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- MarkusX, on 11/25/2008, -3/+199When this feature will be hacked or show some sort of exploit possibility, script kiddies might just lock all lenovo owners out of their computers remotely using viral phone calls to your laptops. Am I too paranoid?
- BossKey, on 11/26/2008, -4/+125IBM sold ThinkPad to Lenovo in China, and now the Chinese have a remote kill switch for the most popular business laptop in America. No big deal...what's the worst that could happen?
- KibibyteBrain, on 11/26/2008, -1/+15A business should never ever use a manufacturer default install of an OS for anything more than trivial tasks and should have their own image. That is common sense. Perhaps this story shows that IT managers should now be just as weary of the BIOS. Hopefully there will be a way to flash this feature out. And if there isn't, perhaps that will be a new selling point of laptops.
- zoydberg, on 11/26/2008, -4/+9use a firewall, rtfm and do some research
- DeFex, on 11/26/2008, -5/+6First thin i would do is disable 3g anyways. 3g data is a massive scam.
- tech42er, on 11/26/2008, -0/+3unless, you know, you frequently travel to places that don't have wifi.
- sanman, on 11/26/2008, -3/+59DeathNote - laptop edition
- shezzy153, on 11/26/2008, -1/+10logged in to dig you up :) I think its hilarious... But can we mention the cause of death in next 40 secs or is it always the same old crash?
- PhailQuail, on 11/26/2008, -0/+4Sanman's Laptop
Battery Explosion - JayD16, on 11/26/2008, -0/+4You need to know what his laptop looks like...those are the rules.
- silophysis, on 11/27/2008, -0/+2sakujo?
- LilRabbitFooFoo, on 11/26/2008, -0/+14Considering that ransoming back stolen data from laptops is one way organized crime makes its money, no, I don't think you are being paranoid.
- Piha, on 11/26/2008, -0/+6They'd still have to send a SMS presumably?
The SW should be smart enough to only whitelist certain recognised numbers.
... emphasis on the "should be" :)- ErrorLoading, on 11/26/2008, -0/+7Unfortunately spoofing SMS is pudd.
- notwizt, on 11/26/2008, -1/+6Aw c'mon. Exposing all your important data for deletion by a piece of information so short it can be contained in an sms, with no information on how securely this is being stored on the remote server?
Seems legit. - MachineMessiah, on 11/26/2008, -3/+7MULDER! DO WE HAVE THE KILL SWITCH? DO WE HAVE IT?
*"Twilight Time" starts playing*- xEn1gma, on 11/26/2008, -1/+2No.
- dtfinch, on 11/26/2008, -1/+3Heavenly shades of night are falling
- yuravian, on 11/26/2008, -1/+9Did anyone RTFA? there's a passcode to unlock it. Not that it makes it any better, but if a script kiddie locks you out you can just log back in. Plus as someone else said, it should have a whitelist so they have to know your number and I'm betting they'd have to know the code you send via SMS (that should be a no brainer to Lenovo).
Personally, I think it's a scam. They already have your data, locking it just makes it take that much longer. I have a trick: Don't be stupid, and keep your laptop as safe as you want to keep the data on it. Sensitive Data = Sensitive Laptop = keep it safe you clown. - commentposted, on 11/26/2008, -0/+5No.
- BossKey, on 11/26/2008, -4/+125IBM sold ThinkPad to Lenovo in China, and now the Chinese have a remote kill switch for the most popular business laptop in America. No big deal...what's the worst that could happen?
- Lane, on 11/26/2008, -4/+38Girlfriend finds pron* hey hun can I see your phone real quick?
- flashback99, on 11/26/2008, -2/+78you don't really have a girlfriend.
- AlekNovi, on 11/26/2008, -1/+16Exactly
- prophetpimp, on 11/26/2008, -1/+20duh. Thats why we have porn.
- Agret, on 11/27/2008, -1/+1Course he doesn't have a girlfriend, what did you think the * meant?
- saxmaster, on 11/26/2008, -7/+2What's pron star? Sounds nice.
- PleasantKiller, on 11/26/2008, -3/+2reminded me of master chief lololololololol
"u downloaded six months worth of porn?!?!?!"- arbiter
- flashback99, on 11/26/2008, -2/+78you don't really have a girlfriend.
- chemrat, on 11/26/2008, -5/+8I love my (second) ThinkPad, but all the TP software can be problematic as it is, even if the hardware is terrific; the concept of death by dialing is scary.
