1stnflight / Gateways theft protection
This protection is really a combination of theft insurance plus remote file management.
The service doesn't really intend to physically return stolen notebooks. This can be surmised given that it relies on local police action to go and secure a notebook once it is located from the web. The police in my area don't have the inclination to go looking for stolen notebooks, so I doubt this will prove effective.
The file management portion is interesting for those firms who have employees with sensitive data on their hard drives. The trouble is, these sensitive files can only be managed once the stolen laptop has been reconnected to the web. The really bad guys are going to go learn to review all files before going online with the "protected" notebooks. At least that's what IT managers will have to assume. Further, this service is not required if sensitive files are encrypted and protected using existing TPM functionnality. Finally, the Seagate FDE, coming out by year end, adds yet another level of TPM related protection.
The insurance part is this:
After the customer activates Absolute's ComputraceComplete service, in the
event a computer is stolen, Absolute guarantees the recovery of the computer;
if it cannot be recovered within 60 days, the customer may be eligible for a
Recovery Guarantee payment of up to $1,000.
As only about 3% of laptops are stolen in the US, the $145 fee for the service on more than covers the insurance premiums needed to cover the $1000.
The remote file management portion is this:
Gateway's Mobile Theft Protection Solution is powered by Absolute
Software's Computrace, a comprehensive and intelligible tool proven to
significantly reduce theft and maintain system integrity. Like LoJack for
notebooks, it locates lost or stolen computers, minimizes replacement costs
and enables sensitive data to be deleted discretely by remote control from a
missing PC through an innovative Data Delete feature, ensuring sensitive company assets and/or personal information are not compromised.
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