To secure and safeguard our properties like our house, shops, etc., locks play a helping hand. In fact, we completely rely on the locking systems in our house. So, it becomes important for us to choose the appropriate locking system out of a wide variety available in the market today.
General lock Types
- Basic Locks: Most locks available in the hardware stores and other non-specialty retail shops are basic in design and hence named the ‘basic locks.’ These locks are easily breakable either with brute force attacks or finesse lifting attacks. These types of locks with no special security feature are used in mainstream office products such as desks, cabinets, storage boxes, luggage, etc.
- Resistant Locks: Also known as ‘commercial grade locks’, ‘hardened locks’, ‘pick resistant’. While some of these a legitimately a step up, they offer no significant protection beyond the ‘basic level’. These locks prevent an average attacker from easily opening the lock in under five minutes.
- High Security Locks: While both a ‘resistant’ lock and ‘high security locks’ are wholly non-susceptible to zero skill attacks, they perform differently when set against tact attacks with hidden entry tools. These employ a mechanism that completely blocks and render nearly useless most typical lockpicks.
- Unpickable Locks: it is a fact that to compromise an “unpickable lock”, an attacker must almost certainly attempt acts to gross devastation or otherwise render the mechanism in an easily detectable condition.
Besides these basic types of locks, there are many different kinds of locks with different security features.
- Deadbolts: These locks are installed on external doors and come in three primary varieties: single, double, and lockable thumb turn. Single deadbolts use a key cylinder on the outside and a thumb turn on the inside to open or close the lock.A double cylinder deadbolt uses a key cylinder on the inside and the outside of the door. These have the clear disadvantage of always requiring a key to open the door from the inside if it is locked. A lockable thumb turn features a thumbturn on the inside that works like a normal single cylinder deadbolt, except the thumbturn can be locked using a key so it cannot lock or unlock the door.
- Padlocks: These are not permanently attached to anything else. These are portable, free standing and come in a various sizes. Padlocks come in two varieties: keyed and combination. Combination locks are opened if the combination of number on them is entered correctly.
- Knob Locks: these are installed in addition to the deadbolts and are used as the primary source of security for doors. Since the lock cylinder is in the knob itself, these should not used as the only lock system on external doors. They can easily be broken off the door using a hammer or bypassed using pliers.
- Lever Handle Locks: In commercial settings, these are used for inner doors. Since they have a large push down style handle rather than a knob that one must grab and turn, so they are insecure and easy to break than knob locks. These can be easily broken with the torque attacks.
- Cam Locks: These locks come in several different lengths and can use a variety of “cams” to interface with another locking mechanism. There is a very large variety of cam options, and can rotate clockwise or counter-clockwise and the amount of rotation can be limited to 90 or 180 degrees. These locks are mostly used in filing cabinets, mailboxes and lower security OEM applications.
- Furniture Locks: This category includes locks for cabinet, desk, and sliding door. There are two primary styles of furniture lock, bolt style and push button style. Bolt style locks are found on desks, cabinets, and drawers, although they are also used in a wide variety of other devices. Push button style locks have a rod that comes out at the back of the lock that is used to secure things in place. When the lock is unlocked it pops out retracting the rod into the lock body. The device is then re-locked by pushing the lock back into its shell. Furniture locks can be installed onto existing hardware that may not already have a lock installed.
- Other Locks: There are many other lock likes Rim Latch locks, Jimmy proof deadbolts, T-handle locks, European locks providing better security features.
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