I've been thinking of buying a laptop for quite some time now, but as of late I'm quite serious about it.

And I've encountered a problem, I seriously didn't think I would! It's about security – and I don't mean security as "hackers" (actually the correct, but less popular, term is crackers) cracking my passwords, steal my identity and rule the world with my name and hence getting me into big big trouble!

No! What I'm talking about is securely leaving your laptop somewhere (e.g. while going to the loo, getting a new cup of tea, etc.) without it getting nicked. These Kensington lock chains don't look very promissing to me… I mean, they look even simpler to cut through and lock-pick then a simple chain you use to lock up your bike. And that's worth a few hundred euro, and not a thousand or more like a laptop!!

Think I'm paranoid? Well, look at this article from F-Secure and the post before that! And what surprised me even more, is that no-one really seems to care how sturdy these locks and chains are.

F-Secure made me wonder about the security of one's laptop even more! Not only do the chains look a bit slim and the locks look like you can pick them with a simple paper-clip (like you could the "keyboard lock" on desktop computers), but now I have to worry about the laptop's housing as well! It seems like your best chance is that the laptop gets desteroyed enough by the thief that he has no use of it anymore and will leave it where it is. Wow, that's a big relief! It's broken, but at least it's not stolen!

So, when you look at the next laptop and the salesperson shows you the biometric fingerprint scanner claiming "oh, how very safe it is", do yourself a favour and ask him how sturdy the Kensington lock hole in the housing is – and how much damage it does if it's pulled out. It's far from optimal security, but untill we get titan-alloy laptops with better chains and locks, I'm affraid that's all you can do :(

…oh, and, of course, don't leave your laptop anywhere alone – it's never safe.


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