Plugging the mouse and keyboard in the front USB ports

[dsquared2]

Hi all,

 

I don’t know if other people have this problem in there school but it’s doing my nut in! Pupils always plug the keyboard and mouse in the front USB ports of the pc’s then climb round the back of the tower to plug their USB stick in. This makes no sense to me and its annoying. Does anyone have a way of disabling the keyboard and mouse on the front USB ports?

 

Thanks for any help!

[theeggmaster]

The kids do that at my school too. If there is no option in the BIOS, then you could look at removing the front panel from the motherboard. This may also switch off any power buttons, however. It would also mean that they can't use the front USB ports for their memory sticks.

Why not cable tie the keyboard and mouse cables to somewhere at the back of the PC (padlock hole, depending on model)? That way the case is secured and the cables have to be at the back.

[mikeprice]

Most schools I have worked in cable tie the cables at the back together to prevent this - including the vga cable so they can't just pull them all around

[Oaktech]

The kids do that at my school too. If there is no option in the BIOS, then you could look at removing the front panel from the motherboard. This may also switch off any power buttons, however. It would also mean that they can't use the front USB ports for their memory sticks.

Why not cable tie the keyboard and mouse cables to somewhere at the back of the PC (padlock hole, depending on model)? That way the case is secured and the cables have to be at the back.

 

I've done all of the above. Disabling front USB just ends up with a trail of non-working keyboards and mice around the room as the kids try it, assume the machine is broken and try it again, and by the time 3 kids have tried 4 machines each the whole room is trashed. We tried tying the cables tight to the back of the machines too and the kids either unplugged the cables, realised they couldn't move them and then just left the cables unplugged and moved on, yanked the cables and ripped the plugs off, or managed to pull the whole machine, monitor and all onto the floor. The only real answer was PS2 and/or better supervision!

[localzuk]

Cable ties and padlocks are the way forward here I think.

 

They do it here too and I've never made any headway with getting teachers to notice them doing it.

[6Foot2]

I have tried cable ties and padlocks. The students break or cut the cable ties. When we have used padlocks they break the cables themselves so that the keyboard/mouse becomes unusable.

 

Asking staff how/when this might have occurred I always get the same answer:

 

...Not in my lesson...

 

 

The IT suites are supposed to be locked when unattended. Just today I have had to supply three replacement mice in a room that has had enough mice to supply a room with 10 times as many computers as the room actually is home to.

[Geoff]

I'd count up what it is costing in time / money / lesson disruption and then kick the problem up the food chain to the SMT.

[theeggmaster]

So even though I suggested cable tying the USB cables to the chassis above, I actually don't do this at our school. If the students aren't breaking anything, then I've learned to get over the fact that plugging them into the front makes no sense. I then just spend 30 minutes putting it back in order during holidays. Any damage gets referred to their Head of Year to pursue. Most of the time our teachers are static in their rooms, so they tend to look after their equipment. Shared rooms always get more damage.

[Norphy]

This has come up on Edugeek before and I think that the general consensus was that the students were doing this so that they can lean back on their chairs and have the keyboards and mice on their laps.

 

No, it doesn't make any sense to me either but there you go.

[dry]

Once we'd used small cable ties tieing the mouse/keyboard (and sometimes network) cables tightly to a loop on the back of the PC case the problem pretty much went away. Nobody ever cut them as you'd need proper snips to get in the gap. One technician I worked with used to cut the excess cable tie leaving a sharp jagged edge to deter prying fingers!

 

I've never understood why kids insist on plugging mice/keyboards in at the front. I guess it's a distraction from doing 'boring school work', I suppose...

Edited October 20, 2015 by dry

[unixman_again]

I used to use a P-clip and security screw to secure the keyboard and mouse to the bench, leaving enough slack to the cables could only reach the rear usb ports. This probably won't help you though if they break padlocks.

[6Foot2]

...This probably won't help you though if they break padlocks.

 

Not breaking the padlocks, although I have found a padlock undone and left on the side. Lock picked? [More likely: A member of staff has been into our office, picked up a key and undone the padlock. For some reason unknown...]

[Geoff]

Most consumer grade padlocks are easily picked. Anyone with a reasonable amount of practice can open them in seconds. Note that carrying the tools about when you aren't a locksmith will mean you are guilty of 'Going equipped for theft' unless you can convince the police otherwise. Actually popping a lock that isn't yours or without the owners permission is 'unlawful entry/breaking and entering' or 'theft' depending if the lock is attached to a door or not. Edited October 20, 2015 by Geoff

[LeMarchand]

Not been a problem at one of my schools since we bought a room of https://www.very-pc.co.uk/products/desktop-pc/flex from @VeryPC. You'd still need to secure the panel better than we do (I just screwed 'em on) but I no longer have to deal with stuff being unplugged from the ports I plugged them into. Reasonably priced, too

[dhicks]

You'd still need to secure the panel better than we do (I just screwed 'em on) but I no longer have to deal with stuff being unplugged from the ports I plugged them into.

 

Seconded, although I'd recommend specifying the plus-sized back panel - the standard sized ones don't really have quite enough space in them to fit all the cables a typical PC still seems to need, especially if it's a classroom one hooked up to a projector or similar with a second chunky VGA / DVI cable to cram in there.

[rich_tech]

Cable ties are the only realistic way to stop this I have found, group them all together and cable tie through the locking eye at the back of your average machine and your sorted.