Bought another T23, what's the IBM Secure Chip good for?

[Raceboy]

Hi guys,
I was looking for T23 with 1.2 Ghz CPU and SXGA+ and finally found one with those locally. Type 2647-NG6 and this is the original configuration:

Product: ThinkPad T23 2647-NG6 [change]
Operating system: All [change]
Original description: Based on 2647-9RG: PIII-M 1.2GHz (512KB), 256MB RAM, 60.0GB HDD, 14.1 SXGA+(1400x1050) TFT LCD, 8x8x24/8x CD-RW/DVD-ROM, Modem(MPCI), Ethernet(CDC), IBM Secure Chip, WinXP Pro

Laptop itself is in very good condition, NO cracks whatsoever, screen is bright and no pressure marks.
I maxxed RAM to 1 GB, installed 2200BG instead of the modem, Hitachi 7K60 (7200rpm/8M/60GB), "generic" TssT DVD-RW drive and I absolutely love it! With this setup it flies.

But now question: as you can see from original description, it has IBM Secure Chip.
What is it good for and can I make use of it?

[ajkula66]

Secure chip is only good for headaches if you mess with it...

Disable the darn thing and forget that it's there...

My $0.02 only...