New ThinkPad security feature in 2009

[beGi]

Well, as title says this article will give you details on new ThinkPad security feature in 2009...

[nykobing06]

Hmm...is that worth waiting for?

Sounds neat!

So essentially it locks the HD down so no one can access it...interesting!

[Superego]

So essentially it locks the HD down so no one can access it...interesting!

Kind of like a hard drive password?

Nice feature, but I'd feel much better with the hard drive and supervisor passwords in place. What happens if the text message doesn't go through for some reason or the thief takes out the WWAN card? A thief can't remove the BIOS passwords.

[Marin85]

A thief can't remove the BIOS passwords.

Believe me, they can if they have to...

[beGi]

IMO bios & hd passwords are much secure, than rely just on this. If someone knows computer just little better, he will just take SIM out before booting...

[dr_st]

A thief can't remove the BIOS passwords.

Believe me, they can if they have to...

Indeed they can. The security chip is nothing but a stupid flash/ROM/forgot whatever it is. You can just erase it if you have the proper device.

[Troels]

And i'm really expecting Lenovo to make this cover anything from the T60 series and uptil now. They have to take advantage of the fact that they were on the beat with including WWAN when other manufacturers only talked about it.
People today are buying stupid dongles to offer the same functionality, so Lenovo has got a huge marketing potential with this, since internal devices are hard to remove in comparison, and so is the SIM card.

Somehow i know i'll be dissappointed and see that Lenovo does nothing to do backwards support and make their current users happy and improve on the last-gen hardware.
Sounds like a gimick only to get customers to consider their current series with WWAN offerings. If that'll be the case, i'll be a former Thinkpad user in the future when my T60p gives up the ghost.

[bill bolton]

since internal devices are hard to remove in comparison, and so is the SIM card.

No, not hard at all.

[beGi]

Sounds like a gimick only to get customers to consider their current series with WWAN offerings.

Maybe, but i don't think so. I really doubt that someone will take WWAN just because of this and not because of connectivity. And if someone takes WWAN option why not use this feature along with passwords if security matters that much. Although i don't get one thing, why don't they offer unit location tracking (like it is possible with cellphones) in case of theft?

[Troels]

Mr. Bolton,
Ah, what i meant to say was - "it will take a longer time" removing the mini pci-express card than a USB device.
But secondly how would Lenovo stop people from disabling the wwan card by the Fn+F5 utility? I mean, this is both a bug and a feature

Begi,
Location tracking would be possible for wwans with gps. Sounds like an excellent idea, although some may feel it a bit creepy that they could be tracked by anyone maybe.
What i meant with my quote was that Lenovo is trying to get current thinkpad owners to keep buying thinkpads by offering a very smart upgrade consisting of software/firmware. I.e. it could just as well work on X300/T6x/R6x with WWAN, but they may not implement it because it is not part of their current lineup, and these systems are already sold so "why bother with nice features for them when we already got their money?".
That's the impression i get from:
http://www.notebookshopper.com/4693-3121-10106838.html

[GomJabbar]

I suspect the "typical thief" will have no idea this feature even exists, so they are unlikely to turn off the WWAN network.

OTOH the WWAN network is not likely to be turned on if the owner was using WLAN or LAN at the time of the theft. The thief might never turn it on if he didn't realize it was built-in.

Built-in WWAN has some advantages, but is hard to upgrade as technology advances. Personally I think I prefer to use a PCCard, ExpressCard, or USB dongle. I have already upgraded my WWAN twice for my T42 - and I don't have the fastest now available for my carrier.

[beGi]

But secondly how would Lenovo stop people from disabling the wwan card by the Fn+F5 utility? I mean, this is both a bug and a feature.

I think you're right, and you can add here the posibility of using Fn+F5 on logon screen (i can do it, don't know if Lenovo fixed this).

Location tracking would be possible for wwans with gps.

Well, you're partially right. Tracking wwan+gps unit would be more exact (1-2 meter error), and it would be really nice if stolen unit sends you location cordinates. But it is possible to track cell phone (and therefore wwan) without gps, but with error depending on base station distance (triangulation method). I didn't do on-line search for reference but I will tell you that just few weeks ago I saw police report that was about cell phone tracking. It contained incoming/outgoing calls crossreferenced with locations where that person was at the time. I know for sure that that tracked person does not have gps in the phone because i know him, and that report was evidence on court of law (among others) and that person was convicted. And if police here where I live can do it, then your guys can do it even better due to higher funds. And yes, i know it would be very expensive and demands hard work, but why not if someone (company) is willing to pay for it.

[bill bolton]

Ah, what i meant to say was - "it will take a longer time" removing the mini pci-express card than a USB device.(

It takes a few seconds to remove the etxernally accesible SIM card on any recent WWAN equipped ThinkPad, which disables any 3G network access entirely.

Cheers,

Bill B.