Also, I just had to have my motherboard and CPU replaced (under warranty), so even terrific hardware can have issues.- Armughan, on 11/26/2008, -4/+3(lame)
- mu0p, on 11/26/2008, -2/+7WTF ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT
- Tragger, on 11/26/2008, -12/+2
- lilbitmoreslyk, on 11/26/2008, -0/+4what the ***** is up with these Bendecho links on every other comment board?
- SteveMax, on 11/26/2008, -0/+4It's called "spam", and it's one of the main reasons for the existance of a "report it" link under buried comments.
- lilbitmoreslyk, on 11/26/2008, -0/+4what the ***** is up with these Bendecho links on every other comment board?
- GamerX, on 11/26/2008, -1/+6now talk about kill switches!
- hpaavola, on 11/26/2008, -4/+26I don't get this. What's the point if it leaves the hard drive intact?
- muniak, on 11/26/2008, -2/+24It's a gimmick.
- unusualbob, on 11/26/2008, -0/+11some people steal laptops for their street value, not their data. This is a good way to make laptops a less likely target for theft.
- cornerback42, on 11/26/2008, -0/+9If the HD doesn't come with a container of sulfuric acid (3ml enough to immerse the HD and fry it making it nonreadable) then count me out.
My buddy works for the gov't and his has a glass tube and you send a certain code out (via computer, its sat linked) and it activates a sharp small needle that breaks the glasstube. It melts it and renders it useless, its always powered running on a standby battery internally.- Dou6, on 11/26/2008, -6/+4riiiiiiight... and I am sure if he was doing a job that required that kind of security, he would tell you about it.
- cornerback42, on 11/26/2008, -1/+6It's too bad you don't have close friends. I find this to be pretty consistent but I've never came across a group of buddies like mine. We all (7 of us) still keep in touch, same old ***** just older now. I don't see why I can't say that, it's not top secret. I have no clue whats on it, personally I don't care. I just thought it was relevant to the topic/comment above.
- tech42er, on 11/26/2008, -0/+5What if he drops his laptop?
- cornerback42, on 11/26/2008, -0/+3The glass tube is pretty resilient you'd have to really smash the ***** out of it I would imagine to break it. Its about the size of the tube used in commercial (tall buildings) water sprinkler heads to hold back water.
- sinrtb, on 11/26/2008, -0/+3I am kinda of confused on which customer base this would be for? people with sensitive data that might be stolen or people with expensive laptops that might be stolen.
seems like there are simple workarounds in both cases.
People that want the data can just not power up the laptop and transfer the drive or even platters to a new laptop/desktop and retireive the data.
People that want the laptop itself can just buy a new HD for a a fairly lowprice and more then recoup the investment when pawning/selling it.- Blandyman, on 11/27/2008, -0/+1Wrong because it doesn't lock the hard drive, it locks the BIOS, making replacing the HD useless. If you're doing it for the data, then you can get the data through other methods. If you're doing it to pawn the computer itself, you're probably SOL.
- adamkmccarthy, on 11/26/2008, -4/+3this feature has been in phones for ages.
you wont find the average user happy to commit to a 3g enabled machine just for that feature though, its cost prohibive. - DanBoodro, on 11/26/2008, -2/+28Okay, so does this lock the hard drive itself? or just lock the motherboard from accessing the hard drive? Because, I mean really, how easy is it to crack one of these bad boys open and just snatch the hard drive?
Another little interesting idea would be to use cell tower triangulation to try to track down the laptop via it's 3G connection.- tnoy, on 11/26/2008, -0/+17On the two T42 and T61 I have, there is one screw, and the drive slides out.
- cawpin, on 11/26/2008, -0/+7They could just be activating the hard drive locking feature built into the IDE and SATA standards. It is actually like a BIOS password. It prevents the drive from being used at all until the password is entered or the manufacturer unlocks it. Even if you put it in another machine it doesn't matter. It is in the DRIVE. The data is still in the clear but inaccessible. Really, the only way to get at it would be to transfer the platters to another drive case.
- merku, on 11/26/2008, -0/+9GSM based security systems aren't very effective, because a simple reception blocker will do the trick.
- DmitryGologan, on 11/26/2008, -5/+1Other side, it will give access to your notebook...
- demonicume, on 11/26/2008, -3/+3maybe you should need to lock a specific cell phone to the laptop. or even better, do what dell does and have a support site set up that allows you to track and lock your pc if you have the service tag. I wouldn't mind fragging my drive if someone got a hold of all my gay-midget-goat pron.
- tekkitan, on 11/26/2008, -7/+3goat.
- tnoy, on 11/26/2008, -0/+4Good thing too, I wasnt browsing digg 24 hours ago.
