Are Kensington locks effective against laptop theft?

t7r · 06-14-2009, 04:28 AM

Cross-post from Z-I-v, but anyway,

I'm talking about these.
secure it: Notebook Keyed Locks

When going to school, I plan to leave my laptop in my dorm. As of now, I am still unsure where in my dorm to leave it safe in; dunno if there are lockers or anything. I'm pretty sure there would be permanent objects such as dining tables and such in my dorm, so I was wondering if these Kensington locks would still be effective against laptop theft, or that I would bring my laptop to class everyday (though it may be difficult during gym class).

Any recommendations how to protect my laptop, aside from not bringing it with me at all?

**dieKatze88** · 06-14-2009, 03:08 PM

do research into the products you are looking at. A friend of mine faced this issue three years ago, and he noted that half of the products he read reviews on were easily defeated with a pair of plyers, he ended up finding one that couldn't be cut with Bolt cutters and bought that.

WiLLiSTER · 06-14-2009, 05:01 PM

Get a decent carrying case or something and never leave it behind.

**CStarFlare** · 06-14-2009, 05:05 PM

buy a lockable trunk and store it there when you're not around

this gives you additional storage for anything else you might not want stolen

also, carrying it around is a good idea until you forget it or are distracted and someone snatches it

WiLLiSTER · 06-15-2009, 08:53 PM

I've just gotten used to always having my backpack on me or within my site at all times if I'm out, so it's my best method.

Lockable trunk/briefcase is good though.

**CStarFlare** · 06-15-2009, 09:53 PM

Briefcase can be easily carried away.

Get a trunk, and if it can't be heavy weight it down.

WiLLiSTER · 06-17-2009, 12:27 AM

I keep forgetting this is about leaving it in a dorm.

As csta said, trunk it, make it heavy, call it a day.

deathrazor · 06-17-2009, 09:52 AM

And lock your dorm room when you leave?

KingKannibal · 07-29-2009, 03:45 PM

This is a tough issue to debunk!

I knew a kid from high school that had plenty of tools to break almost any kind lock! If you put your laptop in a number locked breifcase, that might help a bit. But the issue with those are that you have to find one with digits more than 5! Even a kid less than half our ages can open those just by playing with it!

noisy doll☆ · 08-04-2009, 10:16 PM

Will you have a roommate? Make sure you and your roommate absolutely lock the door when you leave, and carry your key with you at all times to not get locked out. My junior year roommate never remembered to lock doors or carry her key, and every day I would think "god is someone going in to steal my laptop right now? I hope not"

not a good way to live, stressing out about what you can't control when you're not there. so regardless of what kind of lock you get, make sure that at least your door gets locked.