One product you can use in conjunction with Intel-AT is the for Intel vPro Technology from Symantec. Another is Computrace from , which allows you to delete data on missing computers and produce an audit log of the deleted files to prove your compliance with government and corporate regulations.

Certain models of Lenovo ThinkPad laptops offer a technology called This BIOS update allows for the remote shut down of a lost or stolen PC when an SMS message is sent via a designated cell phone. This solution also requires an embedded wireless WAN card in the PC as well as a mobile communications subscription to allow the PC to receive text messages. If the computer is lost or stolen, your text message will lock it down at the hardware level, turning it into a brick. Should the PC turn up again, you can unlock it without loss of data.

SystemTrack is a managed service offered by Dell. SystemTrack links with a missing PC the next time it connects to the Internet and enables IT administrators to perform data and device security activities, including deletion of sensitive data, system lockdown and emergency retrieval of key files. If you report a stolen device to Dell, Dell can forensically mine the PC over the Internet using a variety of procedures.

All the solutions I've just described take some forethought to prepare a PC before it's ever lost or stolen. What's more, these solutions often rely on multiple services or technologies to work just right. Still, as the old saying goes, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. Perhaps a little forethought on what to do about sensitive data on a lost or stolen laptop is better than the experience of a costly data breach.