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Intel's Sandy Bridge Processor Has a Kill Switch

Posted by timothy on from the no-mr-chip-I-expect-you-to-die dept.

An anonymous reader writes "Intel's new Sandy Bridge processors have a new feature that the chip giant is calling Anti-Theft 3.0. The processor can be disabled even if the computer has no Internet connection or isn't even turned on, over a 3G network. With Intel anti-theft technology built into Sandy Bridge, David Allen, director of distribution sales at Intel North America, said that users have the option to set up their processor so that if their computer is lost or stolen, it can be shut down remotely."

1 of 399 comments (clear)

  1. Well, the article sucks... by msauve · · Score: 5, Informative

    since it doesn't explain how this works, or what's it's really all about.

    It doesn't permanently disable the processor, you can revive it if you know the password. To do a kill over 3G, you send an encrypted SMS, and the laptop obviously needs 3G capability and the OS needs to be running.

    --
    "National Security is the chief cause of national insecurity." - Celine's First Law