Would begin embedding Computrace in the BIOS of its machines.įollowed in August, Hewlett-Packard in October and Dell in December.Ībsolute pays its OEM partners half of the contract fee that it receives from subscribers. The company had tried unsuccessfully for years to convince OEMs to make the move, he said. The decision by Dell and other original equipment manufacturers to embed Computrace in the BIOS was like finding the "holy grail," says Absolute Chief Financial Officer Rob Chase. "We have had success recovering lost and stolen laptops." ![]() "Not only is it a much better technology," Mr. Then last year, Quinnipiac's laptop supplier,īegan embedding Computrace in the BIOS. Tarca says, but it wasn't very good at recovering stolen machines, as the software could be circumvented by deleting the contents of the hard drive. ![]() The earlier version of the product was good at tracking lost computers, Mr. There is a version of the Computrace software that works with MacIntosh laptops, and Absolute says that the product will also be compatible withįred Tarca, director of administration and project management at Quinnipiac University, said the Hamden, Conn., school began selling Computrace-equipped laptops to students four years ago, before improvements were made to the system. The company is targeting 1 million subscribers by June 30, 2007. 31, Absolute had 550,000 subscribers, up from 370,000 a year earlier. Livingston says, "is to be the most tamper-resistant piece of software on the market."Īs of Dec. It's extremely difficult to remove from a computer, remaining on the machine even when its main operating system, such as Microsoft Windows, is reinstalled. The BIOS is a mini-operating system that enables the computer's keyboard and display screen, among other things. (Absolute says this was an exception - it doesn't routinely replace stolen computers.)Ĭomputrace is embedded in the BIOS, or basic input-output system, of a computer. When contacted, the serviceman readily agreed to ship the machine stateside and Absolute sent him a replacement, for no charge. serviceman had bought it not realizing it was stolen. Last year, one stolen machine was traced to Iraq. ![]() Other stolen laptops, however, have been tracked down in far-flung places. Workers, wasn't equipped with its tracing software, Absolute says. The company recovers about 25 stolen computers a week, according to Absolute Chief Executive John Livingston.Ī laptop stolen recently from a Fidelity Investments employee, jeopardizing personal data on 196,000 current and former ![]() When the machine logs on to the Internet, Absolute knows it almost immediately and gives information to police to help recover the computer and apprehend the thief.Ībsolute's 96 employees include a computer-recovery team that works with police and Internet service providers. When a computer is reported stolen, Absolute flags the machine and asks it to signal the data center every 15 minutes. The signal, sent daily when a computer is online, provides important information that can be used to locate the machine, such as the computer's IP address and serial number. Absolute's software, called Computrace, works by sending a regular signal from a computer to the company's data center in Vancouver, British Columbia.
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