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Computer Security Cables

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0beron
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PostPosted: Sat Aug 20, 2005 4:17 pm    Post subject: Computer Security Cables Reply with quote

I'm looking to get hold of a cable to secure some of the items of my desktop setup. I have a dell machine with a tag on the back with a 8mm round hole and a small rectangular hole punched in it. I'd like something of reasonable length that will use this tag. I can secure the monitor since it has a cable guide in the stand that the cable can be fed through.
All the devices I have found so far are either the kensington type for laptops, or involve permanently glueing plates onto the casing. Can you recommend something that would do the job?

Thanks.
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The_Real_Gandalf
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PostPosted: Sat Aug 20, 2005 4:41 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

what kind of output does this hole give out?

Or is it , just a hole?

If it is just a hole, you can use several things to seal it , from a common nearby hardware store.

If it is a plug for some cable then we need to know the type of it.

Gandalf
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dannyboy 950
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PostPosted: Sat Aug 20, 2005 5:51 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Gandalf I think he actually means physically secureing it with a steel cable to his desk, not sure about a pad lock tho. He didn't really say


must be a lot of snatch-and-grab thefts in his neighborhood.
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The_Real_Gandalf
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PostPosted: Sat Aug 20, 2005 6:51 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

in that case...

The basic thought is to keep them out of your home or working place.

1) Use alarm and bars in windows if this is a place at your home.
2)Get a dog , preferable a large one like Rotveiler or German Shepard (think i miss spelled it!!)
3)if it is at work, make a mark at them , so even if they will be moved to another desk , you will be able to recognise them and get them back.

Unfortunatelly, if they reach physically to your pc ,there are not many things to do. They are capable of even taking piece of the floor , if you screw the box , on it.

Gandalf
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AdamV
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PostPosted: Sat Aug 20, 2005 8:05 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

if the tab you have is anything like the ones we have it is to use a padlock which prevents someone opening the case or removing the box (Kensingtons usually only prevent removal, not opening).

use big chains - most competent burglars will carry bolt croppers to chop small cables - this is how they will remove CRT VGA cables as it is quicker than unscrewing and the monitors are too bulky and heavy to bother with for their low value.
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njan
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PostPosted: Sat Aug 20, 2005 11:25 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Wot eliza said!

Quote:

I have a dell machine with a tag on the back with a 8mm round hole


This is for padlocks or other locking mechanisms. Unfortunately, it's not a very strong slip of metal, as you see; easy to clip through even with a half-decent multitool, wouldn't stop a burglar.

Quote:

and a small rectangular hole punched in it


This is a security slot used for kensington, targus, belkin (etc) locks, and a kensington laptop lock of the type you mention will fit into it. I have a Dell Optiplex GX150 beside me, so it's fairly likely my case is similar in design to yours, and if it's an optiplex it'll most likely be identical. Luckily, the design of the dell case is such that the kensington lock will stop the case from being opened, but only by nature of the fact that it goes through some (fairly flimsy) plastic and a thin sheet of steel; again, this wouldn't stop a determined intruder.

As mentioned above (and as Eliza points out), it won't stop a determined thief, they're really intended to stop snatch-and-grab jobs or theft in a public place (labs, internet cafes, lounges, etc) where hardware is out for public use.

If you want to stop casual snatch-and-grab, stick a padlock through the tab and lock it to a chain/object, or use a steel cable through the slot to secure the case and the monitor to a wall or other hard-to-move object.

If that's a pain, just get a laptop lock and lock it to the security slot and around through the monitor (and preferably around something else) - this'll make moving both a real pain, but is significantly easier to break into than a steel cable or Eliza's big chains.

Arguably, using the security slot is securer as the device will actually lock into the back of the case, as opposed to go through a tab which is easier to cut off the case, as the security slot would require you to actually mutilate the case to remove - that said, in my experience, the sort of hardware which goes into those slots tends not to be fairly secure (and easy to remove if you can figure out the device and have a pen handy), so cabling might be better.

If you really want to stop hardware getting nicked, stick it in a box! Several companies make boxes for cases and desks which cases lock inside; screens are harder, as it's more difficult to secure them without uglifying your working environment, but they're also cheaper, so most companies that lock boxes away tend to just bolt the screens down or cable them.

HTH! Razz
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0beron
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PostPosted: Wed Aug 24, 2005 11:29 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Thanks for your replies. Unfortunately the physical security of the building is beyond my control since I am renting one room within it with no lock on the door. My main aim is to make it hard enough to pinch my computer stuff that any prospective thief will give up and nick the tele from next door for example. I am well aware that it is hard/impossible to stop someone truly determined.
I'll probably go down the home grown padlock and chain route since there is a nearby radiator and a metal-framed bed I can attach things to very easily.
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onoski
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PostPosted: Wed Nov 30, 2005 11:00 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Just make sure when you secure your computer with the kensington lock that is securely fastened to the radiator mental rod or a thief would pick up the PC with locks all together. There are locks that you can also fasten to your computer that are alarmed and would not stop bleeping when taken without deactivating the code for the alarm.
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Jphillips
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PostPosted: Thu Dec 01, 2005 12:38 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

The best things to use are the kensington locks. I work in a high school so i've tried it all. Also important make sure whatever you use is keyed to a master key, so you don't spend all day trying to figure out which key.

On a different note, in my 7 years in high schools, i have questioned many times the validity of using lockdown cables. First they are only a visual deterrent, anyone who wants to steal something, will. The only thing a lockdown cable will do is make the thief question the risk involved. I've never seen a lockdown cable that can't be hacksawed, or cut with bolt cutters.
Then you ask yourselves how many times have i had something stolen, or how much equipment would of been stolen if it wasn't for the lockdown cables? If the answer is once a year or once in a blue moon, then compare how much extra time you spent installing lockdown cables, or more importantly how much extra time you spent removing them when you wanted to move the computer or service them. Me and my boss go back and forth with this all the time, he want's them locked i don't. He's ultimatley responsible for the cpu's i'm not. He dosen't have to remove them i do.

In summary:
I like the really thin flexible one's made by kensington. They have a loop on 1 side and a kensington lock on the other, you can get them keyed to 1 master which is very important. we buy our's from belkin, but i know you can get them from Dell.

Hope that helped.
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