A U.K. company has come up with a nifty laptop-protection system that can <A HREF="http://www.pcworld.com/article/id,142631-pg,1/article.html">automatically wipe hard disk data</A> 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.