Alarm systems for the home complete with control unit, sensors, dialler and siren can be found in supermarkets or on the Internet for just a few dozen euros. Rather than invest in mechanical safety systems, is it not easier to rely on one of these electronic alarms?
Protecting one’s home or material goods is not the only concern in our daily life nowadays. It is always worth remembering how important it is to safeguard one’s own privacy, that is, to limit and/or control potential access to personal, private and confidential information. Not worrying about privacy means running the risk of leaving private documents or folders containing confidential information unattended. The best way to ensure confidentiality is to control access to the information.
The first issue to deal with when you decide to install or replace a door cylinder is to choose the right size, even before thinking about the make and model. Suffice it to say that a cylinder such as the Viro Palladium is available in as many as 29 different sizes. Which will be the right one?
Electric locks can be used for locking drive-through and pedestrian doors and gates, both indoors and outdoors. They are ideal for automated doors and gates, as they can be closed remotely, but they can also be fitted on manually-controlled accesses. So there are lots of possibilities on offer.
We in the industry do it for professional bias, but anyone can take a quick glance at the padlocks which close the shutters of our towns and cities and see that very often it is a Viro Panzer type; they are unmistakable due to the characteristic rounded shape, which makes them particularly difficult to grasp with burglary tools.
Even in a general hardware store it is usually possible to find many kinds of padlocks; choosing the right one for you may not be easy. Let’s looks at some simple tips to help us.
Shackle type padlocks should only be chosen when you need to pass through small sized fixing points. The common shackle type padlocks are the most widespread, but they are also potentially the most easily attacked, because, unless fixed with hooks of a particular shape, leave the shackle very much exposed, so that they can be cut, sliced or ripped with saws, shears or simple levers. Unless there are special reasons which require their use, it is better to prefer lock-bolt solutions, such as the padlocks for roller shutters. Continue reading
Wouldn’t it be nice if you could protect your motorbike with the same ease as a disc lock but even more securely? There is a way, but despite its effectiveness it is not well known. We are talking about crown locks. Unfortunately, it is only a viable option for motorcycles with a final chain drive. So, it’s not suitable for scooters and motorcycles with drive shafts.
But for bikers who ride a motorcycle with a chain, who are without doubt the majority, it can be a valid alternative to the more common disc lock which, as we have seen, can be put out of action in certain contexts in a relatively simple manner.
A crown lock is basically a lock which is capable of closing in one of the slots of the transmission crown in order to prevent its rotation.
A Viro cylindrical padlock used as a crown lock.
A crown lock therefore performs the same function as a disc lock, as it prevents the motorcycle from being removed by making it “walk” on its own wheels. However, compared with a disc lock, it is much harder to neutralise. Continue reading
During recent months we have often spoken about the pros and cons of the various types of anti-theft devices for two-wheeled vehicles: disc locks, chains with padlocks, armoured cables, twisted cables, U-locks and electronic devices. But, in short, which anti-theft device should be chosen for a particular application? This week we are providing a convenient summarising table to help you choose. Continue reading
There are of many types and sizes of padlocks and it is not always easy to understand when it is appropriate to use one model rather than another. One particular type of padlock is that with a long shackle, which can be very useful in some specific cases, but which, unfortunately, is often misused. Let’s see why. Continue reading
This is the last in our series of articles on the characteristics which distinguish a high security European profile cylinder from any other type of cylinder. After seeing how a cylinder can protect against brute force attacks and lock picking/key bumping, we’ll now see what solutions there are to prevent the making of illegal copies of keys. This is an aspect which is often overlooked but, in truth, it is crucially important; it is obvious that if a burglar can easily obtain a copy of the key the cylinder can be opened regardless of all the protections which it may have. Continue reading