Home > Consumer Reviews > Kensington 64068E MicroSaver Notebook Lock and Security Cable (PC/Mac)

When it comes to notebook physical security you need a device that will deter crimes of opportunity -- such as those presented by leaving your notebook at your desk at work or at a table in a library while you browse the shelves. If you want to protect your notebook from a determined thief, buy a safe.

Most cable security devices are going to provide about the same amount of security so you need to focus on ease of use. If a device is easy to use, then you're more likely to use it and use it properly. The Kensington system doesn't get much simpler. It consists of a cable, which is wrapped around a reasonably unmoveable object, and an attached key lock that attaches directly to your notebook's security slot.

Compare the Kensington system with the Curtis 06414 system and you'll probably agree that the Kensington system is far easier to use. Compare it's 1 piece system to the Curtis system which uses a cable, a seperate metal piece that hooks to the notebook's security slot and a seperate lock that connects that piece to the cable. That's 3 seperate pieces, a little more effort to hook everything up and the possibility of losing that tiny metal piece the whole system depends on.

I've used both the Kensington and the Curtis systems at work and have found the Kensington system to be far easier to use. I put one key on my keyring, put the other key someplace safe and can toss the cable into my bag and be good to go. With the Curtis system, I had to make use of its storage bag just so I wouldn't lose the individual pieces. I'm also sure the extra effort required to setup the Curtis system will prevent some people from using the device as much as they should.

The Kensington system costs a little more money, but it is definitely worth it. It's my choice for my personal notebook.

As one reviewer pointed out succinctly, this is a deterrent. Get up and leave your laptop for a few minutes, this lock makes a good deterrent from the casual, opportunity-driven thief. No, it won't prevent someone vandalizing your laptop. No, it won't stop a thief with a good cable cutter. So if you see anyone at the cafe or library with a cable cutter, think twice. Oh, you would anyway? I thought so. Some reviewers here must think you have no common sense. So let's assume you do. You're considering this one because it's a very AFFORDABLE deterrent. Another Kensington with an alarm may appeal to you if you want wander a few feet out of sight of your laptop, and want an audible alarm if someone tries to yank it off -- but then, who in their right mind will try to defeat a laptop with an alarm in a library? It's all a matter of risk assessment. If you think you may be leaving your laptop in a place where passersby possess industrial-grade cable cutters or the knowledge to defeat alarms, then perhaps you don't want to leave our laptop at all.

So this affordable little cable is a suitable deterrent where you feel it's appropriate for the risk. A relatively benign public location ... your place of work where your laptop isn't accessible to anyone but employees and staff ... a hotel, where only the staff have access to your room. These are places where the risk of theft is minimized, and this easy-to-use cable lock is probably quite appropriate.

I just bought one of these at our University Bookstore, and returned it a week later.

Specifically:

* I used it on my 13" MacBook, it pulled and warped the exterior plastic each time I locked the computer, enough so that it wouldn't surprise me if continued usage of this lock would permanently damage the MacBook casing.

* A store employee who recommended the product tried to show me how to "correctly" use the lock. Not only did it warp the plastic for him, too, but to his apparent surprise, it also took him several frustrating minutes just to get the lock on and off. He indicated that the quality appears to have dropped considerably from the Kensington unit he had previously purchased.

Thus, I cannot recommend this product for 13" MacBook users. Users of other computer models may wish to exercise caution when purchasing as well.

Is that Kensington is an EXCELLENT COMPANY that KNOWS HOW TO CARE FOR ITS CUSTOMERS.

I have a Mac iBook and I have had no trouble -- maybe there is just some incompatibility with the 13" model people are complaining about...

BUT, I will not disclose the nature of my problem with my old cable lest people try to take advantage -- lets just say that *I* did something really stupid. Kensington REPLACED my cable for free, even though what happened to it was TOTALLY MY FAULT, and they knew it!!

I just think that a company that cares about its customers this much deserves to be acknowledged and deserves 5 stars!

Also, here is something I learned on the Learning Channel back when they showed studies and not just Choppers and people decorating their neighbors' houses with plywood and spray-paint...

There was a study where, before people got up to walk away from their stuff, on beaches, in libraries, in cafes and bars, etc., they asked a complete stranger to keep an eye on it...then they sent in someone else to lurk around the stuff and maybe try to take something. In *EVERY* case, EVERY SINGLE CASE!, the stranger got up to defend the things they were asked to watch. There is something about entrusting your stuff to another person that makes that person take your side and feel a responsibility to back up their promise.

Think about your own experience...isn't there something that makes you extra-vigilant when someone says, "Hey, can you watch my stuff?"

So DO lock up your computer with the Kensington, but then, just ask anyone to also watch your stuff for you and if they say they will, they will. Then you have 2 deterrents to theft. Nothing is ever going to totally protect your computer from theft, but this cable and other humans work pretty darn well.

I am very happy with my cable lock. Although it does not make your computer equal to Fort Knox, it will at the very least slow a would-be theif down. I can hang my 8lb laptop off of it, and bounce it up and down with the cable, and it holds firm (trial conducted over my bed, a heavily padded surface). I like how the cable swivels around the actual lock to avoid the cable kinking, and becoming cumbersome. I also like the fact that it is a key operated system. Although combinations are quicker, they can be hacked in about 5 minutes of trying, and slipping a key in the lock and giving a quick turn can't be any simpler. Just remember to keep one key in a safe place, and write the key serial number down somewhere so a replacement can be found. For the money, I don't think there is a better security option for notebook computers, unless you spend the $40 on a doberman puppy, and train it to attack computer theifs. But that would be hard. Buy this lock system, and it could save you $3000.