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Locking down Macbook Air

Just wondering how other owners of the Macbook Air are stopping people from walking off with their laptop?

since the thing has not got a way to use a laptop lock what creative ways have people come up with?

The people in my local applestore were rather useless when I asked them for a suggestion to stop the $3000 laptop being stolen..

Wondering how long it will be before Apple release a new lower case with the ability to at least lock it to a desk to stop it walking off - in the mean time I am going to have to continue to use my PC when I am on the road.

MBA, Mac OS X (10.5.1)

Posted on Feb 13, 2008 4:50 PM

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18 replies

Feb 13, 2008 5:27 PM in response to Brian Caslis

In the live events industry I work in, when I am on site its impossible to carry a laptop around with you every second of the day, often I have to get up and walk away from where I am working, normally I lock my laptop down to a desk, or my work box so it wont walk away, but its impossible with the MBA - why choose the MBA then? well I have enough to carry around with me every day with out a heavy laptop, my current PC is the Samsung Q10 which is about the same size / weight but its 5 years old and getting a little slow and has a hard time with the cad drawings I get these days and I prefer Mac's

Feb 13, 2008 5:43 PM in response to D69wookie

Good points. I don't have a solution, there are only three suggestions I can think of:

1.) An alarm that goes off when detached. That's what the Apple stores have but it won't stop it from being taken.
2.) Thread a thin wire between fan vents on the bottom back. You can then loop a cable through the wire ends. Probably not great, but might be possible.
3.) Since the case is aluminum, drill a hole to attach something. But I'm sure you would need to disassemble it first since it would too risky to drill and hit something internally.

None of these are probably great solutions.

Feb 14, 2008 7:29 PM in response to D69wookie

I went to my local Apple store today and found they're using a product called the SK-928 pass through USB security cable attached to a fixed alarm box under the table, both from a company called Se-Kure Systems.

http://www.se-kure.com/page8.htm

I suppose you could use this in a fixed location if you glued the alarm box down, but I don't think they offer one for use in several different locations, e.g. one with a cable loop to put around a table leg.

Message was edited by: Bradley Husick

Mar 25, 2008 6:27 PM in response to D69wookie

My wife, who is an independent consultant (and a lifelong PC'er), was so excited to purchase a Macbook air as her professional laptop. It's size and weight were perfect to take to her client's office every day. However, she had to return it since there was no lock available and no way to secure it to a desk. Lugging it around all day is not an option, and neither is leaving sensitive information laying about for anyone to slip into their inter office envelope and out the door. The designers really need to address this oversight if they truly want to make inroads into the PC business user. It was a deal breaker for us, and for every professional who can't leave their laptop unsecured.

Jun 4, 2008 1:21 AM in response to D69wookie

Extract from my MBA review here: http://www.notebooks.com/2008/05/29/macbook-air-user-review/

"The MacBook Air lacks one security feature, which many notebooks and also other Apple notebooks have: a slot for a Kensington lock to tether the notebook to another object such as a table. Therefore the Macbook Air should be with you, if you fear the possibility of someone walking away with it, while it is unattended."

Since it is small and thin, I put the MBA into a lockable drawer in my desk at work.

"I’ve made it difficult for people to access my data by enabling a strong password to protect access to my user account, encrypting my user data with FileVault, choosing a secure screensaver and by installing Apple’s Open Firmware, which will require the user to enter a password in order to install Mac OS on the hard drive. I also use third party software from Orbicule to increase my chances of recovering my laptop, or at least to make the MacBook Air hard to use for a thief."

Jun 4, 2008 10:57 PM in response to D69wookie

I would either carry your computer with you at all times, or hide it/lock inside a desk (or pile some paper on top of it). Stuff it inside of an envelope!

Anyone who leaves it locked/unattended at a library or cafe is just asking for trouble. If a thief tried to get off with your computer and could not, I would think the case would be all bent and scratched trying. Again, keep it with you at all times if you can.

Locking down Macbook Air

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