Austin Independent School District Fights Laptop Theft with Help of Computrace Software
Austin, Texas: July 15, 2009 – Absolute® Software Corporation (“Absolute” or the “Company”) (TSX: ABT), the leading provider of firmware-based, patented, computer theft recovery, data protection and IT asset management solutions announces its first laptop theft recovery for the Austin Independent School District (AISD).
According to Gray Salada, Executive Director of Technology at AISD, “We started using Absolute Software’s Computrace® solutions after hearing about the success other school districts had with laptop recovery and asset management.” Now, each of the over 6,000 teacher laptops and desktops at AISD are being protected with the software. “We have been so impressed with the results that it will be added to all future computer purchases. The low cost of the software definitely outweighs the cost of replacing any stolen computers” Salada said.
The laptop was stolen out of car parked in downtown Austin. AISD reported the theft to the Austin police department and then to Absolute. Soon after, the laptop started calling into the Absolute Monitoring Center and an Absolute Theft Recovery Officer forensically mined the laptop for evidence. That evidence was then given to the police officer assigned to the case, search warrants were issued, and the laptop was recovered. The unauthorized user alleged that the laptop was purchased from "some guy" driving around with a stack of computers.
The increase in laptop and netbook use and the decreasing size of desktop computers has caused many school districts to look into protecting and managing their IT assets. “School districts usually have thousands of computers they need to track and protect from theft”, said Carter McCrary, Chief Operating Officer at Absolute Software. “Computrace makes it easier for IT personnel and school administrators to monitor and protect multiple computers while remaining within a tight budget.”