How do you open a door if there is a key inside?

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The quality of a lock is judged by how easy it is to prevent unwanted access. However, there are situations where the presence of a lock can represent a problem even for those who are authorised to gain access. This is especially the case where you need to quickly gain access to a house or a room to rescue a person closed inside who is unwell and unable to open the door. Indeed, with common double cylinder locks, if the key has been left inserted in the keyhole inside the house one is often unable to open the door from the outside, even having another correct key. To avoid this situation, which can result in the loss of valuable time in the event of an emergency, there are cylinders designed specifically to be opened (with the key!) from the outside even if a key has been left inside. Continue reading →

universal security escutcheon

How to install a security escutcheon on locks which are not set up for it (i.e. without DIN holes)

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The security escutcheon, or defender, is a powerful shield that protects European profile cylinders against the most common attacks. In order for it to be fitted the lock must normally have special 2 holes for inserting the fastening screws, but if these are not present (either because the lock is simply not provided with them or because it is a version for metal sections where there is not the actual space to make them) the cylinder can still be protected with a universal security escutcheon. Continue reading →

Safes: only with a combination or also with an emergency key?

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It may happen that an electronic safe can no longer be opened. It seems unlikely, but the most common reason is simply that the combination has been forgotten. Another possible reason is that the batteries are flat. When purchasing an electronic safe for the first time one generally also has the fear of not being able to open it due to an electronic faults, but, in the case of good quality products and workmanship, that is an extremely remote event.

In all these situations it is very useful to be able to open the safe with an emergency key. However, the key poses a major security issue. Continue reading →

How to recognize a good quality safe at a glance

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In the previous blog we have seen which locks exist for safes: mechanical, electronic, biometric. But let us now imagine that we are in a hardware store and that we have in front of us different models of safes: some expensive and others cheaper, of known and lesser known brands, simple and complicated. How do you understand which ones to take into consideration and which ones to discard because they are less secure? Some aspects, such as the quality of the materials, are not easily visible, but there are several clues which can help us understand if the safe we are looking at is designed and manufactured well or not. Let’s have a look at some. Continue reading →

Which is the most effective lock for your safe? Key, electronic combination, mechanical combination or biometric?

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When choosing a locking system for a safe it is worth remembering that a lock must not only be able to withstand any attacks, but also allow easy and secure management during daily use. Even the best lock is useless if its keys are easily accessible by a thief.
Ease of use and security in the day-to-day management of keys are factors which substantially differentiate different types of locks; let’s see why.

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Shutter fastening units, such as Viro Nuovo Condor shown in the photo, have the advantage of having an armoured body that effectively protects the floor fixing point.

The best way to protect a shutter

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A shutter of a shop or garage can be closed in several ways: with one or more locks per shutter, with one padlock per shutter or with a fastening unit.
The locks fitted originally on shutters, such as those for garages, are normally quite weak from the mechanical point of view and are therefore very vulnerable to attack. If valuable goods are kept inside, for example the goods for sale in a shop, they should be replaced with more resistant products.
What is the best solution?
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The disc lock: knowing the fors and againsts so as to use them in the best possible way

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In the previous blog we talked about how to choose a good quality chain to protect your bikes. When it comes to motorcycles or mopeds, a padlock + chain locking system may not be enough and, in order to sleep more soundly, it may be useful to integrate it with additional protection, such as a disc lock.
The disc lock is a widely used anti-theft system on mopeds and motorcycles as they are very easy to use: quick to put on and take off, don’t take up much space and are not very heavy. However, disc stops have some security limitations which are important to know, especially to be able to use them in the best possible way.
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Are you, too, risking one of these 6 errors when you lock up your bike?

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Going to work by car? Using public transport? Or relying on a bicycle? The world is increasingly trying to be environmentally-sustainable and, especially in easily accessible city centres (such as Bologna), cycling is a “must”. One of the main curses for urban cyclists is that of thefts.

Stealing a bike is relatively easy because – unlike cars and motorcycles – they don’t have a number plate or a registered owner; so it is very important to protect it properly, to discourage theft as much as possible. Unfortunately, however, there are still many cyclists who lock up their bikes in such a clumsy manner that they make life particularly easy for thieves, even the less well equipped ones.
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Why change the door if a locking bar may be sufficient?

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Is the equation “secure door = armoured door” always true? No! Because not all armoured doors are secure and because it may not be necessary to have an armoured door to obtain a secure door.
As we have already seen in a previous blog, armoured doors are not all made the same. Many cheap products are armoured in name only. Moreover, in many contexts, it is not only the main door which has to be defended, as there are many secondary accesses that can be attacked by thieves (such as patio doors leading to gardens and balconies, access doors to condominium garages and/or basements etc.) in which it may not be possible, or convenient, to install armoured doors.

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