opening a Kensington lock with cardboard

Someone showed me how easy it is to curl up a piece of cardboard and open a Kensington lock. It only took three seconds! It is hard to believe people count on these to secure their laptops.

Category:

Howto & Style

Tags:

• laptop
• security
• Kensington
• lock
• cardboard
• cable
• notebook

[slashd]

Nice trick, I'm gonna get me a new laptop tommorow, thanks!

[smlcoop]

Get a decent security cable.

[smlcoop]

Buy something that uses a fastener that glues to the surface. The anchoring point is much, much stronger, and some of them have much more secure cables. You can also get a Lo-Jack-type software to protect it and help you get it back. Two versions I have seen are Compu-Trace and Cyber Angel.

[maddersmudder]

@smlcoop The problem here isn't that the base of the lock isn't glued to the laptop but rather that the locking mechanism itself is super easy to crack. So, a more secure cable isn't going to help. A more secure locking mechanism might.

The Lo-Jack type software can also be useful. Geo-tracking software has already helped a number of people retrieve their stolen phones and iPads.

[smlcoop]

That's the way these work. A glue-on has better security by far.

The Lo-Jack is great but it does not work with iPads.

[youtubasoarus]

Did I just hear their stock price drop?! LOL

[18guyy]

@smlcoop i think he meant that hell use this trick to get someone's laptop as his "new laptop" LOL

[Kensingtonlondon]

I need one.

[colormetickle]

wow good thing i watched this video before i bought this lock...so what can i buy instead to lock my laptop??

[ambermcdonald]

owned