Brava Lever Handle commercial grade entrance leverset

• fire rated to 2 hours
• cylindrical fixing
• outside lever locked or unlocked by key
• inside opened by lever at all times. Push button locks or unlocks outside lever
• 70mm backset
• 75mm diameter rose
• suit door thickness 35-45mm
• incorporates the popular PD 8221 barrel
• compatible with most restricted keying systems
• supplied boxed and colour coded
• mounting hardware included
• 2 keys supplied
• finished in bright chrome
• Available from locksmiths in Brisbane
  

Technology making us less secure

If you have never had a virus or malicious piece of code or web page on your computer then you are luckier then me. The net is like an open season for people trying to mess with your computer in some way. As speeds get faster it seems it allows for this type of attacks and risk of infection on a larger scale.
As you would know there is also a greater spread of information. Once where you would have never known things exist all you need to do now is a search and you will probably find it. This type of information at our fingertips can make us more informed for sure, but it also is used by the less scrupulous to gain information and tools to breach security in more ways then we think.
Identity theft and Phishing are terms you would probably be familiar with but the security issue less of us are probably aware of is old fashioned lock picking.
Locks secure everything from our homes and business to government buildings, bicycles, cars, lifts, mail boxes, security screen doors etc. Locks come in all forms. Security of locks - Some are good, some not so good. Your locksmith will sell you a basic lock which will be of basic security, or he can sell you a good lock that has a high security cylinder. The high security locks available in Brisbane are really quite good.
There is a wealth of information on how to break into different types of locks, cars and just about anything on the net. Some of this information is pretty poor, but some is pretty hi tech. In fact there are groups out there who pick locks for sport and post their detailed results for you to see.
The information of how to pick locks or break into a certain car for instance is good, but what adds to the power of this information is the availability of specialised locksmith and lock picking tools.
If you need to break into a specific car, do a search and you will probably find a specific tool designed for that car. Some tools are very clever and hi tech. Whats more they are cheap! Competition from many different sellers makes them readily available to anyone and cheap to buy.
There are better locks that you can buy that are more secure. Contact a Locksmith Brisbane to show you better more secure options, or your local locksmith in your area. As there are good security options for many applications.
Most locks are made to be cost effective. This is probably not the first or best criteria when making a lock. Locks you would think should be made to be secure. You would expect that manufacturers would be doing everything possible to make their locks more secure. While this is true of an exceptionally small number of manufacturers, most locks are still made to be price friendly to a consumer. This seems to lead to the majority of locks being basic and easy to open.
The Yale lock design and the wafer or disc type of lock are used in the majority of lock systems in Brisbane. Information on these types of locks is particularly abundant, but so is information and tools on a number of higher security locks.

Cutting High Security Car Keys

Laser keys or Track keys are cut on a key cutting machine that mills the cuts into the key. The cuts are either milled on the outside edges of the key or the inside of the key blade.
You may have seen these keys duplicated in a key cutting kiosk in a shopping centre. Most key cutters cut these keys on a special key cutting machine that traces the original key and cuts the blank key at the same time.
A locksmith will probably cut these keys on a more sophisticated computer controlled key cutting machine or a CNC Key cutting machine. The Computer controlled machine will generally cut the key to code. First it will decode your original key by using a touch probe then take the information and use it to cut a key that is much more accurate then a traced key.
IF you have lost car keys then a replacement key has to be generated to code. This can be done either by using a Jig or by using a computer controlled key machine.
A Jig is rather simple. You set the correct depths then trace the jig onto a blank key. The computer controlled key cutting machine is more acurate and quicker and more common place in locksmith shops.

Key Cutting Machine on CNC Video

Which is the best deadlock for my door?

There are a wide range of deadlocks on the market. It is not always a case of which one is the best, rather which is the most suited to my door and security needs. there is also a large range in quality.
From a security viewpoint many deadlocks sold in hardware shops and markets are of low quality. I say security viewpoint because many of these deadlocks look very well made and well finished, but lack a decent level of security which you would expect. Price of a deadlock and Brand Names are not a good indication of its security. Many low quality deadlocks are sold at much higher prices then high quality deadlocks and many reputible companies sell low quality locks in hardwre stores. As a Brisbane locksmith I often get calls to unlock these types of low security locks and quite often they are fitted on upmarket and new homes.
Concidering the type of door and door frame is imortant. Do you have timber frames, or metal frames? a Rimlock design of lock is sometimes better for a wooden frame door, due to the fact that they get a stronger hold onto the frame. A metal frame door may be better suited to a tubular deadlock, becuse the frame is much stronger.
The Door the lock is fitted to is also important. If it is a fire door then maybe no lock at all can be fitted as it would void its fire protection and function. Many unit doors are fire doors. A solid wooden door is suited to a range of locks including mortice deadlocks, tubular deadlocks and rimlocks. Hollow core doors have less strengh then solid doors and in many cases a tubular deadlock is better suited. The door and frame should be looked at together to assess the best deadlock for the door.
The security of the deadlock is often judged by the key and locking mechanism. Once again just about all locks sold in hardware shops use a low security lock cylinder, even though many manufacturers give themselves high security ratings. Low security lock cylinders can be opened easily by picking the lock. The skill involved in picking many dealocks is low and can be learned by a theif quickly and easily.
There are many high security dealocks and deadlock replacement lock cylinders on the market. The price of a high security deadlock is not usually that great. If you have a lock that can be picked easily then that defeats the purpose of fitting a deadlock in the first place.
It may not be nessecary to fit a high security lock. You should always assess the risk of being broken into and the value of what the deadock is securing.
If you do live in a unit with a fire door and can not have a deadlock fitted then look at other options for securing the door. There are more secure locks available for these unit doors now. Always chek to see if the lock is fire rated to suit your door.

