Thieves love to pry. They love to get as much information out of you as possible. They also love to pry on your doors with screwdrivers, crow bars, nail bars, random pieces of metal, etc. Have hope, there is a defense against this…..latch guards.
Let’s look at some basic attacks and how these defend against them.
Carding or loiding – this is simply the act of moving the latch back with a credit card, driver’s license, or other small object. A properly installed lock with a dead latch can prevent this, however with the type of weather stripping on many new types of doors proper installation can be a fine balance between the door latching to loose or to tight. A simple no-frills latch guard will stop this attack.
Forcing the latch – this is basically the same attack as above except force is used to overcome the dead latch. Tools used include crow bars, pry bars and nail bars. Again a latch guard can stop this attack.
Spreading the jam – another forceful attack where prying tools are used to actually create enough of a gap for the latch to completely clear the jam. Some buildings of metal construction are very vulnerable to this attack because of no support behind the jam. You can stiffen the jam by simply welding in a piece of steel to reinforce the jam or even wedging a 2 x 4 between the jam and the nearest beam. Also a latch guard can be helpful at stopping this attack. In this case you to install one with anti-spread pins.
Used for guarding the latch from "Carding" or "Loiding". Also helpful in defense against prying attacks
Steve’s Lock Out sells and installs high quality latch guards and a multitude of other products designed to improve your security.
