[urza]

My problem with solution like this is the centralization. I dont want to give power over my door to any one commercial entity. I am sure people behind this project are all nice and likable. And it looks like really neat solution feature-wise. But I dont like the principle. Centralization is never good. You dont know the future of the companny, but your doors depend on it to certain degree. Plus it is a single point of failure and added security risk.

But then again, I dont use facebook, dropbox or gmail for the same reason. (Instead I use selfhosted solutions.) So I am an unimportant minority. Its a pity that the trend with new solutions is towards use of centralization instead of decetralization, which gave us Internet, email and even parlament democracy. As I sad before, if email were to be invented today it would be single company's project backed by YC that would rule us all.

[modeless]

From their FAQ: "if you would like to access Lockitron only via your local network, then we welcome you to flash your base-station with a new image that gives you full access to develop as you see fit"

So you can still use the hardware even if you don't like their software.

[run4yourlives]

Come on, there are probably hundreds of locksmiths in your city right now that could gain access to your front door in a matter of seconds.

Given the portability of the device, it's doubtful that lockitron even knows what it's unlocking at any given time.

[larrys]

"it's doubtful that lockitron even knows what it's unlocking"

What about if they have a security breach and a command is issued to unlock all locks (or a large number of locks) not a specific target.

Then you have a bunch of doors that are open and the chance certainly exists that random people will enter those doors because they are unlocked.

[tedunangst]

While I have seen people walking around and trying doors, it's rare and it attracts a lot of attention. There's something of a herd immunity effect from door locking. As long as most doors are locked, a couple unlocked doors don't matter.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/14/garden/14nolock.html?_r=0

[mbreese]

While a trained locksmith could probably get past my deadbolt, a random hacker from $current_unpopular_country can't. (Note: this isn't counting non-locksmiths that can also pick a lock). So, using something like this does carry a bigger (if slight) risk. I'm not sure if I'd necessarily trust a relatively new company with controlling my deadbolt.

Then again, I also have a similar setup using an HID tag reader/arduino/relay to control access to my garage door, so it's not like I'm against the technology. It's more that I'm worried about outsourcing the security of my house.

Honestly, the threat profile to me personally is pretty low, but it's still not something I'm 100% comfortable with.

[bdunbar]

I might be missing something.

J. Random Hacker from Waziristan hacks your account at the lock company.

So? He is _there_ and you are _here_. Annoying but not fatal.

Unless you're worried that he has a cousin in town?

[larrys]

He does it just for kicks. And he does it for multiple targets. The more targets, the more chance he gets to read about his success in the news.

[run4yourlives]

This is more a business problem for Lockitron than a credible threat to my security as a customer.

99.99% of the time, the only people that touch my front doorknob have keys.

[larrys]

"99.99%"

I understand the point you are making. But I think the perception here is important as well. And even though the probability of someone opening the door is quite slim people still lock doors anyway. Irrationality plays into this. People lock bathroom doors even though only part of the time they are exposed in any way shape or form. Most of the time they are only sitting down on the toilet seat (or if a many perhaps standing for a brief period).

Personally on the one hand I agree with you and rationally it isn't a credible threat. But what if I am away on vacation and the door is unlocked during that week that I am away and I don't know about it? How comfortable do I feel with my office door being unlocked for a week? It's a small chance of a big thing happening. (Even if 99.99%).

[tripzilch]

Hey, some of my best friends are from $current_unpopular_country!!

[samstave]

There are some people even who carry lockpicks and locks and practice picking for sport and they are all over, like on /r/lockpicking and on places like HN....

I don't know who these people might be - but I know they are out there.

[pmr_]

I have been thinking about how to move self-hosted solutions more into the mainstream. Nearly every company already has some form of hosting that can be utilized for this. Every household has a router that can serve as a miniature data center. The problem seems to be the heavy maintenance but I don't see how this cannot be proliferated the same way it has been done for applications on mobile platforms.

[izak30]

Did you build your current lock by hand? Did you at least disassemble it and figure out that there isn't a master key that would grant entry? How far do you take this?

Maybe having your locks NAT out or phone home to a third party is a bit much for a lot of people, as it opens new vectors, but you know, bricks and windows and such.