Crack a 4 Digit Combination Lock

My kids found an old Spoke-Hedz three digit lock, and wanted my help to crack it open. One of the first things I noticed was that it doesn't function like a normal code lock, where one half of the lock will open, or the lock itself separates. In this lock, the locking bail ext ...more

Master Lock combination padlocks have been known to be vulnerable to an attack that reduces their 64,000 possible combinations down to 100. I've devised a new attack for cracking any Master combo lock that simplifies the process and reduces the amount of work down to only 8 co ...more

In my last guide, I showed how you could crack the combination of any Master Lock combination padlock in 8 tries or less using my online calculator. Now, as promised, I'll be showing you how I devised the attack, which is based off the well-known technique that reduces the 64, ...more

With over 10,000 possible combinations, a four-digit passcode may seem secure, but it's fairly easy for someone to crack your code—no matter how clever you think it is. Luckily, there are many other options for securing your iPhone's lock screen—especially if your running iOS ...more

If you're ever faced with a situation of handing over your iPhone to law enforcement (or getting it taken forcibly), whether by the police, feds, or court system, there are things you can do to prevent them from getting access to all that potentially self-incriminating data. A ...more

There has been significant debate over law enforcement's right to access our digital devices in recent years. New tools from Grayshift and Cellebrite are popping up faster than ever to help government agencies, as well as traditional hackers, break into iPhones. If you're conc ...more

Samy Kamkar, the security researcher known for the MySpace Worm and his combination lock cracking skills (using an online calculator), is back—and this time, he's after your credit cards! Well, not really, but his latest project, dubbed MagSpoof, can spoof any magnetic stripe ...more

Since the San Bernardino shooting in 2014, Apple's been engaged in a game of cat and mouse with law enforcement. Authorities want access to evidence on criminals' iPhones, but Apple wants to protect all of its customers' personal data equally. The latest installment in this sa ...more

For lack of a better word, a missing iPhone sucks. Not only do you lose a physical device that cost you a small fortune, but there's also the probability you'll never see your precious data again. Hackers and thieves might, just not you. To keep this from ever happening, there ...more

While there isn't as much personal data residing on your Apple Watch as there is on your iPhone, it's still a good idea to set a passcode for it and lock it up when you're not using it. If you don't, while it's charging or otherwise off your wrist, others may be able to sneak ...more

A powered-off MacBook can be compromised in less than three minutes. With just a few commands, it's possible for a hacker to extract a target's password hash and crack it without their knowledge. The goal in this article is to acquire a target's .plist file which contains the ...more

People who know that I am a professional hacker often ask me what they can do to make their computers and personal information safe from people like me. The answer, of course, is that nothing will make you completely safe, but there are a number of measures any computer user c ...more

There's always an iPhone in our list of top phones for privacy and security, due in large part to advanced security measures like Face ID, consistent iOS updates, and easy ways to prevent unwanted access and excessive data sharing. However, some of those options actually do th ...more

Mechanical locks have been around since ancient Egypt, with the oldest known artifact found in the ruins of Nineveh, an ancient city in Assyria, Mesopotamia, which is just across the Tigris River from what is now Mosul, Iraq. It was a forerunner to our modern-day pin tumbler ...more

Chain locks are hardly highly secure to begin with, but a fun MacGyver-style trick nonetheless. Add it to the lock picking vault. Crack a Master Lock - Mathematically, No Shim. Open a Locked Door With a Credit Card. Wooden Combination Lock Demonstrates Inner Workings. DIY Digi ...more

SentrySafe puts all sorts of measures in place to protect your valuables and important documents. This particular SentrySafe has an electronic lock, four 1-inch bolts to keep the door firmly in place, pry-resistant hinges, and it's able to withstand drops of up to 15 feet. Tha ...more

Last year, the Washington Post's Ashley Halsey wrote an article on what really happens to your luggage at airports. In it, they unwittingly published a photo of the master keys the TSA uses for TSA-approved baggage locks. Now, thanks to that picture and a French lock-picking e ...more

Security researcher Samy Kamkar, best known for his MySpace Worm, and most recently for his online calculator that can help you crack any Master Lock combination, is at it again. This time he's figured out how to break into security doors that have a motion-sensing egress syst ...more

The latest film addition in the American-produced Millennium series, The Girl in the Spider's Web, was just released on Blu-ray a few days ago. As you could expect, the movie has many hacking scenes throughout, just like the previous English and Swedish language movies centere ...more

Apple AirTags are super helpful for keeping track of your keys, backpack, and other frequently misplaced items, but there are some pretty clever things you can do with them beyond finding your stuff. Apple's $29 Bluetooth beacons definitely drew some inspiration from Tile's l ...more

Let's say you forgot the code to your Master Lock combination padlock. What can you do besides buy another one? Well, there's a surprising abundance of ways to open a combination lock other than with just the combination, some of which will even let you reset the code. Of cour ...more

