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Anything With A Lock (Including Your Home) Can Be Broken Into With A Cellphone
People's online passwords get hacked all of the time. It's as easy as 1-2-3 (because a shocking amount of email passwords begin with those numbers). That's why we prefer to keep our true valuables behind a real lock. You can't make a key by guessing someone's maiden name and the name of their first cat. But these days, for someone to break into your car, your house, or anything you own with a lock on it, all they need is a smartphone and a well-meaning but ill-advised app.
TBIT/Pixabay
"No two-step verification on these suckers."
Today, it is totally possible to create a 3D replica of a key based on nothing but a random photo taken from pretty much anywhere. Leave your keys on a bar for a second -- or, even worse, wear them on your belt -- and it's all over. "If you lose sight of your keys for the better part of 20 seconds, you should consider them lost," says security consultant Joss Weyers. But even if you almost never let your keys see the light of day, that's still not enough to stop thieves. All an intruder needs to do is take a photo of the keyhole and then use it to print or order a "bump key" -- a tool specifically used for the picking of locks. With a bump key, all the burglar has to do is put it in the lock and whack the back of it with a hammer to shock the pins into submission.
If that sounds too difficult, don't worry! Entrepreneurial app designers have striven to make this technology available to absolutely anyone, from your mom to that crazy ex of yours who recently got out on bail. Apps like KeyMe or KeysDuplicated are designed as a virtual backup for your physical passwords -- what old folks would call "keys." You take a snapshot of your key and the cloud saves a digital version of it forever. Then you can print out a replica of said key using a 3D printer or have a replacement shipped right to your house the next time you drunkenly flush your car keys down the toilet.
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"Shit, my house key was on the ring ..."
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