Cubicle Security For Laptops, Electronics?

kamikasee writes "I recently found out that I'm going to be moved from an office to a cubicle. The cubicle area is not very secure, and I'm worried about things wandering off. My boss has offered to buy some equipment to help me secure things, but so far I haven't found anything that fits my requirements. Google and Amazon searches are overwhelmed by lockable key cabinets and larger pieces of furniture. Here are some of the requirements: The main issue with traditional solutions (e.g. locking things in a drawer) is convenience. I use a laptop with a second LCD monitor. There's also an external keyboard and mouse and a USB hard drive. I leave my laptop on at night so I can remote-desktop into it, so I'm not really happy about putting it in a drawer (no ventilation), plus I don't like the idea of having to 'unharness' everything every time I want to put it away. I don't trust cable locks. Besides, cable locks won't help me secure my the USB drive and other electronics that might wander off. The solution I imagine is a lockable, ventilated metal box that would sit under the monitor and house most of the electronics. If it was big enough, I could stick my laptop into it at night (while leaving it running) and feel confident that it would still be there in the morning. I'd be open to other types of solutions. Surely someone else must have dealt with this problem."

Comments

Never dealt with that sort of problem

[BadAnalogyGuy]

I've never personally dealt with that sort of problem. It's probably because I work with professionals.

YMMV.

Re:Never dealt with that sort of problem

[LinuxInDallas]

And that is what we though where I work as well. Here's the deal, how professional are the janitors? How about maintenance workers that are on-site tmie to time. Can you really trust them? We also had issue with someone that was able to sneak into the building over lunch one day and wander off with people's belongings. Forget the people you actually work with, they probably are completely trustworthy. it's everyone else that can gain access to your building that you should worry about.

Re:Never dealt with that sort of problem

[bogess]

I dunno, but if my boss was willing to pop for something to secure my stuff and I was paranoid about it disappearing, I would opt for a soloution from an older, gentler period of time. Have him pop for a Roll top desk, for instance. Following the nature of your request, one with a lock (most had them). Then you would have everything you described with the added benefit of a classy looking piece of furniture.

Don't Have stealable stuff

[temojen]

Why do you have a laptop if you don't take it with you? What do other people in the cube farm do? Why do you have your own equipment at work?

Re:Don't Have stealable stuff

[The Fanta Menace]

If your boss is moving you from a locked office to an open cube then it sounds like his problem...

If my boss was moving me from an office into a cubicle, I'd be looking for another job. That's just insulting.

Simple solution

[Brandybuck]

Simple solution: Don't bring your personal computer or electronic devices to work. If your company's security is such that company property disappears, then that is the company's problem. In real life, this is not a big problem. With the exception of lunches in the refrigerator, coworkers are not going to steal your stuff in a healthy work culture. But to be save, don't leave your personal devices laying around. If it is your own personal computer, however, then get the company to provide you with a company computer.

Re:Simple solution

[Swampash]

Simple solution: Don't bring your personal computer or electronic devices to work. If your company's security is such that company property disappears, then that is the company's problem.

Quoted for great justice.

Company gear, company premises, company's obligation to secure it. if I came in to work tomorrow morning and my desktop computer and monitor were gone, I'd inform our IT manager and tell him to call me when they have been found or replaced.

Seriously, if you're not working for yourself, why on earth would you take your OWN laptop into a place of business? That's retarded.

A box could easily be stolen

[_merlin]

If you lock the stuff in a box, people could just steal the box and cut it open at their leisure. I think your real problem is that you don't trust your workmates. If your workmates are, in fact, untrustworthy you probably need a new job. Another strong possibility is that you're unduly suspicious of the people around you.

Re:A box could easily be stolen

[dfm3]

I think your real problem is that you don't trust your workmates. If your workmates are, in fact, untrustworthy you probably need a new job.

The submitter doesn't explicitly say that it's his fellow employees that he's worried about. There are plenty of workplace settings that are easily accessible to anyone who just wanders in off of the street.

For example, I work for a university. Typically, graduate students don't have their own offices, but get a cubicle in a large room shared by a dozen or more fellow students. Hundreds of people attend classes in our building every day, and it's not uncommon for computers, textbooks, backpacks, projectors, or anything that is not locked up or chained down to disappear.

In that case, the best solution is to just take anything of value home with you, or lock it up when you leave.

No kidding!

[raehl]

I have not locked the door to my office in years. People leave their child's fund raising goodies out on tables and you just put the money you're supposed to in the envelope if you take something.

Where do you work that people are stealing stuff all the time?

Or are you just mega-paranoid?

Re:No kidding!

