Back up data, use tracking device, Absolute Software says
Marke Andrews
Sun
Absolute Software, whose Computrace technology is embedded in laptops made by Lenovo, Dell, HP, Gateway and Fujitsu, have issued suggestions for travellers who are no longer allowed to use computers on flights to and from Britain. Photograph by : Vancouver Sun Illustration
A Vancouver company specializing in computer theft recovery and data protection advises travellers to the United Kingdom who must check in their laptops with their luggage to back up data before boarding and invest in tracking and recovery software.
Absolute Software, whose Computrace technology is embedded in laptops made by Lenovo, Dell, HP, Gateway and Fujitsu, have issued suggestions for travellers who are no longer allowed to use computers on flights to and from Britain.
All electronics have been banned from carry-on luggage after last week’s arrest of terrorist suspects who were planning to use the devices to trigger explosions on passenger airplanes bound for the United States. So far, Great Britain is alone in the ban, but other nations may follow the suit, including Canada and the U.S.
The tips issued by Absolute Software advise travellers to:
– Pack laptops in inconspicuous pieces of luggage to foil potential thieves.
– Lock the luggage.
– Pad computers with foam or bubble wrap.
– Shut down computers before transporting them.
– Keep the computer’s name and serial number with you, and back up data before travelling.
– Use complex or encrypted passwords to prevent thieves from accessing sensitive data.
– Carry portable storage devices such as memory sticks, zip drives and thumb drives.
– Invest in recovery and theft-tracking software and in data protection technology which wipes out the hard drive remotely should a computer be stolen.
“If a computer is missing, we can track it over the Internet and get it back with help from law enforcement,” says John Livingston, president and CEO of Absolute Software, adding that his company has nine individuals who handle specific theft cases.
In February 2005, Lenovo embedded Computrace into their laptop machines, and was followed by Gateway last July, HP in October, Dell in November and Fujitsu this past February.
Customers would have to subscribe to a service to trace their missing hardware.
“The customer needs to activate it similar to the way they activate anti-virus subscription,” says Livingston, of his company’s subscription service. “The customer activates the subscription, and then we begin to track the notebook, and if it goes missing or gets lost, we can recover it.”
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Absolute Software enjoyed a record fiscal fourth quarter, according to figures it released Tuesday.
Sales contracts were up 66 per cent from the fourth quarter of 2005, totalling $8.4 million. Over the year, sales for the fiscal year are up 70 per cent over 2005.
Revenue was up from $2.3 million in last year’s fiscal fourth quarter to $3.4 million this year, a gain of 43 per cent. Cash flow increased 304 per cent, from $0.3 million to $1.3 million.
The company’s paid subscriber base increased from 440,000 on June 30, 2005, to 700,000 on June 30, 2006.
Livingston says the growing number of privacy bills, like California’s Senate Bill 1386, have helped Absolute Software’s bottom line.
“Alongside us building the market, computer security protection regulatory compliance concerns have really gained momentum in the United States with privacy bills,” says Livingston. “California Bill 1386 says that if you have third-party customer, employee or patient data, you have a legal responsibility to ensure that the data is properly protected.”
Livingston says the company’s work force has grown by almost 50 per cent in the past year, from 76 to 113.
© The Vancouver Sun 2006