In a comment on my review of the Toshiba M400 David asked if the M400 includes the accelerometer as his M200 does.
Indeed it does and this forms part of one of the interesting security features available in the M400.
The accelerometer is leveraged for a solution called Advanced Instant Security. When activated AIS locks the machine. If it is moved while it is locked it causes an alarm to sound. This M200 had the same feature.
This is not the only interesting security funciton in the M400. In addition to the biometric fingerprint reader - which can be used to authenticate for both the BIOS password and the HDD password and to authenticate to Windows the M400 supports these additional authentication methods.
- Wireless Key - will authenticate you if your bluetooth enabled mobile phone is within bluetooth range.
- User Token - create a virual token on an SD Card. This is used in conjunction with the BIOS and HDD passwords. If the SD Card is in the slot then the this is used to authenticate to the BIOS and HDD instead of the password.
There are some things to be aware of with the User Token - you would want to be really careful with that SD card. If you are just going to leave it in the SD Card slot then it is pretty useless. Additionally it is no more secure than a password - if the card is missing you can just enter the password(s) and boot the machine.
There are several things to bear in mind if you are thinking about using the wireless key. Indeed when configuring the wireless key Toshiba provides the following Important Informaiton:
"1. Should the cellular phone you registered during setup get misplaced, run out of power, suffer damage, be destroyed, or otherwise be adversely affected, you will not be able to log on to your PC. Be especially careful to avoid such occurrences.
2. Should you be unable to use your cellular phone for any of the reasons given above, you will still be able to log on to your PC by asking the administrator for the BIOS supervisor password (a unique password that enables a login to be performed without a cellular phone). However, if you can't use your cellular phone where you are, and need to ask assistance from the administrator, be especially careful to ensure that persons nearby do not secretly view the BIOS supervisor password. Anyone who learns the password will be able to gain access to all of the PCs (provided that the administrator has not configured each PC with a unique password). Exercise the appropriate discretion when making such requests of the administrator.
3. Turning your cellular phone on in locations where it is not permitted to do so (such as in aircraft or hospitals) may be punishable by law. Take care not to operate your cellular phone in such areas.
4. If you are holding a cellular phone that has been registered to a PC using this software and happen to be standing near a PC (within approximately ten meters, though this distance will depend on how clearly the radio waves can be transmitted), in certain configurations it is possible that someone of malicious intent may be able to turn on your PC and successfully log on to it without entering any password at all, without your having sanctioned such an action. Should there be any risk that someone might be able to access the PC, you should either disable the function in the utility or disable your cellular phone's Bluetooth(TM) function.
5. If you move away from where you've been sitting and, during your absence, leave a cellular phone that has been registered to your PC with this software utility near the PC, others will be able to access your computer's contents. Please exercise due care in such circumstances.
6. Your PC starts to search for cellular phones immediately after it has been switched on. Therefore, even if you turn your computer off while away from it, as long as you are within the Bluetooth(TM) transmission range a malicious person will be able to secretly turn it on and operate it without having to enter a password. In order to prevent this from happening, it is recommended that the Bluetooth(TM) function of your cellular phone be disabled until you return.
7. If both your PC and the cellular phone registered to your PC using this software get stolen or accidentally left somewhere, your computer will be accessible to anyone.
8. Using your cellular phone as a key to log on to a PC does not provide extra security. Only use this function once you have thoroughly understood what it does. If you have any doubts about configuring this function or Bluetooth(TM), or about the use of cellular phones, it is recommended that the function not be used. If you wish to make your PC secure, disable the function.
9. Requiring a BIOS password to be entered as well as using a Bluetooth(TM) cellular phone will make your PC more secure than if either of these methods is used alone; however, the PC can still be stolen, its hard disk drive can be removed, or other means can be used to access the information stored within it. It is accordingly urged that you discuss robust measures such as encryption to handle especially critical data.
10. TOSHIBA shall accept no responsibility whatsoever for any theft of data or other adverse events, whether or not they result from the software or the functions as described above. "