- andy9590, on 11/26/2008, -0/+4More like "Gooooaaaaaat", just like Rob Schnieder's character says in "You don't mess with the Zohan".
- camintmier, on 11/26/2008, -3/+21Oh hell, I've got a Len{#`%${%&`+'${`%&NO CARRIER")
- ethana2, on 11/26/2008, -1/+8Pssh.
~/Private with symlinks for .mozilla
Sure a lot easier than self destructing bios'es. I wouldn't want that feature in my bios because with how buggy they are it would probably kill itself for no reason. At least all it can do to me now is heat halt my gpu and crash. - kethu, on 11/26/2008, -1/+2blast note book is best idea
- Piha, on 11/26/2008, -2/+16Well kindof clever, but not foolproof by a long shot.
1. Disable the transmitter (physically?)
2. Turn the Notebook on where there's no coverage
3. Swap the Hard-drive to another notebook (could it be that easy?)
4. Slave the HDD off a desktop, copy off whatever you want.
They seem like the obvious ones, wonder if any thought has gone into these issues.- flair1, on 11/26/2008, -1/+5^that's why you need hard disc encryption..
www.utimaco.com - azbmr, on 11/26/2008, -0/+5Also there is www.truecrypt.org
- davidkeithjones, on 11/26/2008, -5/+24and www.2girls1cup.com
- Blandyman, on 11/27/2008, -0/+1www.kids-in-sandbox.com
- flair1, on 11/26/2008, -1/+5^that's why you need hard disc encryption..
- wjlaw100, on 11/26/2008, -4/+3Cool. chances are I stand a greater than 50% chance at disabling most notebooks by sending "Rosebud" to them.
- Armughan, on 11/26/2008, -1/+70When i get drunk, i send out messages i'm not supposed to.
- doolittle, on 11/26/2008, -0/+6Still not better than a drive encrypted with truecrypt (or dmcrypt depending on your os), I think there would be a way to set the BIOS to factory default despite it having a lockout. With a encrypted hdd, they really can't access the data very easily or quickly, even if it is relocated to other hardware - they will have to resort to reformatting it to make it usable.
- stoneage, on 11/26/2008, -0/+4Hardware encrypted storage + a password on your user account and BIOS is good enough... No need to use a kill signal, but no harm in extra security. I just don't rely on it, because it would take me a total of 2 seconds to disable the SIM card I'd say.
- Oddesy2k, on 11/26/2008, -6/+1Well its good for the BNP (Bit late though)
- SamuraiGhost, on 11/26/2008, -7/+3Kill it with ascii!
- maxmojo, on 11/26/2008, -12/+6In Soviet Russia notebook kills you with text message.
- Traductus, on 11/26/2008, -1/+3how is that even possible?
- danj484, on 11/26/2008, -1/+2Iff you are JC Denton.
- rabidg00se, on 11/26/2008, -0/+5No, they use polonium.
- yodacallmesome, on 11/26/2008, -1/+7Better yet, have the PC identify its location.
- RationalXubrnce, on 11/26/2008, -0/+7 PC phone home.
- stormofswords, on 11/26/2008, -0/+5I'm afraid I can't do that, Dave.
- stoneage, on 11/28/2008, -0/+1But that then becomes a privacy issue then..
- RationalXubrnce, on 11/26/2008, -0/+6 When this kind of thing becomes more widespread laptops will be less attractive to steal.
- Solkre, on 11/26/2008, -0/+12Truecrypt entire drive.
The guy will sell or format it way before he gets close to getting in.
Oh yah, don't let your customers sticky note the password on the laptop either >. - junkneo, on 11/26/2008, -0/+5Cool. But remember this - every new solution to a man made problem, creates at least two additional problems - exploits of this "kill-text" and you yourself misusing it.
- asdfasfasfd, on 11/26/2008, -1/+5Can I install one of these on my mother-in-law?
- kurtwinter, on 11/26/2008, -3/+6So Lenovo, a Chinese run company, that may or may not be replacing certain critical chips with Chinese counterfeits, is now announcing that they can remote-pwn your laptop?
- DeFex, on 11/26/2008, -0/+6sonys got one where they can explode the battery of anyone who types an anti sony com
- wonttellya, on 11/26/2008, -1/+3Data in hard drive (or a separate logical partition of the hard drive) can be store encrypted and decrypted by hardware in hard drive controller. Three pieces of information is required to decrypt the hard drive and login: 1. a secret (password, finger scan, or RSA key) the user entered during login or screen saver unlock. 2. A picture (his/her own picture taken by the build in webcam) user selected and stored in the central server. 3. Public/private key pair shared between the central server and the computer.
