Kensington laptop locks? Worth the expense and hassle?

S

Sid Post

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Oct 14, 1998
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I'm contemplating getting a Kensington laptop lock for my new laptop. The laptop itself isn't some high dollar super fancy thing but, I don't want it to get stolen and then be without it while I am traveling.

What I am considering is how convenient are they to use in real life? How much weight and bulk will the lock have in my bag with everything else? In general, do they really work in real life when you travel (I'm not planning on locking it down in my house, only on the road at airport lounges, hotels, etc.)?

Thanks,
Sid
 
well...the most stolen item in airports and hotels are laptops.

is it worth $25-30 to not have it stolen?

people have had them stolen even when they are on the floor right next to their feet waiting in lines!!

i have one AND i also have my data encrypted on it.....no there is no gov't stuff on it....just my personal stuff (banking passwords etc)
 
They arent particularly heavy its typically a couple of feet of 1/8" steel wire with a fixed loop at one end and a lock at the other. The idea is you pass the lock end around something solid (ie a desk leg) through the loop and then lock it to your laptop. The actual lock end is maybe 1 - 1 1/2" long and 1/2 - 3/4" diameter.

Personally I dont use one, I just dont leave my laptop lying around. They are good if you leave your laptop on an office desk but I wouldnt use one in somewhere like an airport to lock it to a bench and leave it, I think someone would take your laptop even with the lock.
 
In Hartsfield in Atlanta, their food court has an area for laptops that would allow me to lock it down. While I wouldn't leave it there, I can see how I might be distracted with a tag team where one guy gets my attention by spilling a soda on my luggage and the other grabs my laptop while I'm distracted with my bag. That technique is very popular in Europe so, I can see it being a problem in a busy airport like Hartsfield. In hotels, I'm not taking my laptop with me every time I go out to eat or go down to the lounge to hang out with a friend so, chaining it to a water heater or desk frame would be better then nothing at all.

http://us.kensington.com/html/11208.html looks like a good choice. Is it overkill?

Regarding encryption, I've been using PGP Desktop 8.0.3 for a couple of years now and I will be upgrading to PGP Whole Disk Encryption as soon as they support Microsoft Vista. The data is important to me because I don't want to become an identity theft victim because my laptop gets compromised. I'm considering adding one of those data keys on a thumb drive but, that is probably overkill for my needs.
 
If it's the Kensington with a combination lock - maybe. If it's the earlier one that opens with a key - don't bother. I have a video clip somewhere of a kid opening one of those in seconds, with a pencil and a piece of stiff paper. I'll see if I can find it.
 
I found the clip; how do I post a video file here? (and, yes, it is the old style lock that he opens. Still interesting to watch)
 
By all means, get a lock if you think it will accomodate weak points in your awareness, but keep in mind that there are still a lot of opportunities you will not be securing against. I think the most important thing you can do is get your laptop insured.

It's very good that you have PGP running. But be sure you have the screensaver set to lock every 5-10 minutes also, because it doesn't do any good to have your firefox data encrypted if you've already decrypted it for them. And I haven't used PGP, but if it doesn't encrypt your swap space, then you might still have copies of your data saved in unencrypted areas.

Finally, if you are checking it as baggage... get a flare gun! They're considered firearms, so the airlines will specially lock your bag and track it, i.e., you can guarantee it won't get lost or stolen inbetween places.
 
Yes Microsoft "Quick Saves" which I don't use, and the Windows swap space are additional vulnerabilities that need to be taken into account. Don't use quick saves in MS Office if you are concerned about where the data ends up (that is known security hole in Windows in general). Regarding swap space, PGP will wipe it on a schedule so, it's not foolproof but it is a step in the right direction. PGP Whole Disk Encryption or SecurStar are the two companies that make a reliable encryption program that encrypts your WHOLE HARD DRIVE but, they are not MS Vista compatible right now.

My concerns are really centered around the average low life pick pocket type thief not, some advanced threat so there is a point where security could become excessive. I need time to offset a distraction so, a lock that can be defeated in 15 minutes is acceptable but not one that is defeated in 60 seconds. ;)
 
I thought Vista was supposed to support full disk encryption on its own? Well, you can always buy encrypted harddrives also.

I've used full disk encryption on linux for a long time. The next release of Fedora should have that as a default option.

They also have an encrypted filesystem available which sits on top of the regular filesystem and then stores everything in containers. It's nice because it's so transparent (the downside is that the names of the files are still plaintext).

One of my favorite features is LUKS. It encodes all the encryption information into metadata which is automatically recognized by the linux HAL daemon, so when I plug in my external harddrive with its encrypted partion, the computer automatically prompts for a passphrase and seemlessly mounts it just like any ordinary partion. Plug-and-play encrypted drives are wonderful. :)
 
Microsoft Bit Locker tech note

Vista imposes some pretty high hardware requirements for its encryption technology. Also, with Microsoft's history of releasing software with gross security holes, I'm not sure they are a good choice for encryption technology.
 
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