Which lock is a Good Computer lock :?:

by **pizarro** » 26 Jan 2006 6:03

Hi, have been scrolling through the older posts on this site and came across the fact that you can pick a kensington computer lock with a bit of toilet roll. :shock:

Yes that is right, I have tried it myself and managed to get it to work with very little practice, even though i am relatively new to lock picking.

My question is what is a good computer lock, like the kensington lock, but you can't pick with some toilet roll :?:

I don't want to lock my laptop to my desk, go to the toilet, see there is no toilet roll and go back to my office and realise that someone nicked the toilet roll to steal my laptop. That would realy suck :!:

(are you allowed to say something sucks?)

Anyway it doesn't have to be pick proof, just relatively hard or a reasonable ammount of skill required to pick it. So ideally it should be bump resistant as well.

Some kind of key based lock would be better than a combo lock, as i tend to leave my lock at my desk when it is not in use. so the combination of a combo lock could be figured out through tial and error when it is not connected to laptop.

Thanks is advance for amy info/help

P.S. I share an office with 11 other PhD students in the university, so the office isn't ever properly locked or secured during the day as we have the water cooler here that everyone uses.

by **Raccoon** » 26 Jan 2006 7:06

I'm afraid I don't have an answer to your question, but rather, more questions. How does a laptop lock work anyway? Do laptops come with some universal latching port where a standardized security plug fits? Or do you have to permanently fit a security kit mount to your laptop and the furniture you are locking the laptop to? How does the university feel about drill holes in their desks?

by **vector40** » 26 Jan 2006 7:18

Yes, there's a relatively standard port. Usually you lock in a cable that's wound around a closed table leg or something else immobile.

by **pizarro** » 26 Jan 2006 7:45

It looks like a small slot or hole found somewhere on your laptop. about 5mm by 2mm slot.

Ok. I know I havn't left this long for answers, but if there isn't a product that exactly suits my need, would you go for a key lock or combination lock as the safer option?

by **mouse** » 26 Jan 2006 8:33

Buy a very vicious dog. :twisted:

by **wtf|pickproof?** » 26 Jan 2006 9:43

IMHO these locks offer reasonable security for the efford. You can easyly cut the cable too, but it isn't meant as a safe replacement, its just meant to frustrate casual pickup and walkig away.

by **jordyh** » 26 Jan 2006 9:52

So, it should be a padlock, preferrably not to be bumped, and not to be opened easily (shimming/picking)?

I don't know about the bumping, but aren't there some decent shim-proof padlocks out there?
That should stop the "pick up and walk away" act.
With the big "mystery" about lockpicking itself seen as allmost forbiden, i can't see a problem.

But then again, it is your expensive laptop you're chaining to the table.

Argh, are you able to pull just another cable trough the part where the lock would go, making it possible for you to fit in a Mul-T-lock, or anything big and scary?

by **pizarro** » 26 Jan 2006 10:42

No, the lock basically bolts into the hole in your laptop, so you can't replace the the lock with something good. :roll:

Anyone know how to dismantel a kensington lock without breaking it? I wonder if putting in some security pins (e.g. mushrooms, spools, etc) would make the the lock better.

Actually thinking about it, you would probably have to have the key pins as mushroom pins as well, basically have the two pins (driver and key) both mushroom pins with the caps of the mushroom pins together.

Did anyone understand that

I think if you did that then at least one of the pins should catch, and without the spring pushing it into the cardboard, then it might fix the design flaw.

What do people think? Unfortuunately, as I'm new to lock picking, I don't have any mushroom pins, I only have normal or spool pins, plus I don't have a spare lock to test on.

Any lock securing mu laptop is better than no lock.

by **quickpicks** » 26 Jan 2006 10:49

I liked the setup at Staples. a laptop holder bolted to a table with a sliding steel bar, of course it was padlocked........ with a BEST. this may be too far....

A funny thing was when I went to future shop.........guess what kind of lock they use :wink:

I could probably pick it with a price tag :lol:

, not that I would

by **digital_blue** » 26 Jan 2006 12:14

I have to say that I agree with WTF. These locks, though complete and utter crap, do manage to get the job done. If someone is serious about stealing your laptop, there is no need to pick the lock. The cable can be cut, the thing can be ripped from the hole on the laptop (yes, yes it can :cry:

) the table can be overturned (if it is just a straight leg it is attached to, or any other number of things that make picking (or actually, impressioning) these locks unnecessary and unlikely.

It would be good if Kensington revamped these a bit to prevent the impressioning technique, but at the end of the day, low security is the price you pay for ease of use and convenience.

The bolted down laptop brackets that many retail stores use are fairly effective, though not practical at all. It can work, if you only ever use the laptop in one place. But even then, there are 4 bolts that secure it to *something*, so if the underside of the table you were using is accessible, well there goes that. They're also terribly expensive (having bought several of them myself). Also, it is comical that most of the time when I see these in use in a retail store, the bar is padlocked with some cheap Walmart lock. Hardly seems worth it, eh?

Anyway, bottom line is, use the kensington as is, and don't leave your laptop unattended for long periods of time. If you're going to be away from your workstation for a period of time, take it with you. It is portable, after all.

db

by **Omikron** » 26 Jan 2006 12:48

quickpicks wrote:I liked the setup at Staples. a laptop holder bolted to a table with a sliding steel bar, of course it was padlocked........ with a BEST. this may be too far....

A funny thing was when I went to future shop.........guess what kind of lock they use

I could probably pick it with a price tag , not that I would

Actually those "sliding steel bars" are the best way of securing a laptop against theft from the store...

I worked at a Best Buy for almost 2 years and I've seen almost everything. You know those silly little cable locks? Well, the thieves don't care about those either. At another BBY nearby, I was viewing a security video and I watched in horror and amusement as this large man with a oversized sweatshirt bent over, placed his sweatshirt OVER the Toshiba Qosmio, and stood up. As he stood up, the cable snapped off the laptop and he walked out...

The employee who "locked" that laptop got into some trouble because those cables were not authorized for use by the corporate office. Any official laptop harness at BBY will have a Medeco Biaxial camlock on it.

by **illusion** » 26 Jan 2006 14:22

so what secures these cables to the laptops?

Idoubt people will agree to having holes drilled into the side of it so I see the problem being at this level. A medeco/Mul-T-Lock/Evva/Abloy/Chubb may look fearsome, but I am unaware of any strong-points to secure the cable.

Could somebody perhaps clarify?

by **Omikron** » 26 Jan 2006 14:29

illusion wrote:so what secures these cables to the laptops?

Idoubt people will agree to having holes drilled into the side of it so I see the problem being at this level. A medeco/Mul-T-Lock/Evva/Abloy/Chubb may look fearsome, but I am unaware of any strong-points to secure the cable.

Could somebody perhaps clarify?

There is a special mounting hole for laptop locks on almost any laptop made within the past 10 years or so. The hole is USUALLY not just plastic, but rather re-enforced with some metal brackets behind it.

Here is a semi-decent example:

by **pickin** » 26 Jan 2006 22:10

Keep in mind all a lock really does in most cases is keep an honest person honest, if they really want your laptop they will get it.

by **pizarro** » 27 Jan 2006 15:36

I have found a computer lock that you can add a padlock to.

http://www.flexguard.com/cgi-bin/ez-cat ... i?0X302180

I don't know what the quality of the product.

Which lock is a Good Computer lock :?:

Which lock is a Good Computer lock :?:

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