How protect my new Macbook Pro Retina Display without Kensington lock ???

That has a 8 gauge steel cable on it, I can cut thru that in 3 seconds with compression cutters.

That $60 spent could have bought you 2 superior things:

1. A used zero haliburton case and a 2 guage bicycle lock cable thats extremely hard to cut thru.

http://www.selectism.com/news/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/zero-halliburton-appoll o-11-case-0.jpg

2. Inland marine insurance that covers 100% any theft, spills, loss, accidents.

a TYPE of insurance called "inland marine insurance"

roughly $30 per year for a device(s) with 0 deductible, used same for over 20 years, same insurance the pros use on their portable devices.

very cheap, very useful insurance, most people dont know about same.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inland_marine_insurance

Kevin M. Cox wrote:

All that said, I think the Maclocks bracket is the best locking option out there right now.

No, its not, there are 3 others I know offhand that are superior.

PlotinusVeritas,

Again, I know the cable can be severed. But in my usage no thief is going to take the time cutting the cable when there are literally dozens of other laptops in the same room with NO lock at all. It is a deterrent only and I use it with that knowledge.

1. I agree that would be a much more secure solution, but it isn't practical for my situation. Just getting it in and out of the case (including setting up card readers, hard drives, etc) would eat up a sizable chunk of a 12 minute NFL halftime.

2. As a professional photographer I'm well aware of "inland marine insurance" as I have a rather sizable policy covering tens of thousands dollars worth of equipment. However this won't help me get my job done if I return to find my laptop missing at halftime or post-game. If it does get stolen I want to be able to assure my boss I did everything reasonable to secure it. [Yes, a standard cable lock will meet the definition of reasonable for my situation.]

If you know three superior locking options then please share them with us. You've posted several times in this thread about insurance but haven't provided any help to those of us who want a lock which is the subject of this thread.

I know my usage isn't the same as everyone else which is why I fully explained my needs in my little review. Everyone has different usage needs so my thoughts may or may not apply. But $60 seems like a small price to pay to protect a $3,000 computer, especially if it means your average thief will just move on to a softer target!

1. Fireproof key access file drawer bolt fastened to the floor or to furniture ($150)

2. 4 finger electronic box, no keys, and finger access code. 3 second access time. ($120)

3. desk swivel lock, circular clamshell that rolls over and locks on top of a notebook (80$)

4. A ripstop kelvar bag with attached bicycle cable (thick 8 gauge cable that takes huge bolt cutters nobody can pocket carry). ($80)

these are multi-layer kevlar bags that are cutproof with also a fireproof layer inside making them flame proof (for a while).

5. lockable slot box used as a notebook stand on a desk attached to the desk with a 1foot by 1 foot industrial velcro that only a crowbar can remove You can make it yourself for $50

those are 5 superior options.

with insurance, however, and CONSTANT data redundancies, and archives, it doesnt matter if the computer AND its data are stolen,

The pros never worry about lost data ON their notebooks. Why? because they religiously archive their data daily or twice a day to:

offsite

ext. hard drives

NAS arrays

online storage

Methodology to protect your data. Backups vs. Archives. Long-term data protection

😊

I think you are talking about something different than most everyone else in this thread. Explain how anyone would use any of those suggestions (except maybe #4) away from their home or office?

PlotinusVeritas wrote:

with insurance, however, and CONSTANT data redundancies, and archives, it doesnt matter if the computer AND its data are stolen,

Yes it does, because my time has value as well. The time to replace the computer. The time to restore the data. The time and effort required dealing with the aftermath of a stolen computer is worth more than $60.

Insurance is important. Backups and archives are important. But they alone aren't a reason to give up on at least attempting to secure your laptop when out in the world.

1. Any pro has a redundant computer ready to roll at a moments notice due to spills, loss, accidents, failure, theft.

Ive got 5 spare Macs and Im not working for anyone.

Any professional can afford $1000 for a spare notebook, AND write it off their taxes as a work necessity. 😉

Insurance isnt important,... its incredibly vital.

I never mentioned giving up on your notebook, only that if you arent making backups and archives all the time, you're cruising for disaster, theft or not.

Your mentions were mostly office based.

If in a car, there are endless endless choices, it boggles the mind.

if on the go, its an alloy briefcase and a pair of handcuffs honestly.

people buy junky laptop thin cables for security, but case hardened steel handcuffs designed to keep derranged criminals in place is the type of gear you want, or likewise police grade gear meant to protect life and limb.

Check out the online catalog called PHILLIP GALLS for such gear

www.galls.com

S&W cuffs are $30, that and a $30-$80 USED alloy Haliburton case is a pair of rock hard on-the-go security.

thats roughly $100+ total for the cuffs and used Haliburton case.

