YOUR LOCKS ARE NO LONGER SAFE

[Richter]

Most of the break ins I've heard of lately have been hit and run for high priced, obvious items.  Bump keys seem sophisticated compared to the local gang smashing a window and running off with your Xbox.  
LMNO had the right idea.  Shim the sucker.  In the words of my father, locks only keep honest people out.  

[LMNO]

locks only keep honest people out.  

Memebomb.

[Elder Iptuous]

Lock bumping has been around for decades....

Nearly a decade. And only got widespread attention since 4 or 5 years.

(unless you count the Danish locksmiths in the 70s that, according to wikipedia, used a similar trick for disassembling locks, not opening/"breaking" them as a security issue)

1928:
http://www.google.com/patents?id=Mhx5AAAAEBAJ&printsec=abstract&zoom=4

[LMNO]

Fuck that, 333 BC, bitches.

[Rev. Stanley Baldwin]

okay, so we have our ID's or IDEAS that can be stolen...
Or, we can go fully open source...

there must be a middle ground?

[The Good Reverend Roger]

okay, so we have our ID's or IDEAS that can be stolen...
Or, we can go fully open source...

there must be a middle ground?

What the FUCK are you jabbering about?

[fomenter]

i concur with your earlier diagnosis of hebephrenia,  that guy just ain't right in the head.

[Rev. Stanley Baldwin]

grow-up

[The Good Reverend Roger]

grow-up

Goodbye.

[Golden Applesauce]

Here's a good security analysis (I think, I don't do security analysis so I'm not really suited to judge it):
http://stadium.weblogsinc.com/engadget/videos/lockdown/bumping_040206.pdf

Hand-cut keys
Each cut must be individually filed to its deepest value. In some locks, the cuts
may in fact be made slightly greater than the deepest code value, but depending
upon the keyway and specific lock design, this may not be true.

Although this procedure appears deceptively simple, that is not exactly true. A
certain amount of knowledge of the specific lock may be required in order to
know the depth of the deepest cut. Different manufacturers have different depth
and spacing specifications and they are by no means uniform. Thus, the
operative must know how far to file the key for each bitting position. It may not be
possible to ascertain this information from just a visual inspection of the key that
is being modified and certainly the information is not evident from a blank key.

Cuts must be correctly formed and properly centered for each chamber. The
ramps of each tumbler position must be uniform and parallel to each other,
although a slight variance may be self-compensating as the key may actually
deform the bitting surface as it slams against the pins. The peaks for each cut
must be sufficient to properly make contact with the base of each pin and provide
enough material to "bounce" it. If the cuts are too low and the peaks not formed
properly, then the key will not properly interact with the tumblers and the lock will
not open. If dimple keys or keys requiring special milling are utilized, then they
may be difficult or impossible to cut by hand.

Note also that you have to have the same kind of key that the target lock takes - you can't just make one bump key and be able to open every tumbler lock ever.  But since things like apartment complexes, group mailboxes, single-construction company neighborhoods, etc, typically use only one model of lock...

oh, and what Nigel said. doors with locks are not entirely a social fiction, they do have a good use and that is, delaying intruders and/or causing them to have to create enough noise to get in. also, of course, they stop opportunity criminals. if you leave your door open with your laptop in plain sight, some asshole with sticky fingers will happen to come along and steal it. if the door's locked, your average asshole doesn't carry the tools to break in all the time, neither do they go around opening random doors to see if there's laptops behind them.
I am entirely aware that someone who really wants to get in, can get in, but that doesnt make doorlocks useless for safety.

In general, it's much easier and quieter to just look for a door that someone left ajar than to break through a lock.  Being impenetrable is very hard and expensive, but being merely more secure than your neighbors is almost as effective.

[Mesozoic Mister Nigel]

Lock bumping has been around for decades....
Nigel, schlage locks are not 'bump-proof' they are simply 'bump-resistant' and ward off less skilled thieves (who will probably be entering from a window anyways, right?)
Hell, even the Medeco locks that protect our govt. secrets and cost a fortune have now been proven to be 'bumpable'
http://www.podtech.net/home/3773/defcon-2007-bumping-the-medico-lock

Bump-proof is technically impossible in a cylinder lock, but bump-proof in practical application? Yes, they are. They can technically be bumped, but in a domestic application it is so profoundly unlikely that someone would have the motivation, the skill and the bump key to do it that it's pretty much flat retarded to contemplate it.

[Reginald Ret]

This works better.

source: http://www.inventgeek.com/projects/lockpick/page4.aspx

[Mesozoic Mister Nigel]

Padlocks and door locks are different.