it can be even worse of course there have been locks he was able to open without any tools, those were the truely bad ones the 'worse then nothing' locks
Hahaha yes! I was running down the list in my head before he dropped the rake into the shot... "Will he use a lishi? Single pin with the covert companion? Surely you can't comb it... Oooooooh, it's a rake- RIP."
The optimistic side in me is hoping that someone at Smonet might have known how bad their products are and might have sent the lock to LPL intentionally to force management to make changes that they themselves were unable to initiate.
"Ignore my objections, well they!? 'It doesn't matter,' 'it's too expensive to do it right,' 'no one cares about mechanical lock security!' 'ship it now or the shareholders will be frowny...' I'll give 'em something to be frowny about!" ~ disgruntled engineer shortly before contacting LPL
Holy crap, Smonet took down the web page for this lock! LPL embarrassed them so bad they had to kill the lock - wow! Hopefully this is a good thing, and Smonet is accepting their defeat and coming up with a more secure lock. Can't wait for Round 2 when they release it!
@@AndyTheCornbread I highly doubt it, look back 2 months from now and I bet the page is back up, or they rebrand the same lock as "new and improved" etc. My money is on them protecting their ratings and hoping people will forget this video before the page goes back up.
"Whose brainfart idea was that, Wilsons? Get his ass in here, NOW!" Now there's 4.14M people with an opinion for friends and family about their product.
One of these days LPL is going to have a completely silent video. 5 seconds for the lock, 5 seconds for the Amazon listing showing the price tag, then a hand comes in from off-screen, sets down a wave-rake, "In any case, that's all I have for you today..."
We measure lock fails by how much LPL must pad the video to meet RU-vid minimum threshold. 6 seconds gets you 2 extra picks and a story about a monkey.
"This lock is unacceptable at any price point." Is he going to bust out a wave rake from the Genesis set? "I'm going to take a turning tool and wave rake from the Genesis Set..." Nailed it!
If someone at Smonet actually sent him or asked him to review the lock, I'll bet it was a whistle blower that just could not believe what they were shipping.
LPL: "you do know what i do here, right?" CEO: "Any publicity is good publicity. Just review it." LPL fanbase: "We aren't here to see locks succeed, we are here to see them fail. And we are well entertained!"
@@stevie-ray2020 or someone in Marketing who has only seen the positive talking points about how amazing their product is, and actually believed they were providing a secure product. No company shares the cut corners with Marketing, it's easier if those people genuinely believe in the product after all.
In other news the entire marketing team at Smonet was just laid off for "unrelated reasons" and the CMO tendered his resignation, citing the desire to "persue other opportunities."
A half-decent core that would require actual picking is also...still so cheap. Especially in that quantity. Reminds of those $500 medical cabinets with filing cabinet locks.
@@popeter It's the ZNS-Y001, right? The picture on the website and the picture from a review don't exactly match but it does look the same. If so, all the pages I saw returned 200.. non 404 to be seen.
After watching hundreds of his videos, I feel like we're part of a club - LPL targets us exactly, not even new viewers given the context of his words. No bull, no fluff, just "folks, you know what I do, check out the balls on this vendor daring to call this product a viable security solution". LPL is a major influencer re: shopping (in a good way) that I scrutinize MOST things, not only locks, when making a purchase now. Less garbage purchases. Prioritize quality, always. Research, etc.
you should scrutinize using your full name on the internet and that weird little portrait you have for an avatar. prioritize quality, always. trust your gut
I would like to see a round up comparison of smart locks and all features not just the physical key; wifi/BT protocols, different keypads, fingerprint, any special features like temporary codes, cameras, notifications etc.., general construction and installation methods. He could ignore software side but for setup he could just get basic burner smart phone.
@@Gnordlan I'm not going to lie, part of me wants to take a lockpick kit to one of those demo walls just to see the reaction to me checking pick resistance on a potential purchase... but I'm not going to buy one so it wouldn't be acceptable.
It's amazing how LPL's voice, tone and pitch don't change in his vids which proves his professionalism, but damn if I couldn't hear the disdain dripping from every deadpan word in this particular one.
Oh man, I remember The Lottery, that was probably one of my first exposures to a story that made me set a book down and think "what the actual hell" probably in early middle school.