How difficult is it to steel a car?

Steeling cars was much simpler before engine immobilizers were introduced. Some of the most common cars stolen were Mazda 323, 626 and The Ford badged Japanese cars.
These cars were easy to steal because bypassing the locking system was easy. The cars were basic (no computers) and information on stealing them was easy to come by.
Even if you couldn't bypass the locking system getting the engine to run wasn't that hard. All you needed was Fuel, Spark, and power to the starter motor. This was not hard and it was what was commonly known as 'Hot-wiring a car'.
Somewhere around 1996/97 most car manufacturers started to include an engine immobilizer in their cars. The Mazda 323,626, etc also recieved an engine immobilizer. After the engine immobilizer was fitted in the Mazda the number of thefts of these vehicles (and most immobilized cars) dropped dramatically. Hot-wiring a car became quite complicated. The Mazda 323 for example had the immobilizer integrated into the car's ECU. The ECU controls all the engines electrical processes, including Fuel & Spark. So in order to hot-wire a Mazda 323 you had to bypass the ECU or Hack the ECU.
The average car thief dosent want to be hanging around for very long rewiring a car or hacking a car's security computer/wiring. Also the average car thief isn't that smart. If you were that smart why would you steal a 323 in the first place, and if you were really that smart why would you be stealing cars at all?
While many early model immobilized cars require a high degree of information and time to hack the security systems there are many cars that are vulnerable to hacking methods.
I am not sure on the real statistics of cars being stolen, but there is an underlying problem that exists with all security systems. The problem is that if you have enough time to work out a process of how to bypass, hack, pick the lock on a particular model of car, then that process would work on every car of the same model, due to the fact that they are mass produced and all exactly the same.
To sum up most modern cars are more secure due to the introduction of immobilizer systems. There are some cars that have easily exploitable flaws and could be stolen very quickly. Just watch a locksmith. Hopefully it will take the thieves more time and expense to learn the art of bypassing these security systems.

Lost Car Keys

Ever wondered how a locksmith can make keys to a car when all keys have been lost?
Ok so probably have never really thought about it, but its not all as easy as you might think.
First of all the locksmith needs to make the actual physical key that will turn in the lock. That is assuming that the car has a key. Some cars don't even have a key in the traditional sense anymore.
The locksmith will firstly try to obtain a code to cut the key. The code can be obtained from 1, a log book 2, the car dealer or 3 off a door lock. Once the key code is obtained the locksmith will look up the code and cut the key.
If no code is available the locksmith may either pull a door or boot lock out of the car and take the lock apart and decode it, or read the combination through the keyhole. In many cars a door lock only has a part of the code. The code will have to be entered into a computer to obtain the complete code for the car.
In older cars this is all that is necessary to make a key.
Newer cars also have an electronic immobilizer system. The Immobilizer system usually consists of a Reader around the lock, A transponder chip that is embedded in the head of the key and an immobilizer box or ECU that contains the computer to decipher the code.
For a locksmith to be able to make a key to start the car he must also be able to add the transponder chip into the key with the correct code.
One way to do this is to place the correct Chip into the head of the key and to reset the car using the car's diagnostic port. A special programmer is used to reset the car immobilizer system to accept the new chip and code.
Not all cars can be reset and programmed through the diagnostic port. Many cars need to have the immobilizer computer replaced or have the box removed for reprogramming. The Locksmith has to take out the immobilizer and read the code off a chip with an EEPROM reader. That code can then be used to program a new transponder chip that will start the car. A locksmith that can perform this task will be able to make a key to a car much cheaper then a car dealer who can only replace parts. Many Toyota cars can only have keys made by using this process.
Once the transponder chip has been successfully programmed and the key cut the car is ready to go.