RFID chips are everywhere: big-box stores use them to track boxes of goods and shipments across the country, office workers have been using them for years to pass through secure doors, credit card companies are starting to roll out credit cards with RFID chips in them, and even the US State Department has mandated that all new US passports have RFID chips in them with your personal information encoded into them. If we're ready to trust RFID with securing our borders, are we ready to trust RFID with securing our homes?

Some people believe so, and the MyKey RFID Digital Door Lock is their answer. The RFID door lock cannot be picked, as it has no keyholes or slots that anything is inserted into. From the outside, the lock has only a button with a glowing blue light around it, but when you walk up to it and hold your RFID card or keyfob (both included) up to the lock and slide up the front panel to enter your PIN on the keypad, the lock will open all by itself. If you ever lose your keys or keyfob, you can simply change your PIN and reprogram your keyfobs and cards with the new code.

For added security, the RFID door lock can be set on night deadbolt mode, where it simply cannot be unlocked from the outside and all external functions are disabled, and can be set for auto-locking when the door closes or manual locking which requires you to lock it with your keyfob and pin once the door closes behind you. The RFID door lock has a built-in alarm that sounds loud and clear should someone try to force the door, and an "imaginary PIN" feature that prevents unlocking through a mail slot or window next to the door. The lock comes complete with an installation guide 8 RFID Smart Keys (4 wallet cards, 2 keyfobs, and 2 tags) and takes 4AA batteries, with an external contact for a 9-volt battery in case the internal batteries are completely drained and you can't get in.

One drawback of the RFID door lock, however, is that because of its electronic components, the lock cannot be exposed to direct rain or snow, which may rule it out as an external door lock for many homes. There are other unanswered questions as well, for example whether the lock can even be opened with just the PIN if I lost the RFID card or keyfob, or whether a locksmith, even if I could find one willing to work with the high-tech lock, would have to take off the whole door to open a broken or malfunctioning RFID door lock. We don't know if the lock is hack-able in any way, or if someone with a stolen key could figure out the PIN or vice versa.

The RFID door lock isn't cheap; they go for $299.99 each, but the question remains whether people are willing to put their trust in RFID to secure their homes or are people just feel more secure with old-fashioned keys?