TSA, Locks, and the Illusion of Security
Most of the locks purchased by consumers are for little more than show. They’re the same as the TSA. They give everyone a feeling of safety, without actually providing much at all. As the TSA is very ineffective, meaning they cannot find or stop the real threats, so are your locks. You buy what appears to be a big beefy padlock thinking that no one will now get past it and steal your things. But it’s really all an illusion – an illusion of security. Those locks and the TSA keep honest people honest. And that’s really about it.
It’s all done with marketing. These companies spend WAY more money trying to promote their products than actually researching, developing, or manufacturing them.
They make snazzy commercials and videos and cool pictures and you think they must be high quality. Most are not. Most companies don’t even manufacture their own products. Most are actually only a marketing company. Take Master Lock for instance, their parts are all manufactured overseas, imported to the USA, and many assembled in Mexico. They will complete one step in the USA so they can legally stamp it, “Made in USA”. Sometimes they don’t even do that! So if they aren’t manufacturing, actually making their own product, then they are just stamping their name someone else’s lock and selling it. They are a marketing company. Not a manufacturer as most people believe. So they don’t really care about the quality or how well the locks actually protect you, they simply care about sales. The “new” products that they come out with occasionally are simply products of opportunity. Meaning, they don’t research and develop new safer locks, they don’t fix the problems their locks have, they simply get ideas from the salesman and marketing bosses about the next product you might buy. A salesman looks at truck sales and says, “Hey, lots of trucks being sold now, let’s come out with a trailer hitch lock.” The discussions all revolve around sales and profits. Not discussions about actual effectiveness and protection. Don’ t get me wrong, I’m not bashing companies for making money. Ideas and production is the American way!
I’m simply trying to help you understand that the products that you depend on probably don’t do what you think they’ll do. They give you an illusion of security, and make you feel good. These days the criminals are very clever. You must have a little better education about your security. Physical and digital. You’d never go on the net without an antivirus and firewall, but you put a poor quality padlock on your shed, home, boat, or storage unit and walk away feeling good. Not knowing that the lock protecting these things probably won’t do 90% of the things you think it will do.
We’re here to show you what your locks will and won’t do. We want to show you your options and inform you about the simple facts of physical security and locks. And then let you make an informed decision for yourself.
This site is all about information. We don’t sell anything on this website. We’re just presenting information for your benefit, without leaning one way or the other – just the facts and truth.
So look through our posts and see how your current locks and techniques measure up. We also have lots of videos on YouTube that demonstrate what we’re talking about.
