Ericsson and Intel working together to make more effective anti-theft solutions for notebooks

Ericsson announced on Thursday that they will be working alongside Intel to equip mobile broadband notebooks with secure anti-theft solutions. This solution is meant to protect data with encryption software and make notebooks a less attractive target for thieves.

Users will be able to send an SMS message to the mobile broadband module that will trigger Intel's anti-theft device and lockdown the entire system. Solutions such as this have already been seen in handsets as well as other computers in the past. If the notebook is then recovered it can easily be unlocked by sending another SMS message to the device.

Previous less secure methods involved locking the system after multiple failed login attempts or not connecting to a central server in a predetermined time period. This new technology is capable of blocking the notebook's boot process. This will also trigger encryption hardware or software and protect your precious data by deleting essential code needed for decrypting data. If this was not enough, the system will be able to locate the notebook using the built-in GPS technology in Ericsson modules. We can expect to see this new technology in the second half of 2009.