Security lock for MP/ACD?

[apfhex]

I'd like to get a lock or locks for my future Mac Pro and Cinema Display purchase. Yes I hope no one breaks in, but if they do, I want to make it next to impossible to get away with something so important. I'd need them to be long enough and be compatible with the lock holes on the hardware.

The Apple Store appears to only sell a few Kensington MicroSaver Locks meant for portables. Are these good? Is there another model or brand to look for?

 

[Timepass]

from my experice with the locks is they are helpful but get in the way if you are moving you computer around a lot.

All they really will do is slow down a theif not prevent it. The best way to protect stuff get to know the people in your dorm. But the cables do help in at least slowing down theifs. and maybe the quite run and grab. Laptop being the biggest target. Monitor for the most part are safe.

 

[apfhex]

Well, I live alone in an apartment. It's not in a "bad" part of town, but not in the best part either. I've never had any problems, but figured that the price of a lock would be worth the added, if perhaps small, layer of security. I won't be moving around the equipment once I have it set up, or at least unlocking a lock would be just one part of all the things that would need to be removed to move it anyway. 😀

 

[gothicx00]

While I do believe that laptop locks are a good deal, nothing beats a good renters/home owners insurance. I have USAA (who also provides my car insurance) which offers unprecidented renters insurance. And for all of like $20 extra I get an endorcement that covers *all* of the computers in my home. And their coverage is amazing too. It covers all accidental damage of every sort, and also covers theft. Your kid could come over, pee on my Macbook, and it'd be covered. Thats how comprhensive it is. It also covers my Macbook on the go, even if it is accidentally damaged or stolen no matter where I am at.

Yeah if it i was stolen i'd loose a bunch of photos, movies, and tons of customization. But it's a peace of mind that is nearly priceless. If you do live in a dorm, I'd have your parents check their renters/home owners insurance. I do believe that most policies allow you to extend the coverage to a dependents dorm room. If you pay for your insurance on your own, with a policy in your own name, check with your provider. I'm willing to bet they'll cover your dorm room. While it may not be as comprehensive as USAA's, it'd at least cover theft.

 

[Sesshi]

A printing company was once my client. They had a whole bunch of Macs secured with the Kensington locks with the chain that was effectively superglued to a desk.

Some guys came in overnight and stole the computers along with the desk surfaces - they left the legs behind.

Insurance and good home security - i.e. stopping them getting into the house in the first place - is better.

 

[apfhex]

If you read my post, I don't live in a dorm. 🙂

Eh, renters insurance would be great, and I'll look into it sometime, but for now I'm not sure I can afford it (I'm lucky to have enough saved to get the computer that I need), so without arguing why I want a security lock, does anyone have any suggestions about what ones are good for a MP? Or does no one really use them aside from their laptops?

p.s. my desk has a strong metal structure and even if you could take the surface off, the lock would still be attached to the structure.

 

[gothicx00]

Well I dunno what you can get for renters insurance, but mine only costs about $250 a year. Usually it'll cost a little bit more if you don't pay a year in advance, but not much more.

$30-$50 bucks to deter theft with a device that could be cut in about a second and a half by a prepared thief vs. $250 a year to guarantee that no matter what happens to it or anything else in you apt for that matter, it gets replaced.

I'd personally rather pay the extra money yearly to have up to $30,000 of my stuff replaced if it's stolen, damaged, or otherwise kaput.

But if a laptop lock will make you sleep better at night, I'd recommend Kingston, considering they are the ones who invented the laptop lock slot on modern notebooks.

 

[Makosuke]

Were I in a similar situation, I'd probably just get the heaviest bike lock I could find, and run it through the hole on the monitor and one of the handles on the computer, then bolt it to something extremely solid (or run it behind a pipe, better yet).

That doesn't lock the computer shut, but I seriously doubt the average thief is going to be goofing around with opening up the computer to steal the drives--they'd be more interested in just walking out with it. The only reason to use a "proper" lock is to keep the computer from being opened, but that's not really necessary in this situation--that's more for offices or universities where people might well try to yank a drive or graphics card if they could get into it.

If you really want, get a seperate lock to put on the case itself, to keep it closed.

The idea of a big, heavy piece of metal holding the case down is to delay the thief by the few seconds it'll take to pull the bolt out of the wall. And for those saying it's useless, the average thief is probably going to pick the lock to get in, but isn't necessarily carrying a heavy-duty pair of wire cutters or a hacksaw--they're breaking into an apartment, not stealing bikes. That's not to say that they might not have one handy, but if they don't have one on hand it's something slow and noisy to mess with when there's easier stuff to steal--TVs or whatever.

