Something you know (Score 1)

Here's a subject I know a little about. This is a real cool soldering project, it's cute, but if security is a prime consideration keypads, either using colors or numbers or some other code to enter is a bad way to do security. The codes are so easily transferred from person to person. I once worked at the TWA terminal at LAX and the keypad code was scrawled on the wall next to the keypad. The door led to the baggage handling, ops center, and runway. If it's your office or lab you're trying to secure, an old-fashioned mechanical key is probably a better solution. If you could rig some kind of token, maybe a USB key and the keypad, for a two-factor authentication, that would be better. Of course there are numerous commercial products that can be used that solve these problems. Lastly a word about locking hardware. Frequently interior doors in commercial buildings use cylindrical locks; the Schlage D style is popular. When these locks are used with the standard strike and the door and frame are properly adjusted, it's pretty hard to jimmy the lock at the strike. Of course it will fail from a lever attack, a large screwdriver will easily pop the door, but when that's done, it's usually evident. When the standard strike is replaced by an electric strike, there's a lot space opened up around the latch. It's fairly trivial to jimmy the door open without leaving marks. A better solution is to use an electrified cylindrical lock.