Even if the mechanical lock was any good I wouldnt want a lock that is reliant on an app to function. The moment that company stops supporting the app Im left with a useless paper weight
Not to mention the fact that apps from these companies generally steal and sell customer data. Plus these apps are generally based on the phones Mac address which can easily be spoofed, as well as a number of other security issues that generally come with this type of lock.
That entirely depends on how the app works. Most likely, the app is only used to configure the lock. Also, I don't think the app relies on cloud services - you probably just connect to the lock via bluetooth. So the app would remain working just fine. There are some security concerns about the app to lock connection, though. It's certainly possible to make this secure, but I'm not sure these guys can be trusted with that...
As an 30+ swedish viewer of your work this made me think of a show we had here called "Plus". It was a broad consumption journalism show that included reviews and stories form the real world of people being tricked by companies and in the end of most episode he trashed an item that was really bad. This lock would have gotten such a trashing and been thrown with force in that show.
The USA used to. The predecessor of PBS had a show that would, for example, show the difference between a bottle of Bayer aspirin and a bottle of store brand aspirin. The difference was: a dollar, some cotton, and 150 doses of aspirin. Corporate America shut down that show (and network) _real_ quick.
Being a lawyer, he's so careful about how he speaks so as to not give them even an argument of a lawsuit "I think you have a pretty good idea what I think of it" 🤣
Before I saw this comment, I turned to my gf and said something like "oh there's the lawyer in him. He doesn't say it rocks or sucks... Maybe he meant it's a good demo lock for a wave rake" 😂
@@Slothptimal This. I'm pretty sure it can only be considered defamation if you're giving information that you know is false. So him saying its unacceptable at any price point then demonstrating why he thinks its unacceptable at any price point seems very safe from defamation. They would have to prove he intentionally and knowingly changed the lock in some way to make it easier to pick for the sake of the video and then didn't mention his tampering in order to make the product look worse than it is.
I can picture the board meeting with the CEO saying "since I'm assured by the technical team that our lock is unbreakable what we need is to challenge that Lock Picking Lawyer guy" and the look of horror on the technical director's face as this is going on.
While a nice mental image I doubt is was anything deeper then a quick data analytics search for popular youtube channels that feature locks. Basically this channel gets hella views so we send him product and that's it.
@@TheRyujinLP it is more than likely that someone thought that they would get publicity from it, not realising that since they are selling a product that falls to a rake attack in 2022 that makes it a very insecure product. That particular flaw has been known about and dealt with successfully for 40 years and selling 40,000+ units does not make it successful, it means that the buyers had no idea that the product had little security value and were taken in by the slick marketing about app use, in other words a product designed to appeal to millenials.
The thing is that they design a lock, then have an overseas company make the cores, and probably get shafted and lied to. Once the stuff has shipped, whatever corners that were cut, there are no legal avenues. They probably promised a $10 core and put a $2 core in and pocketed the difference. I bet they are having some terse words with the manufacturer, because the lock looks like it at least made an attempt to do the right thing.
A good first step is to find someone who will give you critical feedback. Good on the lock manufacturer. The necessary second step is to use that feedback. I guess we will wait and see on that.
Reminds me of the time my uncle got a new gun safe and as he was showing it off I picked up a little screwdriver and scrap of wire off the work bench and jimmied the lock in about 8 seconds. He took the thing back to the store that day lol
When my wife and I bought our condo a few years ago, it came with a Yale smart lock with a keypad and all that business. Naturally, to use the "smart" features, the app was required. I looked up the permissions the app "requires" to be installed on my Android phone. Sure enough, the permissions list is a mile long, just to unlock my front door with my phone. And, they share just about everything with third parties. So, I immediately removed the wi-fi module from the lock. Now it's just a lock with a keypad.
@@stevie-ray2020 Androids at least - not sure about iphones - have the photos and storage as one permission. In other words if an app needs to store anything on your device then it will also have access to your photos if you let it. It's not any less of a privacy breach of course.
We all want to feel secure in our homes but if your not experienced in locks , it's nice to come to ppl like yourself for ideas. Please share your wisdom 🙏
I am not a fan of "smart locks" in general, but when that smart lock has three modes of entry on the door, and STILL requires a smartphone app to set things up, opening a fourth, and wandering access route, it makes me shiver. People put WAY too much faith in the security of their pocket computer. A computer that can be dropped, broken, lost, stolen, seized by police (with or without legal cause)... And they put access to their home, personal data and bank accounts all in that small slab.
