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Lockout Tips

Smart Locks Versus Traditional Locks

smart lock

Having a secure door lock is one of the most effective ways to protect your home and ever since smart locks came on to the market, there has been an ongoing debate about whether they are A) safe, and B) more secure than traditional locks. 24 HR Lockouts is going to look at some of the pros and cons of smart and traditional locks.

Traditional Locks

When we talk about traditional locks, we are referring to the typical locks you see on pretty much every door.  These are the locks that you know already, and will most likely have on your door. These locks need a physical key to open them.

Smart Locks

When we talk about smart locks, we are referring to a lock that is controlled by your phone, or another devise such as a fob. These locks use either Wi-Fi or Bluetooth and not a physical key to unlock your door.

Door Lock Security

Which lock is actually more secure? The one key issue regarding smart locks is that anything that is connected to the internet can be vulnerable to hacking. So if you install a smart lock for your home, there is a chance someone could break in by hacking the lock. This is one fundamental flaw that impacts all smart locks.

With traditional locks, it’s hard to give an overview of safety because they are all different and many factors have to be taken into consideration. However, we will just look at common locks that you will find on your front door that could be vulnerable to picking.

Traditional front door locks are susceptible to breaks in; arguably just as much as or even more so than a smart lock. An experienced burglar can pick a lock and gain entry to your house in seconds.  You can invest in a higher grade lock, but this is still vulnerable to ‘picking’.

When deciding which the most secure lock is for you home, you need to think about whether it’s more likely an intruder will pick your lock, or hack it. Statistics show  that burglary is a crime of opportunity, so it’s not likely an intruder will have pre-planned to hack into your smart door lock. As discussed, smart locks often run off Bluetooth or Wi-Fi, so there is always a chance this will fail, potentially leaving your home vulnerable.

There is a lot of debate about which lock is the most secure lock for your home. Both have the strengths and weaknesses.  So, comparing them on security might not make you decided one way or another. It’s the other factors that might make up your mind.

We will take a look at other factors that may impact your decision about a door lock in our next blog post, so check back with us.

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