Just got my laptop lock BIC'd...

[Kenn]

Well, not the thinkpad itself, but rather the Kensington laptop cable lock that has one of those cylindrical barrels that people have been opening with bic pens lately. I knew it was insecure, but I've never found a pen with the right diameter to fit this lock so I kept using it.

Somehow I lost my cable lock key while my thinkpad was locked up. After about an hour of fiddling with different pens, trying to get the right barrel size to fit the cylinder, a friend came over and cut open a bic to widen the barrel up a bit. He spent about 5 minutes jamming the thing into the lock as I looked around for a pair of sissors to saw through the cable, and the next thing I know, he says "got it" and tossed the opened lock onto the table

I don't know what's worse, losing the key, or seeing firsthand how easy it is to defeat.

Oh well, my laptop is free, and now I can go home

[none]

I hope there are no shoplifters reading this forum

[etherealtml]

no wonder my brother told me to get a combination lock

[TarzanBoy]

This is a very widely known issue with certain laptop locks and kryptonite bicycle locks.

The general consensus has been that NO LOCK is 100% secure and that you should tote your laptop with you to mitigate the risk. After all, isn't that the whole reason you all own laptops? The portability.

As for bike locks, there are certain models whose keyes don't fit pen diameters.

--EDIT--
Oh yeah...
T22 2647-8EU

[K. Eng]

And to think that I paid $40 to buy one of those lock things 4 years ago only to have it defeated by a $0.25 (or less) pen.

Not that it matters much. I never leave my ThinkPad unattended.

[Marc_G]

They always say, the PEN is mightier than the sword. Now we know why...

[Kenn]

This is a very widely known issue with certain laptop locks and kryptonite bicycle locks.

The general consensus has been that NO LOCK is 100% secure and that you should tote your laptop with you to mitigate the risk. After all, isn't that the whole reason you all own laptops? The portability.

As for bike locks, there are certain models whose keyes don't fit pen diameters.

--EDIT--
Oh yeah...
T22 2647-8EU

Yep, this thing was all over the net last year, which is how we knew to go about with it.

Of course there is no such thing as 100% security, but there is a HUGE difference between what could be called 50-90% versus 0-1% security. The bic thing is akin to not having a lock at all.

Btw, the pen actually doesn't fit into the cylinder like it does on Kryptonite locks - I tried about 15 pens last night, and in the end we had to slit the Bic and mash it in to get it to fit. I imagine with a properly-fitting pen it would have taken less than 30 seconds.

Here's a pic for fun:

[TarzanBoy]

Wow, GREAT pic. What kind of digital camera do you have?

[Logi7]

its basic lock picking

i can do it with 2 paper clips


the point it that the lock is to deturn people from stealing - again, as it was said before - no lock is 100% secure

[beeblebrox]

Haha!!!

I used to use a heavy Kryptonite Evolution 2000 lock on my expensive mountainbike, until recently.
Then I saw the little video clip about how to open it with a BIC pen in 10 seconds. Tried it, unlocked my bike within 5 seconds and then put a brand new Bike lock back to eBay.

So much for Kryptonite!

NOW: The guy, who put the little amateur video clip onto one of the internet blogs got heavily sued by Kryptonite for damaging business !!!

Terrific company...

[edelrc]

Lock picking in round locks like those are the easiest to do. Technically, there is not even picking involved but a matter of brute random combination jerking. Any simple door lock is much harder to do since pins are harder to access. (http://home.howstuffworks.com/lock-pick ... /printable)

For me, those locks are secure for the purpose they have been designed; to avoid the CASUAL theft.
If someone wants to steel, don´t worry, the thief will just get the appropriate cutting pliers rather than wasting time with Bic pens.

By the way, for TarzanBoy, the camera can almost be anyone, the effect you like is caused when playing with the depth of field. that can be achieve with a low f-ratio, a large zoom or be able to get very close with the lens.

[IR0NMAN]

What about those locks that have an alarm? The moment the lock is shaked, the alarm turn on and there's a high pitched sound... what do you think of those?

[Kenn]

NOW: The guy, who put the little amateur video clip onto one of the internet blogs got heavily sued by Kryptonite for damaging business !!!

Terrific company...

No way!! Only in America can you have a cause of action for something like that

I have the even beefier Krypto - the New York Lock - but I guess no matter how thick the bar is, it's still only as strong as the weakest link!

Tarzanboy: Thx! the camera is actually just an old Canon G2. I took the photo this morning, no flash, custom WB, and applied manual levels and digital fill in Photoshop. And of course, it's also reduced some 12x from its original size.

[edelrc]

The best protection Thinkpad owners we can have is comunicating potential thiefs that our Thinkpad systems and its HDD are protected by a chip and little they will be able to get from them.

(Great cam the G2... that said by someone with the G3 and its F2.0!!!)