When user login or unlock from screen saver mode, the user is prompted the picture downloaded from the central server (securely using the public/private key pair and SSL). If the user recognizes the prompt, he enters his secret key. The computer hashes the picture with the secret key and sends it back to the server. The server checks the hash and send an unlock signal.
The thief will have to know the user’s secret key, get the picture file, and know the central server’s private key in order to access the hard drive data.
The customer who lost his laptop will not be texting his laptop to kill it, but text the central server to not unlock his laptop.- hapihakr, on 11/26/2008, -0/+2The article did not explain any of these details. Where did you get your information?
- andrhie, on 11/26/2008, -4/+2Can't the thief just take the hard drive out and read it with a PC? That's what I do with my stolen laptops. They need to have it explode instead. by Andy Trail(Tgdaily)
- mentor972, on 11/26/2008, -2/+3Hack it and disable notebooks around the world. Bwaaa Haaa Haaa!
- 9umber9ine, on 11/26/2008, -1/+2just make them smoke like in mission impossible... throwaway a little 'good luck jim' for a nice touch
- onemanwaking, on 11/26/2008, -2/+5Dear laptop,
"Laputan machine" - hamstix, on 11/26/2008, -0/+8Are you one of those people who wanna try out every feature beforehand?
- dragonrice, on 11/26/2008, -4/+2A bomb would've been a better idea.
- GogDog, on 11/26/2008, -1/+3It's like a killphrase from Deus Ex. I would give mine Gunther Hermann's killphrase, Laputan Machine.
- ImFrakkinIt, on 11/26/2008, -2/+3So a Chinese company has the ability to knock out several million laptops with one simple method. Sounds great.
- h3110, on 11/26/2008, -0/+4Misleading title. Doesn't actually "kill" the notebook as in delete files or explode. Just disables it and you can restore it later.
They have a commercial software like this for Windows Mobile 5 and 6 phones. You simply text your phone a code and it'll text you back to ask what you want to do (lock, reinstall, send GPS info). It happens silently in the background so the theft or founder won't know what's happening.
http://www.spritesoftware.com/?page_id=280 - compgeek, on 11/26/2008, -1/+3seems like an interesting feature but at the same time unless you can mate a specific cell phone to the feature I could see it being hacked too easily.
- Ricemanstm, on 11/26/2008, -2/+3You see? There is a sabotaging chip built into every Chinese made PC that the US is currently using in every branch and department of government.
- MisterFawkes, on 11/26/2008, -2/+2Wait, can't you just install Vista?
- hapihakr, on 11/26/2008, -1/+1A stolen notebook was probably off when it was stolen. Even if it wasn't, removing the battery will immediately power down, while skipping the normal shutdown sequence. Once the machine is off, it is a trivial matter to remove the hard drive and read it on another machine. If someone stole the notebook for the data contained on it, this "kill your notebook with a text message" is next to useless. An encrypted hard drive is your best bet for securing data.
- hapihakr, on 11/26/2008, -0/+1Just noticed wonttellya's comments above, but the article did not give the details he describes and I am wondering where he got his information. If the hard drive is encrypted like he says, then the data would be safe.
- d4rkspike, on 11/26/2008, -1/+2As a lenovo user I am excited by this newly developed security Feature.
...Has anyone seen my cell phone? O SHI- - TheSexyGeek, on 11/26/2008, -1/+3Why just Kill the Laptop? Put some C4 in that bitch!
- dupek11, on 11/26/2008, -1/+3You want the data and not the laptop? Just drop the laptop into a bucket of water. You can recover the data later.
- kanningt, on 11/26/2008, -0/+3And then the thief will just reinstall windows, as they would have done anyway.
Useless feature. Maybe if there was a remote detonation option.... - emberjohn, on 11/26/2008, -0/+2If your LAPTOP gets stolen there are some other ways to get rid of it...
http://www.nerdden.com/prevent-laptop-theft-six-re ... - MisterHorse, on 11/27/2008, -0/+1The article was pretty weak on the details. There is much more that the FailSafe product claims to do.
Locate the device via GPS.
Alerts the FailSafe site if the computer moves out it its assigned range or if the name is changed.
Use the built-in camera to take a picture of the thief.
Remotely retrieve your data.
Remotely encrypt the hard drive. This implies if the thief installs a new drive you could encrypt that one too.
Works over any network connection, not just WWAN.
http://www.phoenix.com/en/Products/Browse+by+Produ ... -
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