Intel Arms Lenovo ThinkPad Laptops with New Anti-theft Technology

Lenovo is looking to arm its ThinkPad notebooks with new anti-theft technology from Intel that will provide a range of security features to protect data in case a laptop is stolen or lost.

Starting later in December, Lenovo will begin offering Intel's Anti-Theft PC Protection technology with its line of ThinkPad T400 laptops. The Intel anti-theft technology works in conjunction with the new Intel Centrino 2 platform and vPro technology—a chip bundle that is designed to make managing and securing a fleet of PCs easier for an enterprise IT department.

Intel executives first began talking about the new anti-theft offering in April, and Lenovo is the first PC vendor to offer the Intel technology with its laptops.

This is also the second time in a week that Lenovo has offered additional security features for its ThinkPad laptops. On Nov. 24, Lenovo officials said they are now offering users the ability to use an SMS (Short Message Service) text message to disable a notebook that has been stolen or lost.

The Intel anti-theft technology is built into the chip set itself. In the case of the Lenovo laptops, the Intel technology will work with Absolute Software's Computrace tracking and anti-theft software, which is stored in the laptop's firmware and allows an IT department to track where a notebook is at any given time.

With the combination of the Intel technology and Computrace, IT departments can set policies for laptop security. For example, if a ThinkPad is disconnected from a central server for a long period of time or if it detects a certain number of log-in failures, the laptop could be set to shut down.