ThinkPad PCs get built-in anti-theft tools
Beginning this month, select Lenovo ThinkPad T400 notebook PCs will come with anti-theft technology built into the hardware, according to Intel Corp.
Several models of Lenovo ThinkPad T400 laptop PCs that offer Intel Centrino 2 processors with Intel vPro technology will ship with Intel's Anti-Theft PC protection, needing only to be activated by an organization's IT department, Intel said.
Intel is working with Absolute Software and Lenovo to provide PCs with intelligent mechanisms that can detect potential thefts and respond according to IT policy. Intel's Anti-Theft PC protection works with Absolute's Computrace, a leading theft recovery, data deletion and mobile computer IT asset management tool, the company said. Customers will be able to extend Absolute's managed security services through the new hardware-based Intel anti-theft protection.
For examplem if a Lenovo ThinkPad T400 laptop PC hasn't checked in with the Absolute Monitoring Center over the Internet within a certain amount of time, Anti-Theft PC Protection working through Computrace would automatically lock the device, making it useless to an unauthorized user, Intel said.
An IT administrator also can use Computrace and Intel Anti-Theft PC protection to make a device inoperative when it's lost or stolen. The next time the lost or stolen computer checks in via the Internet, it will be locked.
On its own, Intel Anti-Theft PC Protection also can lock a computer if more than a prescribed number of password attempts are made. The IT department can unlock the computer when it's returned to the authorized user.
'The notebook lost in the airport or stolen from a car can be devastating and is a common nightmare in the back of every business traveler's mind,' said George Thangadurai, director, Strategic Planning, and general manager, Anti-Theft Program, Intel Mobile Platforms group. 'The collaboration with Absolute and Lenovo is aimed at helping solve that problem.'
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Trudy Walsh is a senior writer for GCN.