Ask HN: Have you ever had to hack into your own home?
19 comments
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.
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.
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.
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.
> “shimmying across a balcony/ledge with a neighbour’s sword to cut my way through”
probably the most interesting one I’ve ever heard!
probably the most interesting one I’ve ever heard!
College kids do crazy stuff!
I think the interesting / crazy bit is that your neighbour had a sword lying around. Why?
We were weebs lol. I think it was a video game sword.
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.
"hacking a house" sounds a lot like burglery. Hide a spare key outside the house.
not if it is you own surely?
>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.
>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.
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.
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.
Yeah, but I called a hacker to do it for me (15th floor apartment). He picked the lock.
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.
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.