Lenovo arms ThinkPads with Intel's built-in security

Lenovo Group Ltd. is slated this month to launch ThinkPad laptops armed with Intel Corp's new anti-theft technology coupled with Absolute Software Corp.'s Computrace technology.
The companies jointly announced this morning that Lenovo's ThinkPad T400 notebook computers will be some of the first to ship with Intel's Anti-Theft PC Protection and Absolute's product built in. The two technologies will enable the laptops to automatically detect and respond to a potential theft situation in accordance with the user company's IT policy, Intel said.
Intel noted that if a laptop is reported stolen, an IT technician can remotely render the machine inoperable. And when the laptop is turned on, the anti-theft technology will "check in" with its home base, where engineers can remotely delete data and lock the system. In a statement, Intel noted that its technology works with Absolute's to enable IT techs to remotely handle security and management jobs on a laptop computer -- even if it's turned off or has an inoperable hard drive.
"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, general manager of Intel's Anti-Theft Program, in a statement. "The collaboration with Absolute and Lenovo is aimed at helping solve that problem."
Lenovo has been strongly pushing its ThinkPad line this year. Last February, the company unveiled its ThinkPad X300 laptop, an ultrathin machine that was designed to compete with Apple Inc.'s MacBook Air laptop. Then in August, Lenovo threw its hat into the increasingly hot netbook ring with the launch of its $399 Windows XP-based IdeaPad S10 netbook PC, which runs Intel's Atom processor. Also in August, the PC maker unveiled the ThinkPad W700, a 17-in. widescreen mobile workstation designed for high-end gamers and power users.
Now this week, Lenovo is throwing the wrapper off of the anti-theft technology for its laptops. Any ThinkPad T400s with Intel's Centrino 2 Processor Technology will ship with the anti-theft technology already built in. It can be activated and by the user company's IT department, which also can program it to adhere to specific corporate IT policies. And if the embedded Computrace theft-recovery and data-deletion technology is activated, it can be managed through Intel's Anti-Theft PC Protection.