October 17, 2006

Data Encryption + Finger Print Reader from Lenovo

I've recently purchased a Lenovo 3900 notebook - it works quite well and no problems. It has a finger print reader built in and uses software from OmniPass which enables me to login with my finger and once logged in the OmniPass software will automatically enter my password into various web sites (I have to first register the web site and my credentials with OmniPass).

What was missing from Lenovo's offering, until yesterday, was the ability to encrypt the data on an entire hard disk via the finger print reader. Sure there's many software tools that can do this but having it built in and integrated with one's notebook is a plus. Lenovo recently announced a new offering on selected ThinkPad notebooks to do just this. Since the Lenovo branded notebooks are more economical I suspect they didn't add this feature on the Lenovo line.

"Statistics show few stolen computers are ever recovered, and companies today know the increasing numbers of stolen notebooks bring a high risk for data and identify theft," said Bob Galush, vice president software and peripherals, Lenovo. "Every person carrying unencrypted sensitive information on a notebook PC is at risk. ThinkPad and Utimaco¬?s SafeGuard Easy will help customers better manage this security risk."

Lenovo is also upgrading its WiFi connectivity and processor on selected ThinkPads. Select notebooks in the T, R, X and Z Series will now offer integrated 802.11n wireless LAN technology. Based on the IEEE 802.11n draft standard, ThinkPads with this new wireless technology will allow users to achieve "faster than wired" connectivity with speeds in excess of 100 mbps. Also, select notebooks in the T, R, X and Z Series will now offer the Intel Core2Duo 64-bit processor.

0 comments