[nacturation]

No kidding indeed. I often leave my wallet on my desk all day (open environment, no cubes) and I'm not even concerned that someone might look at it funny. My guess is that the submitter works in a high school or a prison.

Re:No kidding!

[sleigher]

Well I have worked in offices for years. One time after an office move we came back and a co-workers purse was gone. The whole thing. We were on the 8th floor. Seems someone came in off the street, up the back stairs and got in. Not sure how because the door was locked. Point being that it isn't always co workers who are dishonest. The company got better security on the floor after that.....

Re:No kidding!

[lgw]

Probably not a coworker. There's an entire class of criminals who dresses nicely, get past the badge readers on doors just by asking nicely to be let in (works quite consistantly), and just wanders around stealing something valuable. Also, the cleaning staff sometimes decides it's time for some bonus pay.

I worked in one office where *dozens* of laptops were stolen over a period of *weeks* until the security company convinced the cleaning company to fire the guy with the felony theft record. The theft mysteriously stopped at that point.

Thinking "my coworkers are professional, so I need not fear theft" is naive at best.

Re:No kidding!

[Aaron Denney]

Secondly they are in a police station which often houses not only police but also known and suspected criminals.

These are occasionally the same people.

Re:No kidding!

[cayenne8]

"I started out saying "cleaning crew," but that's maybe a bit presumptuous, and could easily be viewed as prejudice. Of course, most of the regular employees make enough (we're engineers) that stealing a laptop and risking a career doing so makes very little sense. I'm not sure how closely the Rent-a-Cops are scrutinized. One hopes they are. Laying default blame in any direction without evidence is could easily be mistaken for racism, sadly. Cleaning crew and cafeteria staff? Almost exclusively Hispanic. The Rent-a-Cops? Almost exclusively African American. The engineering staff? It's the most diverse, but mostly Caucasian, East Indian, Asian."

[rant]

You know...I'm getting very tired of everyone having to walk on egg shells to avoid the 'racism' card being thrown at them.

At no time, did I, nor many other threads here that said it was often the cleaning service...mention race. Only categories of jobs were mentioned...Rent-a-cops, janitors, etc. Now...if one ethnic group tends to predominate in one of these jobs where you work, and they happen to be stealing stuff, it doesn't make it any less true that it was the cleaning crew.

God...lets face it. Sometimes, black people sell crack. Sometimes hispanic people steal things, some asian drivers are poor drivers, sometimes white people are white trash. These are truths...they happen. Not everyone of a race does these things, but, some do, and I'm getting sick and tired of when someone points out that someone of a certain race has done something wrong, that they are either labeled racist or afraid they'll be thought of as one. Sometimes actions of a person *DO* play into a stereotype...it happens, and if you see it and say it, it does not make you a racist. That is only if you make blanket statements that ALL [insert race here]'s steal things while at work, are you making a racist statement.

Geez, lets all grow some thicker skin, and not be so quick to throw the racist card, and lets not be so scared of having it played, that we're scared to say something that might in some cases, happen to be true.

[/rant]

so.. why have a laptop?

[gatekeep]

So let me get this right... you're leaving your laptop on your desk powered on every night. Why do you have a laptop?

If you just use a regular tower you can user a large internal drive, or a few larger internal drives, removing the need for the extra drive. Then your problem becomes securing a tower. There are many desks and enclosers for securing towers.

As for a keyboard and mouse, if you're worried about your keyboard and mouse being stolen I'd recommend you find another job.

Suck it up, princess.

[MoneyCityManiac]

Honestly, this sounds like someone who's just bitter about losing their office to a cubicle and causing a stink.

Your laptop and associated paraphernalia are the property of your company. If they happen to find legs then that's an issue for your company to deal with, not you. Hopefully you back up your data, so if your laptop does grow legs it's just a day or two to get up and running with a new lappy.

Besides, your co-workers are in the same position, so if they're not reporting thefts then you probably won't be either. And if there is a problem of theft in your office then perhaps you should be pushing your manager to make your workplace more secure, rather just just your workspace.

Is a solution really what he wants

[bombastinator]

About 5 minutes of googling found me vast numbers of things, from laptop locks impervious to the toilet paper tube solution, to locking shelves instead of drawers, to a bar style locking device IIRC I've seen used at CompUSA. Large numbers of people have his issue as evidenced by the large number of solutions available.

My suspicion is that the poster really kinda wants his office back and is making excuses. If this is the case it is natural that no solution is going to work.

A solution: webcam. But you have other problems...

[wernst]

I'm going to get to a solution first, but you have other problems.