It also depends on how easy it is to walk away from your place with stuff--if it's the sort of area/apartment where somebody could unload everything in the room into a truck before anybody would raise an eyebrow, then you're screwed. If, on the other hand, neighbors might notice them carrying stuff out so they're mainly going to be looking for jewelry or cash, then messing with a heavy wire/chain and potentially making a bunch of noise might not be worth it.

Hell, if you want to be REALLY paranoid, run a wire along the security cable that is attached to an alarm somewhere else, so that if the wire is broken the alarm goes off. Depending on the neighborhood that might do squat good, but it's worth a shot.

 

[gothicx00]

Two points for creativity kiddo.... but somebody wanting that thing bad enough will break the damn handle in a heart beat to get it.

 

[Nermal]

The G3s and G4s could be padlocked shut and you could attach a chain or something to the padlock if you wanted to. Does anyone know whether the G5s or Pros support this too?

 

[Makosuke]

The G3s and G4s could be padlocked shut and you could attach a chain or something to the padlock if you wanted to. Does anyone know whether the G5s or Pros support this too?

Yes. Unless they've changed the Mac Pro design, there's a ring on the locking mechanism on the back that you can thread pretty much anything up to about a half inch through.

Two points for creativity kiddo.... but somebody wanting that thing bad enough will break the damn handle in a heart beat to get it.

I didn't say for a second that it was theft proof--I pointed out that it would only slow the thief down as long as it would take to yank the bolt out of the wall or cut the cable.

But being that the upper handles are part of a solid slab of aluminum that runs all the way around the outside of the case, top to bottom, and has no "break points" (look at the case), "breaking the damn handles" is functionally impossible--I don't care how desperate you are, you would utterly destroy the case trying to "break" the handles and it would look like it'd been run over by a truck when you tried to sell it if it even still worked by the time you got done ripping it apart. Running the cable through a padlock on the locking mechanism would make that even harder.

Now, you could quite easily hacksaw through the handle in a few seconds--it's just aluminum--but it would be FAR easier to cut the cable or yank a bolt out of the wall than it would be to go through the case itself.

I was just offering an easy suggestion to make the computer a little harder to just walk off with. Seriously, I'd be interested (assuming best case, where you had a very heavy bike cable wrapped around a pipe instead of just bolted to the wall or a table) in how long it'd take a thief who DIDN'T bring along a hacksaw or cable cutters to walk off with the thing--I honestly don't think it'd take a couple seconds to break the handle, and you're certainly not going to just tear through the foot on an ACD.

 

[polarity]

I've just bought a Kingston DS security cable, and it looks to be a very solid piece of kit. No breaking this thing without some proper tools.

Can't say the same for any of the slots it's supposed to attach to in any piece of equipment I've seen. To be frank the computer manufacturers effort is p**s poor. I guess they don't give a damn so long as you come back to buy a replacement.

The lock would attach to a hole in 3mm steel plate and do a good job like Kingston intended. Unfortunately every piece of equipment I've seen has a hole in plastic, or in the case of my MBP, 1mm aluminium, with guess what, a soft plastic surround on the hole, so the lock doesn't have a nice snug fit. It even bends the case out of shape, and the ~5mm from the hole to the edge of the case would be very easy to break.

What use is it putting a security slot in your products, if all it takes is a bit of twisting or a good yank, and the hole becomes big enough to remove the lock.

 

[silence]

Yup you're 100% correct.

My local Apple store has had 2 MBP's stolen this way (actually the 2nd time he got caught). The lock may be of great quality but the damn laptop has a piss-weak connection port, so the thief simply bent the laptop hole a little out of shape and ran off with the laptop. All within around 10-15 seconds. They were a little more alert the second time 'round and were able to catch him in the act. The thief still got away though...

They now keep all laptops strapped down in huge, heavy steel cage thingy's, don't know what they're called but aint no thief breaking through that!

 

[polarity]

I'm going to be looking at making my own security device, that attaches to the DVI port. The only problem is I'm a VJ so I need to use the DVI port in the situations where I need security.

 

[tylerboyo]

Why dont you get a chain, and padlock, and attatch it that way? Probably cheaper than any kensington accesories, and gonna be alot more sturdy too. Of course, you dont need a huge thick chain, a slighty smaller one would still work fine too.

 

[polarity]

Attach it to what? There's nowhere on a MBP to put a chain or padlock through, hence the need for something that screws into the DVI socket, then has it's screws covered to keep it from being removed.

 

[tylerboyo]

polarity, he wants something for his macpro, not macbook.

 

[Philscbx]

I'd like to get a lock or locks for my future Mac Pro and Cinema Display purchase.

Simple, Your already spending 4 grand on gear, so screw the wimpy cables and nonsense and invest in a sealed cabinet that when closed, a fire axe isn't making any headway.

Now when you get home, it's the only thing that's still there.

Or build it yourself with hinged aluminum 1/4" panels covered with wood. Maybe $200, no big deal. No worries.