Select Acer Computers to Ship With Absolute's Computrace and Intel® Anti-Theft Technology

Acer customers now have enhanced computer security with Computrace by Absolute Software and Intel Anti-Theft Technology

Vancouver, Canada: June 23, 2009–Absolute® Software Corporation (TSX: ABT) announced today the availability of Computrace® and Intel® Anti-Theft Technology for Acer TravelMate 6493 and 6593 notebooks.

The Acer TravelMate 6493 and 6593 notebooks will ship with Computrace technology from Absolute Software built into the BIOS firmware and Intel® Centrino® 2 Processors featuring Intel® Anti-Theft Technology. Absolute and Acer customers can now have support for tamper-resistant computer security with the patented Computrace technology embedded during Acer’s manufacturing process. With Computrace, customers can also activate the lock-down capabilities of Intel Anti-Theft Technology.

Computrace subscriptions for all models of Acer computers are available immediately though Absolute Software and its network of partner resellers.

"Customers have been able to use Computrace and Computrace LoJack for Laptops products on Acer computers for many years. Absolute and Acer have collaborated to embed Absolute’s technology in the firmware for additional tamper-resistance," said John Livingston, Chairman and CEO of Absolute. "With this new collaboration between Acer, Intel and Absolute, Acer is giving their customers the best solutions available to track, manage and protect their mobile computers."

With the Acer TravelMate 6493 and 6593 notebooks, Computrace and Intel Anti-Theft Technology, IT administrators can:

  • Take advantage of the full range of Computrace IT asset management capabilities.
  • Manage and track notebooks to more quickly identify if they go missing.
  • Remotely delete data from missing notebooks or at end-of-lease or life.
  • Recover stolen notebooks with the services of the Absolute Theft Recovery Team.
  • Using the Intel Anti-Theft Technology capabilities, disable a notebook remotely or when preset criteria are met.
 

“With the increase of business laptop sales, theft management has become an important issue for the rapidly growing mobile workforce,” said George Thangadurai, director of Strategic Planning and general manager, Intel Anti-theft Services, Intel Mobile Platforms Group. “Our collaboration with Acer and Absolute is bringing customers new worldwide scalable hardware-based security solutions using Intel Anti-Theft Technology to deter theft.”

How Computrace Solutions Work

The Computrace® Agent that powers Absolute Software solutions is embedded in the firmware of select Acer computers right at the factory or it can be installed by the customer.* Embedded in the firmware of a computer for enhanced tamper-resistance, the stealthy Computrace Agent is capable of surviving operating system re-installations, as well as hard-drive reformats, replacements and re-imaging. The Agent can be activated by customers when they purchase a subscription with terms ranging from one to four years.

The Agent regularly contacts the Absolute Monitoring Center servers – sending location and IT asset management information that is accessible via the Absolute Customer Center web portal. Customers log in to the Absolute Customer Center to access that information, manage their IT asset population, run reports, remotely delete data and plot the location of their computers and mobile devices on a map.

If a computer is stolen, the Absolute Theft Recovery Team can use location information sent by the computer and forensically mine it using a variety of procedures including key captures, registry scanning, file scanning, geolocation, and other investigative techniques to determine who has the computer and how it is being used. Absolute then works with local law enforcement to help recover the computer.

Intel Anti-Theft Technology allows IT administrators to enable a timer that disables the notebook if it does not check in with the Absolute Monitoring Center within a set period of time. Alternatively, if IT learns that a notebook has gone missing, they can remotely lock the computer via the Absolute Customer Center. Once IT is satisfied that the notebook is safe and in their control, they can rapidly reactivate the computer using a reactivation token given to them by Absolute. For more detailed information on how Computrace with Intel Anti-Theft Technology works, download the whitepaper at: http://www.absolute.com/resource_center/whitepapers/intel-anti-theft-protection Availability

Firmware support for Computrace and hardware support for Intel Anti-Theft Technology will be available globally on the Acer TravelMate 6493 and 6593 notebooks through www.acer.com beginning summer 2009.

* For a complete list of firmware-supported computers, see www.absolute.com/firmware.

About Absolute Software

Absolute Software Corporation (TSX: ABT) is the leader in computer theft recovery, data protection and Secure Asset Tracking® solutions. Absolute Software provides organizations and consumers with solutions in the areas of regulatory compliance, data protection and theft recovery. The Company's Computrace software is embedded in the firmware of computers by global leaders, including Acer, ASUS, Dell, Fujitsu, General Dynamics Itronix, HP, Lenovo, Motion, Panasonic and Toshiba, and the Company has reselling partnerships with these OEMs and others, including Apple. For more information about Absolute Software and Computrace, visit www.absolute.com and www.absolute.com/blog.

About Intel

Intel (NASDAQ: INTC), the world leader in silicon innovation, develops technologies, products and initiatives to continually advance how people work and live. Additional information about Intel is available at www.intel.com/pressroom and blogs.intel.com.

Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. These forward-looking statements relate to, among other things, the expected performance, functionality and availability of our services and products, and other expectations, intentions and plans contained in this press release that are not historical fact. When used in this press release, the words "plan," "expect," "believe," and similar expressions generally identify forward-looking statements. These statements reflect our current expectations. They are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties, including, but not limited to, changes in technology and general market conditions. In light of the many risks and uncertainties you should understand that we cannot assure you that the forward-looking statements contained in this press release will be realized.

For more information, please contact:
Public Relations:
Leslie Campisi, Affect Strategies
leslie@affectstrategies.com or 212.398.9680 x144

Investor Relations:
Dave Mason, CFA, The Equicom Group
dmason@equicomgroup.com or 416.815.0700 x237