Ask HN: Have you ever had to hack into your own home?

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=37788946

by Quinzel • 3 years ago

4 19 3 years ago

news.ycombinator.com

I locked myself out of my house today. I lost the key. Who needs a key though when you can just go through window instead?

What’s your favourite way to hack a house?

I’m semi-asking so that if this happens again, I might know an easier way in.

mtmail• 3 years ago

"hacking a house" sounds a lot like burglery. Hide a spare key outside the house.

quickthrower22• 3 years ago

not if it is you own surely?

rzzzwilson• 3 years ago

I live on the 14th floor, so "going through a window" isn't an option. I keep a spare key hidden on my vehicle where it can't fall out but can be retrieved with some effort.

quickthrower22• 3 years ago

picked an internal door lock once. because the key was locked inside. it is remarkably easy to do; taking 5 minutes having never done it before by watching youtube and using a paperclip.

throwaway10965• 3 years ago

Yeah, but I called a hacker to do it for me (15th floor apartment). He picked the lock.

Mezzie4• 3 years ago

As a latchkey kid before cell phones who often misplaced small objects, I've broken into my own houses/apartments fairly regularly. (Now I do the boring 'keep a spare key at work (which is within walking distance))'

But I think my favorite ways are using a butter knife to jimmy locks + shimmying across a balcony/ledge with a neighbor's sword to cut my way in through an otherwise inaccessible window. Removing a door by the hinges is fun.

The easiest way to break into a home depends a lot on the home itself. You're basically memorizing the house as a system and noting what the system's weak parts are.

Quinzel4• 3 years ago

“shimmying across a balcony/ledge with a neighbour’s sword to cut my way through”

probably the most interesting one I’ve ever heard!

Mezzie4• 3 years ago

College kids do crazy stuff!

swah• 3 years ago

In our building, someone discovered that a 2L plastic bottle can be used to open a door from the outside. This trick has come to the rescue of numerous neighbors over the years, especially when the door accidentally shuts due to the wind or playful kids.[1]

I locked my kid in the car recently too - found out that even regular car windows are pretty hard to break.

[1] Looks like a "brazilian trick" should be specific to cheapish doors ofc https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M6Ki4Uj5LAI

Btw this is the purest use of the internet... no discussion, no politics, just people needing help and thanking the guy for the help.

VoodooJuJu• 3 years ago

hack into your home
hack a house

Can you just say "break into a house"? Such a weird way to put it, "hack". I get it's Hacker News, were all nerds here, but some things shouldn't be nerdwashed as a "hack", this is one of them.

runjake• 3 years ago

Cat doors. Bump keys. Door shims.

Or look under the obvious places for a key (doormat, plant pots, on top of porch lights/door frames, under big rocks, etc.

And yes, people are this obvious in the real world.

YaBa• 3 years ago

My kid got locked out while I was away. Lauched Telegram, sent my Home Assistant bot a message to open the door covers; sent new message to unlock door and turn off the alarm. Done.

Quinzel4• 3 years ago

That’s so next level!

Ask HN: Have you ever had to hack into your own home?

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