-Security is a key differentiator for our products, and it's something we intend to promote to the market," David Nicol, mobile computing brand manager for IBM Australia, told ZDNet Australia.
Tying biometrics into its Embedded Security Software, the new update has software support for a fingerprint reader, produced by Targus. This plugs into the PC card slot of the notebook and is hidden inside the computer. The user clicks it out when they need to log on.
-We've found most critical data tends to be held on notebooks, so it's a key area of focus for us,"Nicol said. The fingerprint reader joins Digital Persona facial recognition technology, which uses a camera plugged into a USB port.
The proximity badge uses Bluetooth technology and turns off the computer when the user is outside a certain range.
-Asset security is quite high. People don't like losing notebooks because they're quite expensive," Nicol said. -But people are more interested in data security; business and customer data on PC, data encryption and e-mail encryption so only intended people can read the files."
Folder files will now become encrypted or decrypted automatically when a person moves them into or out of a folder, instead of requiring hand selection by the user.
The new features will be added to IBM's Embedded Security System, and will ship in new ThinkPad notebooks and NetVista desktop PCs in Australia in March. The cost is still to be advised.
