All of the major smartphone platforms have some kind of remote erase capability, and that same perk may be coming to laptops, courtesy of the cellular technology in always-connected PCs and a related patent that would allow users to send a signal that locks a PC and wipes the device – even when there is no service. In another patent, Microsoft wants to be able to detect when you are about to eat something.



At least some embodiments described herein relate to the restricted use of a cellular network to facilitate disablement of a device that is suspected lost or stolen. Accordingly, even if the device is not capable of general use of the cellular network (e.g., due to a physical authentication module, such as a subscriber identity module, being absent and/or due to a software restriction on cellular network access), disablement communications are still permitted across the cellular network.

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Source: [H]ardOCP – Microsoft Files New Patent to Stop Laptop Thieves