Laptop Security Blog » asset management

Remotely Disable Computers via SMS with Computrace

arieanna — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 16:26:57 +0000

Absolute Software announced yesterday that Computrace now accepts remote commands via SMS sent from the Absolute Customer Center, in addition to the previous communication over the Internet. IT administrators now have two quick and easy ways to remotely communicate with, and disable, laptops. This is a huge asset if a laptop goes missing, enabling IT administrators to mitigate potential data breaches much more quickly.

The new feature is called Monitoring Center Initiated Calling (MCIC) allows for a Computrace Agent call to happen as soon as possible, vs waiting for a routine check-in call. The SMS command tells the laptop to phone home. IT administrators can use MCIC so that they can remotely execute Computrace functionality, including location tracking, deletion of sensitive data, and Intel® Anti-Theft Technology locking.

For more about this piece of news, read here.

Computrace Case Study: Kent SD

arieanna — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 16:11:21 +0000

The latest Absolute Software case study involves the education sector. In specific, how the Kent School District in Washington use Computrace to inventory computers and crack down on theft.

Kent School District began introducing notebook computers into its programs back in 1998 – schools with access to mobile technologies and new instructional strategies have performed very well in the district. With laptops spread across the district’s 40 buildings, there were a number of IT challenges in keeping track of those assets. After beta testing Computrace on 90 tablet PCs, Kent SD has now implemented the system across its entire 12,000+ notebook and desktop population.

Before Computrace, Kent SD would assign 10 people to do an inventory check – a process that took 3 months out of every year. Now, Kent SD can run a 5 minute report from Computrace and know where all of the 12,000+ computers are.

Computrace is more than just a theft deterrence product, but with a district of this size, theft was also a consideration in choosing the service from Absolute. After thieves broke into a school facility and stole 30 computers, Computrace was used to track the computers back to the thieves, who are now facing charges. In another theft situation, the remote data delete was used to ensure sensitive information would not breach.

To read more about Kent SD’s IT challenges, and their solutions, check out the full case study here.

For more case studies from Absolute Software, check out here.

Laptop Management Webinar – November 5

arieanna — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 21:23:24 +0000

On November 5, 2008 at 2pm ET / 11am PT, Absolute Software is sponsoring a webinar on laptop management and theft prevention.

The webinar will be hosted by eSchool News with speakers from two school districts discussing best practices for managing laptops and deterring theft. Paired with the recently published case study of Kent School District’s asset management program, Absolute is offering up some great resources right now for mobile security planning for the education sector.

To register for the 1 hour webinar, click here. And you can learn more about the webinar here.