Garage Door Lock Types

You might be wondering why we are even talking about garage door locks when your garage door opener automatically locks your garage door. Well, since so many people use their garage for different purposes, it only makes sense that you would address the security of your garage. They may choose to use their garage to store expensive equipment, use it as a home gym, office or play area. Whatever they use their garage for; they may have valuables that they do not want stolen. Another thing to consider is that your garage may be attached to your home and lead directly into your home. If someone were able to break into your garage, they could also gain access into your home. Having a lock on your door will give you the peace-of-mind that you need in knowing that you and your valuables are all safe. If you have a garage that is not attached to your home, this is all the more reason to have a lock on it. It is much easier for an intruder to go unnoticed while they are taking the necessary time to figure out how to get inside your garage. This is all that they need is time and the opportunity. Don’t let them get the things that you have worked so hard to get by neglecting the need to improve your garage security with locks.

We have highlighted some locks that we feel will work best for your garage doors.

Side Bolt Locks

This is one of the more popular locks used on garage doors. It is installed on the inside of the door. An intruder will not be able to break it because chances are they won’t even be able to access it. There is a receiving slot where a bolt is inserted. It is then put on a track. The lock will not be able to secure the door if the bolt is not placed in the slot correctly. This type of lock prevents anyone from gaining access from the outside. This type of lock affords homeowners maximum security.

Deadbolt Locks

A deadbolt lock might be the only lock you are familiar with and this would be for good reason, its effective. The deadbolt lock is usually used on the entryway of doors. Our East Cobb locksmith at Locksmith East Cobb can use a single cylinder deadbolt lock or a double cylinder. The difference is that with the single deadbolt there is only one key needed to unlock it. The double cylinder deadbolt has a keyhole on both sides and a key is required to unlock both sides of the lock. This means that if you are unable to locate one of the keys, the door will not lock. While this is definitely an effective lock, it can be problematic during an emergency. Intruders feel defenseless when there are deadbolt locks installed.

Electronic Locks

This type of lock uses personal characteristics to identify the person attempting to gain access. Your electronic lock might use something like your fingerprint to identify you or whomever you wish to have access. Several people can be programmed to use your electronic lock. Although it is a little on the expensive side, it is extremely effective against intrusion. If the person who is trying to break in is not recognized by the system, the lock will not disengage. It is really just that simple. The homeowner may elect to use a code that they then provide to everyone in their household. The code can be changed when needed and multiple codes can be distributed. Perhaps you have houseguest and you want to give them access into your home. Once they leave, you can make their code inoperable. You will have to use the services of a reputable locksmith in order to install this type of lock to ensure they will not use the codes to gain access into your garage.

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‘Smart’ locks yield to simple hacker tricks

Posted Aug 8, 2016 by Devin Coldewey

It’s an open secret that the Internet of Things (if we must call it so) is pretty terrible, whether in standards, interoperability or security. You don’t really expect good security in a smart light bulb or coffee maker, though. A smart front door lock, however, really shouldn’t be quite this easy to hack.

Two different presentations at DEF CON this year made it clear that there’s a long way to go before we should start trusting the average smart lock — or even the nice ones (though if you had to choose, the latter is the better). This may surprise you, or you might have been saying it for years. At all events, these guys proved it with gusto.

Anthony Rose and Ben Ramsey, from Merculite Security, showed off a bit of lock hacking done with less than $200 worth of off-the-shelf hardware. Some opened easier than others, but in the end 12 out of 16 yielded.

Locks from Quicklock, iBluLock, and Plantraco transmitted their passwords in plaintext, making them vulnerable to anyone with a Bluetooth sniffer. Others were tricked by the attacker simply replaying the same data they snatched out of the air when a legit user unlocked the door. Another entered a failstate and opened by default when it received an encrypted string that was off by one byte.

Worth noting as well: doing a bit of wardriving, the two found plenty of locks identifying themselves as such, making it easy for an attacker to find devices to listen in on.

This was a pretty poor showing altogether, although a few resisted Rose and Ramsey’s attempts: the Noke and Masterlock smart padlocks survived, and a Kwikset Kevo did as well — until they opened it with a screwdriver. Okay, that’s cheating, but the point stands.
Perhaps of most concern, only one of the 12 vendors the two contacted to inform them of these flaws responded — and even then, there was no plan to fix anything.

One that Merculite failed to crack was the August door lock, a rather more well known brand than the others (MasterLock notwithstanding). Fortunately, someone else had already made it their mission to break the thing wide open.

Read more: ‘Smart’ locks yield to simple hacker tricks

Related Article: Smartphone Deadbolt Lock

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