For security, put up a webcam or two in your new cubicle: both overlooking your workspace. Make sure they are visible and have bright or blinking LEDs, so they'll be really noticed. Put up a warning sign saying that this space is remotely monitored and digitally recored. Even if it really isn't, the warning should be enough to keep the basic rif-raff away. Sometimes deterrence is better than physical security...

Now then. Here's the real problem.

You speak as if this notebook is your personal property. It really shouldn't be. Your company should be supplying you with the equipment you need to do your job, and if the company equipment gets stolen when you're not around, that's the company's fucking problem, not yours.

Secondly, you say this notebook has an external monitor, standalone keyboard and separate mouse. That sure sounds like a desktop computer to me. Get one instead of the notebook, and the chances of your computer walking off are slim to none.

Third, what place are you working in where you fear your stuff will be taken? I've done time in cubicles since 1988, in places ranging from digital sweatshops, to NASA-type work with spaceship software support, to fortune-500 joints. Never once have I ever had anything taken from my desk more serious than a stapler. I don't even lock the drawers or file cabinets.

Maybe it's time to look for a new shop, since they don't supply you properly, kicked you out of your office, and they employ co-workers that you fear will steal your shit.

It's been said a gazillion times...

[Tastecicles]

...but, let me reiterate in case you've missed it: if you fear your personal property going walkies, there are two obvious solutions:

1. Don't bring your personal property to work. I don't, even though I work in a very professional environment; this is no reflection on the people I have working alongside me, it's a reflection on the clients. I have no idea of house policies regarding contractors' equipment hence I don't take the chance that they'll say "Oh, you're missing the tools of your trade? Well, tough shit." I take what I need to get the job done and I do a head count before and after. And NO WAY IN HELL do I take my eyes off of anything with a screen (notebook, PDA, whatever). Heck, the only cash I take a £10 stash for a meal and a bus. Apart from my keys and the clothes on my back, and a wouldn't-want-to-steal-it Nokia 3410.

2. Find another job. It's obvious you're insecure about your work environment, and who could blame you for making that decision? You're obviously not happy which must severely impact on your productivity.

As to notebook security in and of itself, the two things I would do if I really needed to leave one onsite for remote login are: a. remove the battery. These are expensive to replace, and nobody in their right mind would consider buying a hot laptop with no battery, and b. put a supervisor and a user password on the BIOS (both different and nondictionary words), this renders the unit completely useless to anyone who doesn't have your memory and your battery, as obviously the moment they unplug it it will power off. As a postnote, mark the unit in such a way as to make it screamingly identifiable (such as the inside of the bezel in acid etch or the battery bay by the same method) without too much effort.

Re:Easy!

[myth_of_sisyphus]

When I worked at Apple, there was a guy who built an igloo with styrofoam over his cubicle. Didn't have a door but it was a nice cubicle-igloo. One night I went to check it out, seeing as how it was 1 am and there was nobody in the building. His office was lined with monitors displaying a trippy acid pattern that had me mesmerized for about 15 minutes. Just the quiet of the office building and the dim lights with the monitors going all loopy and the igloo above created a very serene environment.

Then I heard "Can I help you?" And I jumped. I turned around and there was a bearded guy in a sleeping bag. I said ".....uhhhhhh......sorry" and leaped out of there.

I never did find out who it was or why he did that. I wasn't really supposed to be in that area of the building at that time so asking around was a no-go.

If anybody knows, I'd like to hear it. This was about 1990 in DeAnza 3 or 4.

the perfect solution

[hazem]

Besides, cable locks won't help me secure my the USB drive and other electronics that might wander off. The solution I imagine is a lockable, ventilated metal box that would sit under the monitor and house most of the electronics. If it was big enough, I could stick my laptop into it at night (while leaving it running) and feel confident that it would still be there in the morning. I'd be open to other types of solutions. Surely someone else must have dealt with this problem."

This is a common problem and what you're looking for is called a desktop computer. It's a box that sits under the monitor with all the electronics enclosed inside. It even has fans and vents to keep it all working at a proper temperature. /sarcasm

Seriously, the whole point of a laptop is that it's portable and convenient to carry around, which also makes it easy to steal. The desktop can do all the things you need and will probably be more powerful than your laptop and cost about the same as some kind of powered box for locking your laptop in.

Then you can just leave the laptop locked in your drawer for when you need to work away from the desk.

Translation of OP's question into Accurate English

[jolyonr]

"My boss wants me to move out of my nice office into a cubicle, give me some nice EXPENSIVE technical bullshit reason I can give him to dissuade him."

Re:One possible solution.

[Lunarsight]

Another possibility - you could bury landmines near your cubicle to thwart any potential thieves. How? By digging through concrete with a spade? ------

Nah, that would just be silly.

I would just covertly hide it under the office carpeting..