A U.K. company has come up with a nifty laptop-protection system that can automatically wipe hard disk data on machines taken from authorized locations. Sold as a hosted service, Virtuity’s BackStopp server monitors a protected laptop using any medium available, including the Internet, or locally using Wi-Fi or GSM.

If a laptop is reported stolen–or even just moved from a designated space–the system can reach out and execute a file deletion routine that clears the laptop of all important data.