It doesn’t do anything so why is it there? You will be surprised to notice that this particular hole is there in your portable hard drive and monitor as well. So why is it there?
This hole is actually the best means of protecting your laptop, portable hard drive, monitor, etc from physical thieves and is known as Kensington Security Slot. The Kensington Security Slot is a patented anti-theft security system component marketed by Kensington Computer Products Group. The original design patent was held by a bicycle lock maker brand Kryptonite in 1999. While there are many products like anti-virus software, disc cleaning software to protect the insides of a laptop, a need was felt for having a fool-proof anti-theft mechanism to protect the expensive laptops from thieves. With the Kensington Lock, you can just chain the laptop to an anchor and leave it unworried about theft. The Kensington Slot consists of a metal hole on the device and a cylindrical anchor attached to a metal cable with rubber coating. The anchor is connected to the slot and locked using a key or number combination. The other end of the cable can be attached to any immovable object such as a table. My bet is that you have never even given two hoots about this slot. Actually you should because the Kensington Lock is the best way you can protect your lappy from thieves. Take a look at the video below to see how you can use it.
Make sure you use a sturdy metal wire lock to anchor the lock or else the thieves might steal your laptop using a wire cutter. Also, a thief can wrench the lock off the device with minimal damage to the casing of the laptop. But all in all, it is a good safety device to protect your expensive laptops from thieves.