Take a look at your netbook or notebook. Can you spot a small slot that serves no obvious purpose? The slot is called a Kensington Security Slot. It's designed for security accessories that tether portable equipment so that they can't be easily stolen. Well, Kensington isn't just a security company. The make and sell a variety of mobile accessories. This month we're looking at two: the Wireless Mouse and the Security Lock for Netbooks.

Lock It In

The Security Lock uses a four-digit combination to secure your netbook to a desk, post or some other heavy or immovable object. In order to keep the Security Lock portable, the cable is coiled so that it doesn't take up too much space and get tangled. At one is the lock and at the other is a loop.

Attaching the lock to the security slot was a little fiddly and took some practice. There are instructions but we found them unclear. Attachment requires careful alignment of a small T-Bar in the slot and the locking mechanism. Once we got the hang of it it was easy enough but it was a bit of a challenge at first.

Once secured, we weren't able to remove the lock without feeling that we would do some damage to the netbook we tested on. Once the combination was entered the lock snapped and was easily removed from the netbook.

For frequent travellers, we'd recommend the Kensington Security Lock if you're going to leave your netbook unattended.

Look Ma, No Wires

If there's one thing that road warriors hate it's unnecessary cabling. Kensington's Wireless Mouse comes with a tiny RF radio receiver that plugs into a USB port. This is a great solution for netbooks that lack Bluetooth as the receiver only protrudes by about 6mm from the USB port.

Plugged into an Eee PC 1005HA, the receiver took just a few seconds to be detected as a Human Interface Device. We then turned the mouse on - the switch on the bottom of the mouse helps conserve the two AAA batteries - and it was ready to use instantly. There are no drivers to install for either Windows or Linux.

Like all small mice, Kensington's is not designed to be used for long periods of time. It's simply too small to be held comfortably. The scroll wheel works well but there's no side-scrolling capability - that's something of a deficiency in our view.

As portable mice mice go, we'd prefer the wireless type to a wired one. Kensington's Wireless Mouse will suffice for most travellers.

By Anthony Caruana