Lockpickers, school yourself. The incredibly prolific, woodworking whiz Matthias Wandel demonstrates the inner workings of a combination lock with his wooden mechanical model. "In terms of neat mechanical things to build out of wood, I figured a single dial sequential combin ...more

There's only one thing keeping hackers, thieves, law enforcement agencies, and maybe even the people you thought you could trust from breaking into your iPhone should they ever get possession of the device. Their odds of bypassing that thing are pretty good, but there's an eas ...more

As touchscreen phones continue to evolve, the need for physical buttons seems less and less pronounced. While hard keys may seem like an endangered component on mobile devices, save for the Samsung Galaxy line, it'd be difficult to fathom a world where volume keys are absent. ...more

You've seen his explanation of a combination lock's inner workings. You'll never lose another game of Jenga, thanks to his winning wooden pistol. And nearly 4 million YouTube users have marveled at his wooden marble machine sculpture. He's Matthias Wandel, and he's accomplishe ...more

Ever wondered how a digital combination lock works? Instructables member Nino123 is kind enough to demonstrate the inner workings, with a step-by-step HowTo on building your own. "You can connect it to anything from 1v to 400v (or maybe more that depends on the RELAY), DC or ...more

Your iPhone has a powerful feature that can keep your secrets hidden from other people, and you'll never have to worry about sharing or showing someone something embarrassing or incriminating ever again. No matter who you are, you likely use your iPhone's Photos app a lot sin ...more

The Pi-hole project is a popular DNS-level ad blocker, but it can be much more than that. Its DNS-level filtering can also be used as a firewall of sorts to prevent malicious websites from resolving, as well as to keep privacy-killing trackers such as Google Analytics from eve ...more

Smartphones are inherently bad for privacy. You've basically got a tracking device in your pocket, pinging off cell towers and locking onto GPS satellites. All the while, tracking cookies, advertising IDs, and usage stats follow you around the internet. So no, there's no such ...more

Many of our online accounts now come with an added two-factor authentication (2FA) functionality to help keep our data safe. This essentially means no one would be able to access the account until a specific set of requirements were met. It could be a combination of a password ...more

Smartphones are now indispensable when traveling. Domestic and overseas travel alike require food, navigation, translation, and so much more to make work or vacation successful. Gone are the days of lugging multiple tourist books around with you everywhere you go — you need to ...more

Design flaws in many routers can allow hackers to steal Wi-Fi credentials, even if WPA or WPA2 encryption is used with a strong password. While this tactic used to take up to 8 hours, the newer WPS Pixie-Dust attack can crack networks in seconds. To do this, a modern wireless ...more

When it comes to security, Apple is usually at the top of the pack when it comes to your personal data, minus a few embarrassing flaws here and there. However, a new iOS security concern has been discovered that protects your data less than it did before — and Apple designed i ...more

Your iPhone has a lot of personal information contained within it, so of course you want your device to be secure. You don't want that information getting into the wrong hands — or any hands other than your own, for that matter. This guide breaks down the new privacy settings ...more

One thing that makes Signal Private Messenger better on Android over iOS is that you can better secure the app with a password or passphrase. Best of all, you don't need to install an app locker to get this working — you can do it right from inside Signal. Your messages alway ...more

A four-digit passcode is what protects your iPhone, and the sensitive material within it, from strangers or nosey friends. Four digits are the only thing preventing someone from snooping through your pictures and posting them online for the public to see, and that's if you eve ...more

As messaging and texting have all but replaced the need to actually call someone, emojis have seemingly replaced our need to type out text. With a simple emoji, you can relay emotions like "I don't feel very well" or "I love you" quickly and easily, knowing that the other part ...more

Each day, we read about another security breach somewhere in our digital world. It has become so commonplace that we hardly react anymore. Target, J.P. Morgan, iCloud, Home Depot, and the list goes on and on. Those are just the big ones that get reported in the news. Millions ...more

Are you tired of your snoopy coworkers and friends lingering over your shoulder as you type in your security passcode? Unless you have the newer iPhone 5S with Touch ID that scans your fingerprint, you've only got a couple of security options—either a 4-digit numeric passcode ...more

If you've had the pleasure of owning both an iOS and Android device, you may have noticed one subtle difference on each one's PIN unlock screen. Android's lock screen requires you to press "OK" after entering the PIN, whereas iOS's simply unlocks the screen right after the las ...more

A spare key is one of those things that never seems like a huge deal until you need it. If you've ever lost your keys, had them stolen, or locked yourself out of your house or car, you know how difficult and embarrassing it can be trying to get your door open. So, how would y ...more

Combination locks in Minecraft can be really simple or frustratingly difficult, but no matter how complicated they are, some of them fall victim to the same simple exploits. First, I suggest you watch this video, which will explain the whole thing for you. Then I'll go over i ...more