By Larry J. Hughes, Jr. (larry.hughes@infosecintrospect.com)

I recently purchased a home safe by Sentry. I have no illusions about it being theft-proof. I mainly want something reasonably childproof, fireproof and waterproof.

It came with the kind of installation instructions I hate most - ones with words. This one had plenty. Since I was forced to read several pages worth of six-point font, I decided to don my naive user hat and keep score.

• Nowhere does it explicitly state that the instructions apply to at least four different models. I deduced it after finding four candidate starting points, including the one on a separate sheet labeled “Attention!” My safe bears no visible model identifier. (Maybe it was on the box the delivery fellow hauled off.) Anyway, mine is the “advanced” electronic model due to it having a dual-function prog/enter key vs. the single-function prog key.

• One of the four candidate starting points ominously states “Changing the combination voids your warranty.” One of the four tells you (correctly) that you must remove a set screw before first use.

(more…)