Photo: Laura James

Can you buy a bump key at Home Depot?

Wal-Mart and Home Depot have them. They look like this, without teeth at all: A bump key is made by using a triangular file (they're at every hardware store…

businessinsider.com - How to Create a Bump Key to Open Any Door - Business Insider

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Lockpicking is a skill that takes years upon years to master. Locks come in all sorts of shapes and sizes, but have common ground in how they work. Most cylinder locks have "tumblers," which are metallic cylindrical objects that sit vertically to the actual locking mechanism. Tumblers have five or six holes with rounded key pins of various height in them, each needing to meet an exact height or the cylinder in the center (the lock itself) will not be allowed to turn. This is the reason why you see those "mountains and valleys" on keys, and why these types of locks are called pin tumbler locks. Each is unique. Today's Null Byte is going to demonstrate how to effectively make what is called a "bump key". A bump key can open any lock that it fits into. It's helpful to have in your pocket if you ever lose your keys, because it can open your door lock and your deadbolt, even if they normally require seperate keys. I keep mine in my wallet.

What Makes It Work?

The teeth in a bump key are set really low so that you can fit it into locks where the tumblers may be set as low as possible. The teeth are steep and jagged because when you "bump" the key while applying torque, for a split-second, all of the tumblers will bounce up into their perfect positions allowing a window for you to open the lock. The torque you apply makes the tumblers stop once they reach the desired height. Please don't use this key to go into places where you do not belong.

Step 1 Make the Bump Key

Go to the any store that has blank keys. Wal-Mart and Home Depot have them. They look like this, without teeth at all: A bump key is made by using a triangular file (they're at every hardware store… very cheap) on the blank key. Point the file down to shave the extreme "valleys" that you see in a bump key, with ample force. Use it to shave down the grooves on the key to look like this: If you don't want to use a blank key, you can just use one of your spare house keys.

Step 2 Bump Open a Lock!

Put the key into a hole at the end of the plug (exactly how you would normally open a lock). The bump key pictured above would fit into most cylinder locks and deadbolts. After it's pushed all the way into the lock, pull the key out until you feel it click twice. Take your blunt object (I use a pocket knife) and hit the key with a bit of force, while applying torque (pressure) to turn the key in the direction you need to in order to open it. It's a little hard to get at first, but once you get the feel for it, you can open it the first try nearly every time. Here's a video demonstration on how I used one to open my garage. Via How to Create a Bump Key to Open Any Door on null-byte.wonderhowto.com.

Should I use Sticky Keys?

The Sticky Keys feature helps alleviate some stress on your fingers by not having to press and hold keys to use keyboard shortcuts. You only need to press and release a modifier key, like Ctrl , Alt , or Shift , then press the next key for the keyboard shortcut.

computerhope.com - What is Sticky Keys? - Computer Hope

Sticky Keys

Sticky keys may refer to any of the following:

1. Sticky Keys is a Microsoft Windows accessibility feature that causes modifier keys to remain active, even after they were pressed and released, making it easier to use keyboard shortcuts. The Sticky Keys feature helps alleviate some stress on your fingers by not having to press and hold keys to use keyboard shortcuts. You only need to press and release a modifier key, like Ctrl , Alt , or Shift , then press the next key for the keyboard shortcut. For example, instead of having to press Ctrl + Alt + Del at the same time, you can press each of the keys individually to perform the same function.

How to enable or disable Sticky Keys?

The Sticky Keys feature is enabled or disabled (turned on and off) through the Accessibility Options or Ease of Access Center in the Windows Control Panel. You can also press Shift five times to open the option. 2. Sticky keys also refers to one or more keys on the keyboard that are sticking because of a substance spilled into the keyboard. See our computer cleaning page for help with cleaning a keyboard and other computer components.