Check Your Hotel Safe - Security Advisory

Most people travel for business, pleasure, or both. The vast majority of hotels offer in-room safes as a courtesy to guests. On the surface it seems like a great place to store your passport, laptop, or other valuables, and you can set your own unlock code so it's easy to remember.

But there is a problem.

Most safes have a "default code" set at the time of manufacturing which is meant to be used by authorized hotel staff in the event that a guest forgets the personal code they set.

The default code is often 0000000, not a terribly high-security option, but there is a reason for that.

Manufacturers expect the hotel chains to change the default code when they install the safe. Unfortunately this doesn't always happen. People get busy, or lazy, or both and it can fall by the wayside.

How many people do you know that still have the factory default password on their home router? It's the same thing.

Oh come on, you're just being paranoid!  You might think so, but take a look at this video and make up your own mind.

So before you lock up anything in your hotel safe I suggest you try locking the safe with a personal code and then see if it can be unlocked by entering 000000. If it can, you may be better off using the hotel's main safe, or requesting they come program your in-room unit properly.

If I can find the usual default code easily enough, so can anyone else. Better 'safe' than sorry.

Happy surfing!

-The Home Geek