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Does Anyone Use Their Kensington Lockport? Does It Work Well?

rmbrown09

rmbrown09

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Jan 25, 2010
949
1
USA
Reason I ask, is I will be moving into my dorm room at 8am tomorrow(WHOOOOOOOO), but now I have been thinking about my MBP and security/ theft.

At work we have about 20 lock cables just sitting around, and I am thinking about grabbing one. Does anyone use these? are they pretty secure?

istockphoto_3413901-man-stealing-data-from-a-laptop-isolated.jpg
 
Kensington locks are a deterrent, if anything. They can be snipped, picked and smashed if given the opportunity.

If you're worried about theft, put a safe behind a Van Gogh. Thieves and most non-Starbucks-sippers are deafly afraid of so-called "art" by so-called "artistés."

But seriously, if you're worried, just secure a lock-box to a large piece of furniture or hide it under the bed. I don't mean just throw it under the bed or under your mattress (uhoh). Instead, I have used simple slats of cabinet wood to create small compartments that hang from the cross-boards that hold the mattress up. If somebody quickly looks under your bed, they look at the floor, so they'd never see the thing.

Maybe you shouldn't share a dorm with somebody you can't trust. I'd never sleep within access of a person [cat, or baby] that I didn't absolutely trust. Thus, I sleep alone.

Hi! I'm Mr. Cheeto!
 
MrCheeto said:
Kensington locks are a deterrent, if anything. They can be snipped, picked and smashed if given the opportunity.

If you're worried about theft, put a safe behind a Van Gogh. Thieves and most non-Starbucks-sippers are deafly afraid of so-called "art" by so-called "artistés."

But seriously, if you're worried, just secure a lock-box to a large piece of furniture or hide it under the bed. I don't mean just throw it under the bed or under your mattress (uhoh). Instead, I have used simple slats of cabinet wood to create small compartments that hang from the cross-boards that hold the mattress up. If somebody quickly looks under your bed, they look at the floor, so they'd never see the thing.

Maybe you shouldn't share a dorm with somebody you can't trust. I'd never sleep within access of a person [cat, or baby] that I didn't absolutely trust. Thus, I sleep alone.

Hi! I'm Mr. Cheeto!
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Haha I see, well I have been facebooking / Texting my roomate, he is from Arizona.

I am sure hes a good guy, but I mean if my dorm is somehow unlocked / door open, I just want to deter a quick snag. If they really are useless I guess hiding it will be.
 
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They aren't useless. It's a formidable ligature, in fact, the best you can get onto... certain... public transports... <.<
 
Well, Sensible Sam, you should also consider getting an external drive and using Time Machine to back up all of your data, just in case.

It does such a fine job at backing up, somebody could swap my MacBook Pro out with a brand new one, restore from a Time Machine backup and I'd be none-the-wiser.

As well, don't make the same mistake as 99% of my customers. Change your Account preferences so that your Mac does not automatically log in. If it's that easy to access your information, you may as well pass it around the class and give everybody a peak at those naughty movies you don't want mommy to see.

Just saying :p

As well, if you're really paranoid, you can create a sort of "virtual hard drive" that is password protected and would take years for the world's most powerful computers and clusters to crack, at least. Now that's a secure place to store all of those pictures of naked cats ;)

If you want to know how, visit my blog [in my signature] and I'll have a how-to up by tomorrow!
 
i have not used them nore have i gone to university, but i have a $3000 mountain bike and i lock it up with a $30 lock from canadian tire, and yes with a battery power zip cutter they could have the lock cut in under 5 seconds but it will detour 99% of thieves
 
rmbrown09 said:
Laptop insurance? I have Apple care.. no the only device I have full insurance for is my iPhone 4 since I figure that is much more easily broken / lost.
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they dont have like dorm insurance or something like that? and i belive that one of bestbuys warranties covers theft. which is another reason i will never buy applecare and will gladly stick the bestbuy warranty
 
MrCheeto said:
Well, Sensible Sam, you should also consider getting an external drive and using Time Machine to back up all of your data, just in case.

It does such a fine job at backing up, somebody could swap my MacBook Pro out with a brand new one, restore from a Time Machine backup and I'd be none-the-wiser.

As well, don't make the same mistake as 99% of my customers. Change your Account preferences so that your Mac does not automatically log in. If it's that easy to access your information, you may as well pass it around the class and give everybody a peak at those naughty movies you don't want mommy to see.

Just saying :p

As well, if you're really paranoid, you can create a sort of "virtual hard drive" that is password protected and would take years for the world's most powerful computers and clusters to crack, at least. Now that's a secure place to store all of those pictures of naked cats ;)

If you want to know how, visit my blog [in my signature] and I'll have a how-to up by tomorrow!
Click to expand...

I see, yes I have a 5 minute timeout and then password requirement, no auto login and locktight so I can activate that whenever I step away.

what's all this about super passwords?
 
Well, see, it's just a virtual disk that you can password protect. It's like having a hard drive that you can't access without a password. Ever heard of the Iron Key flash drive? Like that, except the disk is just virtual.

Of course, you could image the disk to a flash drive and get the same effect, to some extent.

You see, it would take a bajillion hours to decrypt the information on the drive without a password. Thus, it's safe to say, unless the CIA or Russkies are after you, your data will be uncrackable.

