Physically locking down a public access PC

[ilan1]

When you go to Kinko's, a lot of them have Dell machines that you can pay
by the minute to use. On the back of these computers, there is a special metal
security lock that restricts access to all the ports on the back of the computer,
i.e., you cannot remove the PS/2 keyboard cable and stick a hardware keystroke
logger onto the machine, etc.

Does anybody know of companies that make these security devices? I would
like to set up something similar.

Thank you.

Ilan

[theprez98]

http://www.securtech.com/
I didn't see the specific devices you were talking about, but they have similar products. You might want to take a closer look next time you're at Kinko's, the manufacturer's name is probably on the lock.

[mfreeck]

When you go to Kinko's, a lot of them have Dell machines that you can pay
by the minute to use. On the back of these computers, there is a special metal
security lock that restricts access to all the ports on the back of the computer,
i.e., you cannot remove the PS/2 keyboard cable and stick a hardware keystroke
logger onto the machine, etc.

It's called a port controller cover and they sell them as machine specific, so you'd have to match it up the best you could to your box.

Here's what I found with a quick google:
http://tinyurl.com/htnrw
http://tinyurl.com/jpnvu

You could probably turn up what you wanted with a more extensive search.

[KeLviN]

there's ony one way to know for sure.... you gotta smuggle the whole box out.

[lowtec]

I don't see something like that as really being effective because a determined user could just cut the cord and patch their device in. I think it would be best to have the machine physically locked in a box type enclosure, and if necessary have a hole for the CD tray and USB ports.

[J-Rod]

This reminds me of a PC a co-worker of mine used to use. She didn't want the "crazy asian kids" installing any of their "weird programs" as she put it, so she locked down everything as much as she could. Changed the Admin password, changed the boot options, password protected the BIOS, and put nice big lock on the back. Well, we got sick and tired of not being able to do anything on the machine that we wanted to (like play Halo for instance), so we grabbed our boss's lock picking kit and went to work. Took a while to get the lock open, but after that, it was smooth sailing. Reset the CMOS, changed the boot options to boot to the CD first then the floppy, re-password protected the BIOS with a new password, cracked and cleared the admin password, added ourselves to the Admin group, then locked it back up like nothing had happened. It was a lot of fun and just goes to show that sometimes your security measures just aren't enough.

[ilan1]

I don't see something like that as really being effective because a determined user could just cut the cord and patch their device in. I think it would be best to have the machine physically locked in a box type enclosure, and if necessary have a hole for the CD tray and USB ports.

Cut the cord and patch their device in? This is easier said than done.

If I wanted to cut into a PS/2 cable and insert a hardware keystroke
logger, I don't think that I could do it in a minute or so.

Ilan