Lenovo raises the bar on PC security

'The steps necessary to protect business and user electronic data are increasing, causing frustration and downtime for end users. Many of these new ThinkVantage Technologies respond to that trend and aim to reverse it, making security and productivity tools quick and simple," said Milko Van Dujil, general manager, Lenovo Group Ltd, during his visit to GITEX Dubai 2005.

Key benefits from its improved portfolio of ThinkVantage Technologies include ease-of-install and ease-of use updates, enhanced password management, easy and powerful file encryption, and improved backup and recovery capability. Lenovo has also unveiled a new ThinkVantage Technologies management suite, utilizing LANDesk technology, which serves as an umbrella to consolidate access to the ThinkVantage Technologies themselves. To complete the end-to-end approach, Lenovo is also incorporating ThinkPlus Service offerings, focused on deployment support, to enable customers to realise the full benefits available.

LANDesk creates software that provides system and security management solutions for IT departments. The Lenovo solution creates, in effect, an integrated "ThinkVantage Management Console" for one-stop user access to ThinkVantage Technologies.

The additions to the ThinkPlus Service offerings suite include ThinkVantage on-site deployment* and remote telephone support, imaging services and warranty/maintenance extensions.

Van Dujil added: "Consumers want the same advantages in their PCs as enterprises: laptops that protect themselves with an "airbag"; PCs that heal themselves and recover data with one touch; the most secure laptops available, yet quickly accessible with a fingerprint reader for fast identification. This is the unique offering of Lenovo's ThinkVantage Technologies."

New Rescue and Recovery Features

• New restore capabilities that enable users to recover from a crash without losing key personality settings or having to rescue files

• New single-instance storage that keeps only the most recent copy of large files, reducing the size of backups and hard drive space used

• New backup analyzer that helps users select the right files to exclude or to keep a single backup copy of a file to keep backups small

New ThinkVantage System Update Features

• Direct connection to service and support for drivers, software, and BIOS updates

• Integration into a customer's PC management system for both push and pull distribution of customer-specific applications

• Detailed system inventory data and alerts to a customer's inventory management system

New Client Security Solution Features

• Easy-to-use setup wizard that starts up out of the box

• Recover logon passwords without the expense of a helpdesk call

• System security audit

Lenovo also has made upgrades to other ThinkVantage Technologies, such as Secure Data Disposal - which acts as a paper shredder for electronic data, enabling customers to permanently erase data from their hard drive so that sensitive information cannot be retrieved from the machine once it is returned or replaced.