Plus more. Basically the entire life is on that small slab. Taking away the phone is like taking away that dude’s soul. Smart locks without backup would be devastating. But those backups we have seen so far might as well does not exist at all.
@@estellebright2579 Never trust a device to do a job that a key can do, especially as with the use of non secure technology like unencoded bluetooth or NFT someone can snoop and acquire your access codes. LPL has shown how it is done and someone with a little knowledge can do it and be in and out of your place without leaving a trace or a clue as to how they got it.
@@estellebright2579 Even worse it's the possibility of the company behind the app development discontinues the app or drops it off the App/Play Store. You cannot setup your lock anymore if you eventually need.
@@JamisCasusa in a nutshell, smart lock is a stupid idea bought up by dumb people who knows little about security. Leave the lock to be a lock, and improve your home security elsewhere. Sadly, the neighbour just renovated his house with a card swiper at the front door. Sad times.
Electronic devices can also be backed up and password protected (which most people don't care all that much about, unfortunately). Devices get broken or stolen plenty, and the most I typically hear coming from that is moderate inconvenience in having lost some recipes or whatever or having to reset some passwords (although there are certainly more extreme exceptions).
I love the "sponsored" videos most. It's so hilarious when some manufacturer goes "what's the worst that could happen?" because they didn't check the content before hand xD
@@The_Muffin_Man "That story comes to mind whenever I get Emails from makers of questionable locks ..." It was an Email, not a letter. He almost certainly bought it himself to test it.
it really doesn't matter, if they sent it, or if he bought it. The email was the trigger event and I agree, that if the "higher ups" of that genius get wind of it, that the days of their employment are probably numbered.
“The Monkeys Paw” was a perfect reference for this. I think they should watch your show because they must have been looking for some free advertising without doing their due diligence. All I can say to how fast that was is WOW! I’m amazed at how easy that was.
Caveat - this is NOT a criticism of LPL. Your videos are incredibly interesting, entertaining and educational and I watch every one. We see locks picked that are not mounted on doors on this channel (with a few exceptions - most notably videos on April 1). This seems (from someone who doesn't pick locks) like an easier way to pick than one that it mounted on a door, if for no other reason than it's a "best case scenario" for picking the lock (you can dictate the angle of attack, how you hold it, where you place your tools, etc). It clearly still takes a lot of skill to open the locks. My question is this - How different is it to pick a mounted lock, in a situation where you just come upon a lock that you need to pick (or, if, say, you lock yourself out of your house, need to help a neighbor, etc)? Not for nefarious purposes, but just doing it "in the wild?"
That has to be a record for the LPL. The average time to pick the lock four times comes in at probably 4 seconds. That is beyond very good. Congrats LPL!
LPL is the first place I look before buying anything to lock a door or valuable up with. I've saved tons of time using a nail gun to open trailer hitch locks.. 22 cent nail cartridge vs a locksmith trouble call.. lock replacement was cheaper and no waiting. best wishes for the holidays LPL! 🎅
Very clever of Smonet. They have you talk about how insecure their current lock is, then release a brand new one "based on feedback from the LPL" and sell another 40k.
When the manager has a strong background in used cars, or fast food, and doesn't talk to the engineers (who, to be fair, are probably in China somewhere.).
The thing about the wave rake is, if you can use a wave rake on a lock you can use other things with similar shapes. I've wiggled open locks with letter openers that have a very similar shape, which means you can use other more everyday-type items to open locks without having an actual tool like a wave rake.
Lol. Someone just gave me one of these locks. I remembered this video was in my feed and I'm glad I came back to look at it. Now I'm going to have to decide if the person will give it to me is really a friend! 😆
If I were a smartlock producer planning on upgrading my device I'd 100% send the old device to you. Then when I throw a couple spools in I could get a second video showing how well I listen to feedback and get all the good pr points.
Just be absolutely sure the locking lug is properly shielded, and make doubly sure the hasp is not shimmable. Finally don't claim a lock body back from pot metal is actually hardened steel. At that point though, you may as well take the step to add security pins from the get go, maybe some variation in spring tension and you'll most likely see the lock opened in under a minute by LPL anyway. but he'll most likely say something like "this lock should resist an unskilled attack" which will attract cheers and plenty of sales from LPL's followers.
Or you could, you know, make a good lock in the first place. You could even engage with the security/picking community during development. Maybe not as glamorous. But just imagine how well loved your product could be if LPL featured it and gave a glowing review.
