Lenovo announced plans to bring customers a new security defense against unauthorized data access on Lenovo ThinkPad notebooks. The Lenovo Constant Secure Remote Disable feature lets users send a simple text message command via a cell phone to render their PC useless to unauthorized users when the notebook is lost or stolen. Lenovo worked with Phoenix Technologies, a leader in embedded technologies that improve the user experience, to develop this capability. Lenovo’s Remote Disable feature will be available on select ThinkPad notebooks equipped with mobile broadband starting in 1Q 2009.

To activate Remote Disable, users create a simple text message command such as “lockdown now PC” or “PC shut off” that can be used if a notebook PC is lost or stolen. A user sends the kill command to the ThinkPad notebook via cell phone to the PC’s onboard mobile broadband service and the computer becomes inoperable. If the PC is turned off when a user sends a kill command, the PC will automatically disable the next time it registers on the network. Users also receive a confirmation text message that validates when the Remote Disable technology has been successfully executed. To reactivate the disabled PC, a user enters his or her pre-set passcode created during notebook startup.