for a week to attempt this. The only person who made any money on this was a charlatan who was selling a bogus Abloy Lock pick.

Medeco generally is not pickable although in the last 30 years their lock has been picked maybe a couple of time. Kaba isn't easily picked.

You owe it to your self to find a reputable locksmith in your area and ask him or her which pick resistant lock that they service and sell. No locksmith sells all the brands. They usually will have one or two of the better ones. Expect to pay more but isn't your family's safety worth it?

I will tell you that Abloy and Medeco have deadbolts that exceed the strength of the average home door. Metal doors and metal frames are of course the strongest. You usually don't find these frames on homes. Your home might have a metal over foam door for insulation but that is not the type of metal door I am talking about.

A cheaper(than Medeco or Abloy) deadbolt is made by Lori Lock. Most all locksmith can get you into these and they can be fitted with a pick resistant cylinder. They can be 50% less and almost as strong.

Back in the early 80's Lori used to attach one of their deadbolts to a bobcat or a tractor for TV commercials. They used to have the bobcat take off fast and the door and frame would be pulled out of the house.

Home Depot, Lowe's or most hardware stores do not carry high security deadbolts. They will tell you that they do as they have to keep their stock moving. They carry Schlage which used to be one of the better locks. The Schlage line that home centers carry is marginal at best. I have seen this deadbolt fail under physical attack too many times. Schlage's standard commercial bolt isn't a lot better.

What ever deadbolt you install in your home, make sure you have a locksmith reinforce the door frame. If you omit doing this one thing, having the best deadbolt won't do you any good in a home.

Have him check your window locks while he is there. There are some reasonable add on locks for windows that would still allow your family to get out of a window in case of fire.

Window wells into your basement can be easily circumvented. One of the cheapest and best remedies is to attach two 2” x 1/4” by 48” metal straps to the concrete wall over your basement window. Any metal shop can cut you the size you need and you attach them with lag bolts and lad shields that are available in any hardware store.

The last tip I will give you today is...Make sure your garage door opener is not set on a common opening combination. If you are not sure, check with your overhead door company.

Hardware stores often carry a standard programming on the openers they sell. In some neighborhoods you can buy one at the store and open and close other peoples garages on your way home. With modern electronic technology this doesn't need to be.

I will talk about safes and what you need to know about them in my next posting.