Regarding privacy: use a burner phone, or even several. Older models of all kinds can be bought for near to nothing and you can wipe them afterwards without losing anything.
From their site .... just for a giggle!!! 💯 'What makes our products unique? SMONET has a R&D team composed of more than 60 senior engineers. The security products have a series of powerful and effective functions to detect and prevent any intruders, vandalism and intruders, and protect the safety of personnel and property.'
Ah, I can fondly remember the time (pre-LPL) when I still believed in mechanical lock mechanisms. Raked open 4 times in less time than it takes to watch a Pepsi commercial.
There were 1 or 2 Pepsi commercials that, back in the day, I didn't fast-forward past. So you'd have even more time to rake the lock open a few more times.
he has! there are oms vids with "a xy lock i would use" or stuff. It boils down to "locks that use a version of security pins and are manufactured in high material quality"
He has featured a number of good locks in the past. the problem is, there's so much crap out there. He is trying to illustrate the sorry state of security in the world today and help people avoid the really bad stuff.
@@Tahngarthor I got some American Locks from pre-Masterlock buyout days, and that's what I use for my shed. As a novice / midlevel sport picker I find them pretty brutal. Apparently they're still alright. Haven't been dumbed down so far as I know.
@@KF1 well i cant even seem to rake a masterlock #3 even though they're supposed to be rakeable. So maybe it's a "low skill attack" but apparently not low enough for me lol
I was subjected to "The Monkey's Paw" in 8th grade via our drama club reading it in a particularly lifeless, monotone reading with many of the "actors struggling with vocabulary they clearly hadn't studied. It certainly made the experience memorable.
There are two ways of looking at this axiom, and it's dead wrong either way: 1) Locks exist to make money for the manufacturer and aren't there to keep anyone honest or dishonest. Since most customers are not well informed, this means they can be absolute garbage in most cases. 2) Locks are there to convince a dishonest person that it's easier and less risky to steal somebody else's stuff instead of yours. A good lock (not this trash) can absolutely do this, if it's integrated into a decent security framework overall.
After watching lots of LPL I realised I was able to do this over 30yrs ago, I worked in a vehicle scrap yard and with one worn Ford key I could open and start any Ford vehicle of that time, if only I had kept this skill so I could be as good as LPL 😉
So a while ago there was some research done into industries where reviews by experts are a big thing. The research (done by the New York Review of Books) found something interesting: if you're famous, then a bad review is bad for sales. But if you're not famous, getting a review AT ALL raises your profile. So even bad reviews were beneficial to the company.
As soon as the wave rake comes out you know the answer, we still watch to the end for the deadpan and well spoken scathing review that didnt need to be said. Keep up the good work LPL, I'll never buy a lock again without checking you havent done a video on it.
The only reason you'd use an app for what is clearly an RFID tag.. is for data collection. The fingerprint pad can be decoded by torchlight, or even by your own house's security light shining on it, the fingerprint reader by a piece of adhesive tape and your finger... and the lock by a wave rake and some enthusiastic jiggling.
He'd need to set up a separate WiFi and VPN and other annoying security workarounds - you can locate a person fairly closely with the outgoing IP address. And all for silly features few here would consider useful on a lock that no one here would ever use anyway. I'm already surprised no one has sent LPL a lock as intentionally invasive as a Nest camera to phone home - hopefully he lives in a three bedroom Faraday cage and/or he and his neighbors have no WiFi active.
Sorry I've been absent so long. I've been dealing with homelessness, a venous ulcer with which I graduated to Hugh Glass levels of stoicism (with the help of the local house flies), and a total hip replacement (I have 2) that decided to become completely disassociated from my pelvic bone. Now I am in the Hell Hole called "Skilled Nursing Facility" as I attempt to keep concentration focused on getting my wound healed (they seem to be only occasionally aware that I have this 80 cm^2 gash in my leg) so that my orthopedic surgeon can perform a revision surgery on that same leg's hip. Perhaps four months away, God willing and the creeks don't rise.
I wish you did these videos more often because not only it shows how not that secure some of these locks are for us but it's also free content for you! Not to mention maybe one of these videos persuades these lock makers to better secure their locks!
![[1491] Be Careful What You Wish For: Smonet Smart Lock](/img/logo.svg){kind=logo}