Again, I'll throw it at my blog.

"Until May 2009, the only successful published attacks against the full AES were side-channel attacks on some specific implementations. The National Security Agency (NSA) reviewed all the AES finalists, including Rijndael, and stated that all of them were secure enough for U.S. Government non-classified data. In June 2003, the U.S. Government announced that AES may be used to protect classified information..."
 
MrCheeto said:
Well, see, it's just a virtual disk that you can password protect. It's like having a hard drive that you can't access without a password. Ever heard of the Iron Key flash drive? Like that, except the disk is just virtual.

Of course, you could image the disk to a flash drive and get the same effect, to some extent.

You see, it would take a bajillion hours to decrypt the information on the drive without a password. Thus, it's safe to say, unless the CIA or Russkies are after you, your data will be uncrackable.

Again, I'll throw it at my blog.
Click to expand...

thanks I'll check it out. (After orientation.)

tflournoy95 said:
they dont have like dorm insurance or something like that? and i belive that one of bestbuys warranties covers theft. which is another reason i will never buy applecare and will gladly stick the bestbuy warranty
Click to expand...

No we don't (I think) I had Best Buys ADH on my previous 2.8 duo, but that didn't cover theft? Do you have a different plan? I think I will actually get a SquareTrade warranty.
 
rmbrown09 said:
thanks I'll check it out. (After orientation.)



No we don't (I think) I had Best Buys ADH on my previous 2.8 duo, but that didn't cover theft? Do you have a different plan? I think I will actually get a SquareTrade warranty.
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i dont actually have an mbp, or any laptop for that matter, but i could have sworn one of the really expensive warranties they have covers like loss and theft too.

i just went on bestbuys website, it didnt have it. maybe they stopped offering it, or maybe im just crazy. anyway squaretrade warranties seem really good too now that you mention it.

its also possible that people were abusing the theft protection so they stopped offering it. who knows?
 
Dorm insurance. IF ONLY!

You won't have to worry about your roommates (I mean, if they are cool). You'll have to worry about roommates who leave your room unlocked and unattended whilst they run to the bathroom or grab a snack, which gives the sticky fingered amongst you an opportunity to snatch. My suggestion? Lock up everything that isn't bolted down in some sort of large fixture (like a provided closet) and take your MBP with you at all times. Kensington lock is cool and all but undoubtedly you'll get those nerds who brag about breaking locks and undoubtedly your _____ lock will have been on their "been there" list. I encountered all the above.
 
MrCheeto said:
As well, don't make the same mistake as 99% of my customers. Change your Account preferences so that your Mac does not automatically log in. If it's that easy to access your information, you may as well pass it around the class and give everybody a peak at those naughty movies you don't want mommy to see.
Click to expand...

won't matter all that much, I can easily change the administrator password on any mac in minutes, the only way to protect your data is by encryption - FileVault! :D

MrCheeto said:
As well, if you're really paranoid, you can create a sort of "virtual hard drive" that is password protected and would take years for the world's most powerful computers and clusters to crack, at least. Now that's a secure place to store all of those pictures of naked cats ;)
Click to expand...

again, that place is called FileVault
 
FileVault bogs down your computer, as it has to encrypt and unencrypted all data as it is read and written.

Creating an encrypted disk is far more efficient if you choose only to protect certain documents and to transfer them onto other drives and devices.

Encrypted disks use the same AES standards as FileVault.

I'm glad you know how to insert an install DVD and overwrite the password.
 
They deter opportunistic theft, but they don't stop people from stealing it.

Pretty much they can be picked quite easily. They can be cut as well. And the T-bar side (the part that goes into your computer) can be ripped out; it also damages your computer's slot by itself from continued use.
 
OP I've posted a how-to and explanation on my blog so if your computer is compromised, at the very least, your sensitive data can't be touched :D
 
It's a deterrent against opportunistic or casual theft. A thief looking in open rooms for vulnerable valuables (I like that!) is not going to spend very long trying to remove a cable from your MBP.
 
MrCheeto said:
OP I've posted a how-to and explanation on my blog so if your computer is compromised, at the very least, your sensitive data can't be touched :D
Click to expand...

I like it but you don't mention the risk of temporary files or anything being stored outside of the directory.

Which is why, for those who are 100% paperless and thus store lots of sensitive docs, to go with a high end solution like PGP v10, which minimally impacts functionality.
 
The only files that would be stored out of the disk would only be Temporary Files, which I'm not certain of. Wouldn't they simply go to the .Trash file on the disk itself? Makes sense to me.
 
I work at an Apple Retailer in Germany and we use these locks on our demonstration MacBooks.
Once, someone broke in, tried to steal these (they all had kensington lock). I believe he got 1 MacBook Pro 13" from the lock, but we found some pieces of the topcase on the floor. Basically, the stolen MacBook Pro was worth ****, as logic board was broken and the dented unibody case was beyond repair (also the SuperDrive was damaged).

The 15" MBP was found on the floor, still attached to the kensington lock, but the unibody case was deformed, so we had to replace it.


Basically, if you have it secured with the lock and somebody tries to steal it, it will be worth nothing. Its gonna have broken unibody case, probably logic board and the SuperDrive will be broken as well. Stealing it while locked would be a pretty stupid idea to try, so it should be pretty safe.
If you are paranoid, get iAlertU as well.
 
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