Kensington Security Slot | Hacker News Reader

Kensington Security Slot

en.wikipedia.org

26 pointslarsberg19 comments

Or you could just wear "iPad-Compatible Clothing"...

http://www.scottevest.com/company/ipad.shtml

(Scroll down and check out the picture of Woz with his iPad in his iPad-compatible jacket. Hilarious.)

My tc1100 slate has this. It makes the thing much less mobile. No surprise there, since this is the purpose of the slot and the lock that goes in it.

However, it also interferes with the purpose of the iPad. Imagine how you'd like to use a sketchpad that was chained to the desk.

I don't think anybody is advocating keeping it chained to your desk while using it. I imagine it is more along the lines of being able to pop in a lock when you go to grab a coffee or go to the bathroom and unlocking it when you come back.

I should think that locking it in a drawer or carrying it with you are much more convenient and secure. For one thing, it isn't obviously visible.

But I so seldom have access to lockable drawers in the coffee shop.

Then you should carry it with you.

To the bathroom? Ew.

False sense of security? A bit of a coincidence, I've been looking at bicycle locks before this and can't help but think that the cables used in Kensington security locks could practically be cut through by a pair of scissors, let alone cutters actually made for the job!

Edit: I /really/ need glasses, ipAd not ipOd...

iPad, not iPod.

It's the bathroom problem. Want to go to the bathroom, but I'm in a shared office space -- do I put it in a bag and bring the bag? Carry it with and place it on top of the urinal (ick...)? Leave it in a drawer in an unlocking desk? Or just hope it doesn't walk off? This is a real issue in our office space (frequent theft issues, as it's a college campus so the building doors are open access).

I just need a couple minutes of relative security at a time, honestly.

Do I put it in a bag and bring the bag?

If theft's that big a problem then yes! Seriously, that's several hundred dollars-worth of gear you're leaving out in the open, all for the sake of two minutes of convenience.

I think my point about false sense of security stands as well - how much do a pair of clippers cost against the value of your iPad? Again, if theft issues are that bad, it won't be long before someone notices that your iPad gets frequently left behind during the day and that it's a 10-second job to cut and steal.

The iPad is the ultimate bathroom device. Take it with you! Then all you need is an iPad condom to keep from contaminating it.

Just lock it in a desk drawer or tuck it under your arm. (The under arm method is what I use when getting my order at Panera.)

I once tried to cut a bike brake cable with a pair of diagonal cutters. It didn't work - and that thing is less than 1/8" in diameter (and is meant to be cut). The Kensington locks are made of thicker, strong cables and though still fairly flimsy, are going to require cable cutters to break.

In the end it's all about risk management - what's the probability that someone goes to a coffee shop specifically to steal a laptop and is armed with cable cutters? And if they have cable cutters, are they going to bother to use them to steal your laptop, or are they going to steal the laptop next to yours that's not locked up?

FWIW, I take my laptop into the bathroom with me.

Agreed, I've had to cut cable locks of various diameters several times. Although it might seem easy, it's actually quite difficult, even with good-sized bolt cutters, because the cables tends to slip between the cutters instead of being cut. Hacksaws tend to slip a lot, and because the cable is made of a bunch of strands, trying to keep the saw in one location can be frustrating.

I imagine a Dremel tool with appropriate cutting disk would make short work of the cable, but between the noise and the sparks you're gonna get noticed.

When stuck for tools I once cut my brake cable with a pair of pliars. There are too many variables involved to make generalisations, but I've seen a lot of ingenious ways to cut cables, and that's without being a determined thief ;)

It's very hard to cut the cable with standard lock cutters. There are specific cable cutters (usually used in construction) work that can cut through the cable a lot easier though.

Unfortunately, the weakest part of the locks is either the lock itself, or the slot on the laptop. My friend recently had his MBP stolen when someone just ripped out the lock from the slot (so theres presumably a huge gash in the side of it now). We're still trying to figure out how it happened, but we're pretty sure it was something like those hydraulic jaws inserted between the lock and the body of the laptop.

Really, the ideal behind the lock is to deter theft by people who want to resale the laptop after. Anyhow who is willing to use a damaged laptop, or has customers who don't care where the laptop comes from can just continue to steal stuff more or less nilly willy.

it seems like the Kensington Security Slot is an interesting market that Kensington pretty much have a monopoly over. Does anyone know how they got to this point?

"The designer met with each of the original equipment manufacturers (OEM) and convinced each computer manufacturer to add a small, security slot in their laptop designs. Compaq was the first OEM to incorporate the Kensington security slot in 1991."

http://uk.kensington-press.com/news/article.aspx?id=232&...

The also are very open with the details, not trying to charge a licensing fee or anything: http://us.kensington.com/html/1356.html

I'm not sure how much money Kensington really makes from it. They make locks that fit in the slot, but so do a lot of other people now. And I don't think that they charge licensing fees -- it's just a slot in the plastic, occasionally (in better implementations) backed up with sheet metal.

What surprises me is that nobody thought to standardize on something like it sooner; I remember the pre-Kensington PC locks and they always sucked. Most of them sold you big plates and tubes of epoxy that you were supposed to attach to your computer's chassis, and then loop a cable through.

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