If its good enough to carry around nuclear launch codes, its good enough for your notebook either A: in the car B: on the go, then attach it to a car part, or to a desk or to anything.

under desk lock box, $70 roughly

keyless portable lock vault for car, work, or portable

desk or car use with battery operated vault

portable box vault for work desk, car attachment, or portable and secured via lock to any fixed point

car vault for your notebook

The solutions you keep bringing up don't really apply to the use-case. None of these locking cases or contraptions actually solve the problem of keeping the laptop from being stolen from a mobile worker (you said "office based" but you ignore that it's a transient office that's not actually his permanent workspace - I agree that securing the laptop in an office is much better left to locking enclosures). So, ignoring any and all enclosures that are attached to a desk or car, we're left with your briefcase suggestion. You've just given the thief a handle, and a very casual-looking way to carry the device off and break into the case at their leisure. That, or you've got to secure the briefcase itself to a desk or some such structure with the very cable you mocked earlier. All that case might do is prevent an incompetent theif from getting at the data on the laptop, but I've got FileVault for that.

I'd like you to actually consider the traveling professional in the real world. They don't own their workspace, so they can't install truly secure locking enclosures (assuming the things you've posted actually are; I'll come back to that). These people do not have a hot spare as a precaution against down-time, and it would be unwieldy to travel with (and additionally secure) such a laptop. BTW, we're talking about a laptop that's considerably more than $1000. They cannot always have a perfect backup at every interval, if you occupy what I like to call "the real world" where you can't always maintain connectivity to cloud or other hosted solutions, and carrying a physical disk further complicates the anti-theft scenario. They need a sensible means of securing a laptop to make it a less-attractive target for opportunistic theft.

If we're talking about targetted theft, all bets are off, really. These are the people likely to actually have a set of bolt cutters handy, and can usually bypass the lockboxes you've posted even if they were a practically viable solution (heck, most of them have open hinges - much easier to defeat than the lock).

And honestly, get off the insurance. We've got that, but that's not the point. That's an entirely separate topic (protection against financial loss, not theft prevention/protection against productivity loss).

DysonJ wrote:

I'd like you to actually consider the traveling professional in the real world..

These are the people likely to actually have a set of bolt cutters handy,

I always consider that, but youre not considering the fact that a portable steel case (much more expensive than a Haliburton) and a pair of case hardened cuffs isnt getting into by ANYONE with a pair of bolt cutters.

even a Haliburton aluminum and cuffs is not getting into by anyone with bolt cutters.

bolt cutters will NOT cut thru case hardened very thick S&W cuffs which you can attach to anything on the go.

I was a traveling professional for 20 years always on the go.

There are very thin steel and Kevlar notebook cases that the genuine pros use with cuffs for leaving in a hotel and bolting to something immovable.

Those cases are about $1500 last I looked. True professional stuff demands a professional price.

When you say professional, I say 'how professional'

the rigs nobody can get into with bolt cutters will cost you $1500+

for the true professional thats very disposable change. 😉

they make professional bolting cuffs that are made of tungsten carbide, even a portable diamond saw will spit and sputter on a pair of those.

You've got a very narrow definition of what you call a "professional", and it's not particularly helpful to the discussion we're having here (no matter how much emphasis you put on the text). None of us here seem to be interested in that level of security (and for good reason; most of us will never need it). Some of us are just talking about ordinary business folk who do their work on the road a fair bit, and that's no less professional than an NFL photographer or whatever else you might call a "genuine pro".

I don't doubt that you have some good ideas how to spend $1500 on a rig that would provide ample security for a laptop that would stand up even to targetted attacks. We're talking about preventing opportunistic theft - somebody spots a shiny object and decides to make a quick buck. If they run into a decent laptop lock, they'll bail.

protection is either cheap, or expensive.

You can get "expensive like" protection on the go for $100 with a thin alloy case hardened cuffs.

Even a common working 'pro' can buy the expensive gear and write it off on his / her taxes as a working necessity So.........

~We're talking about preventing opportunistic theft

opportunistic theft is more about concealment than hard-security. Out of sight out of mind.

A laptop 'lock' is more enticement, rather than deterrent. A thin laptop cable says 'expensive item, easy to steal'.

is it better than nothing, yes, of course, .....could 60$ to $100 be better spent on tighter security? Most certainly.

Peace 😊

Can you elaborate on this 'wart' and foam solution? I might want to try!

Hi, what about the additional mm of height on the one corner of the machine? Is this noticeable at all or not? I am still tempted by either the Noble or the Snake Chicago, they seem more elegant and secure to me (can't undo with a screwdriver, and can use existing lock in case of the Snake). However I see that most of the considered input has been in favor of the Maclocks... confusing!

It's too bad they didn't make the bracket so that it's compatible with a standard kensington lock. Then I woud have a < $10 solution.

Recently while on vacation staying in a hotel room I used the Snake Chicago bracket that I had to modify so it would work. I realize that a pair of pliers would be enough to defeat this lock, but it worked fine, and I felt it would dissuade the casual thief. I just wish Snake Chicago had made it correctly so I didn't have to mess with it and open the slots so the Kensington lock cable "T" end fit.

Pat.#8,646,294 Securement Locking Device issued February 11, 2014.

I submited Concept disclosure to Apple, ACCO Brands and Master Lock nearly two months ago.

Only three parts not inlcuding your Clicksafe keyed/combination, Microsaver like keyed laptop lock or a padlock..

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