Detonate a Notebook thief with a kill switch? Is Lenovo ConstantSecure Remote Disable the ultimate deterrent?

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Lenovo ConstantSecure Remote Disable allows Thinkpad users to detonate notebook thieves with an SMS Kill Switch? Well not really but if you have ever had your notebook stolen from right under your nose in the coffee shop or airport and wished you you could blow the thief to pieces, ( whilst keeping your precious notebook intact of course!) then you have to watch the demo video!

<— Click for ConstantSecure Downloads

Now if all that sounds like something that only Jack Bauer from 24 would do then, well we are here to tell you that Lenovo has almost made that a possibility with Lenovo Constant Secure Remote Disable.

In a nutshell it means that all HSDPA/3G-fitted ThinkPads that have an enabled SIM card can be disabled by sending an SMS text message if they are stolen

Lenovo has developed ConstantSecure Remote Disable with Phoenix Technologies which relies on am SMS sent from a paired device to literally trigger the remote ‘kill switch’. This command can be any text message your imagination can come up with like “detonate thinkpad t500″, “disable my w700″ or even “terminate the sucker”

Providing the system is on when the SMS message is received then it will shut down and become immediately unusable or when the thief tries to boot the machine.

If your ThinkPad is subsequently recovered you can enter your previous user password to unlocked the system again.

Only Centrino 2 Montevina platforms are compatible and of course all of Lenovo’s forthcoming laptops with WWAN modules will be. Currently the following ThinkPad notebooks are supported:

ThinkPad T Series - ThinkPad T400, T500

ThinkPad R Series – ThinkPad R400, R500

ThinkPad X Series – ThinkPad X200, X200s, X301

and the ThinkPad W500

Lenovo ConstantSecure Remote Disable also doubly protects the encrypted data on your ThinkPad. ConstantSecure Remote Disable allows you to protect your data even if your ThinkPad has been stolen. When the thief tries to access the data, they will be required to authenticate the encryption first.

How does ConstantSecure Remote Disable work in practice?

This is where it almost gets a little Jack Bauerish If your ThinkPad is stolen, activate the ConstantSecure Remote Disable feature by sending an SMS text message, from a cell phone that has been registered with the ThinkPad.

Once the SMS “kill” message is received, the ThinkPad will send an acknowledgment message back and it will then power off. When the thief then tries to turn your ThinkPad back on, the BIOS will ask for the password and the notebook will lock and refuse to boot.

You must of course have a data plan with a supported carrier and the plan must include support for sending and receiving SMS text messages. To set of the SMS Kill Switch you need a cell phone that supports GSM SMS text messaging and have registered the phone with your ThinkPad.

With the huge increase in stolen laptops and the subsequent loss of data we are huge fans of anything that increase the security of our mobile data. Lenovo is certainly the leader in the field with the recently released Absolute Computrace technology built in to the ThinkPad T400 and now the ConstantSecure Remote Disable SMS kill Switch. Jack Baeur and Chloe O’Brian eat your heart out!