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Kensington Laptop Locks Not So Secure
eric434 writes "According to a security alert released by Security.Org, the Kensington laptop lock that many of us use and love isn't secure. In fact, it can be opened in 30 seconds after about a minute of practice with a $1 worth of equipment. (A Bic pen, and a pair of scissors. In the interest of giving people some time to stop using the locks, the actual method of opening the lock is left up to the reader.)
To make matters worse, Kensington's 'We'll give you $1500 if someone steals your laptop' guarantee doesn't apply -- because the process of opening the lock doesn't damage the lock or cable." Mind the source, though -- security.org wouldn't mind selling you a book on locks and safes.
Thing was so insecure that I was playing with it in the airport on a business trip one day and I realized all I had to do was to push the pin inwards and it immediately came off.
I had one of these and they're a waste of $70.
Here's another good one: pick the thing up very very slowly, so it doesn't start screaming, lift it about 10" off the table, then slam it flat on the table, battery down, as hard as you can. The motion sensor will be busted right out and the thing won't peep a sound. If, by some misfortune, it does start beeping, press your thumb real hard against the hole underneath, where the piezo is, to silence it.
These things are crap, honestly. Stay away from it...
"A door is what a dog is perpetually on the wrong side of" - Ogden Nash
well. . I mean I guess it wouldnt matter to me wheather it was a len or a wire cutter. 1500 dollers might cover a good portion of the hardware costs, but usually the information on the drive itself is far more sensitive. What they need is a lock that causes the computer to self distruct.=) it not only protects the programmer, but teaches the thief a good lesson!
Australian Defence Force laptops (all thinkpads, that I've seen) have this. Try to break in and various parts of the laptop burst into flame.
See how easy it is getting data off a hard drive that's protected by a lithium/oxygen lock.
This reminds me of one of my favourite pieces of Australian TV.
I'm sure you are all familiar with steering wheel locks, the most well known in Australia is called a Club Lock.
A magazine called "Choice", which reviews and tests products, reviewed all available steering wheel locks and claimed that the Club Lock could be defeated in less than 30 seconds by someone with no experience at car theft.
The manufacturer responded by modifying and improving the lock mechanism, but the magazine repeated their claim that it could be defeated easily.
This went on for about 4 generations of Club Lock and saw the introduction of a "star shaped" key to making picking the locks "impossible", as well as other developments. But Choice maintained that the Club Lock had not been fixed and anyone could defeat it in under a minute.
A local TV current affairs show filmed a carpark showdown between the manufacturer of the Club Lock and a reporter from the magazine, as the manufacturer prepared to release their latest model and the magazine claimed it would be able to defeat it in less than 30 seconds.
They were screaming at each other in a car park and honestly looked like they were going to hit each other. The manufacturer claimed (in near hysteria) that it was impossible for someone to pick their locks, and that the magazines claims were wrong. The magazine denied this, and so were challenged to demonstrate their claim on TV.
A brand new model Club Lock was placed on a car steering wheel.
The magazine reporter got in the car, grabbed it, and gave it a good hard yank, and it came off easily.
The manufacturer went very very quiet.
The funny thing about this - and the reason I remember it - was that the people who made Club Locks never asked the magazine HOW they'd been defeating their product. They all assumed that the locks had been picked. Practically all the improvements they made to the product over 4 years were in improving the lock mechanism. They never expected that the piece of metal which hooks around the steering wheel was so weak it could be easily bent. They shouldv'e thought laterally.
Anyway it was very funny. Trust me, I still remember it and it was about 15 years ago.
Putting syrup in coffee is some form of blasphemy.