Electronic device security and tracking system and method

• US 20050044404A1
• Filed: 08/23/2004
• Published: 02/24/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 08/23/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Softex LLC (SoftBank Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Softex Incorporated
• Inventors: Dube, Shradha, Raikar, Rayesh Kashinath, Kapila, Ranjit, Bhansali, Apurva Mahendrakumar, Jain, Manoj Kumar, Rangarajan, Gayathri, Tucker, Thomas David, Dhanani, Kamal Mansukhlal, Patel, Mehul Ramjibhai, Varghese, Elza Abraham
• Granted Patent: US 7,590,837 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 726/26
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/572 Secure firmware programming, e.g. of basic input output system [BIOS]
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/88 Detecting or preventing theft or loss
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/3674 involving authentication
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/082 using revocation of authorisation
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/126 Anti-theft arrangements, e.g. protection against subscriber identity module [SIM] cloning

Abstract

A system and method for securing and tracking an electronic device. The system includes hardware, software and firmware components that cooperate to allow tracking, disabling, and other interaction with the stolen electronic device. The system includes an application component, non-viewable component and Basic Input/Output Subsystem (BIOS) component that are present on the electronic device. The BIOS component maintains the secured environment of the application and non-viewable components. If only the application component was provided, a simple low level format of the hard disk drive would remove the application and bypass the security features. The system implements an “application and BIOS” based solution to electronic device security.

Claims

1. An electronic device security and tracking system, comprising:

a non-viewable component;

an application component connected to the non-viewable component, said application component capable of communicating with the non-viewable component;

a BIOS component connected to the non-viewable component; and

,

a server system capable of communicating through a secure medium with the application component.

2. The electronic device security and tracking system of claim 1, wherein the server system is capable of communicating through the secure medium with the non-viewable component.

3. The electronic device security and tracking system of claim 1, wherein the server system is capable of communicating through the secure medium with the BIOS component.

4. The electronic device security and tracking system of claim 1, wherein the non-viewable component comprises:

a fileset; and

,

a validator module connected to the fileset, said validator module capable of determining if the application component is present and has been tampered with.

5. The electronic device security and tracking system of claim 1, wherein the non-viewable component is located in a hidden partition of a hard disk drive.

6. The electronic device security and tracking system of claim 1, wherein the application component comprises:

a plurality of startup files;

an application file connected to the startup files, said application file capable of communicating with the startup files; and

,

a dynamic link library connected to the application file.

7. The electronic device security and tracking system of claim 1, further comprising a secure area coupled to the BIOS component.

8. The electronic device security and tracking system of claim 7, further comprising a recovery media receptacle coupled to the BIOS component, said receptacle capable of holding a recovery media.

9. The electronic device security and tracking system of claim 1, wherein the application component communicates with the non-viewable component through a communications area.

10. The electronic device security and tracking system of claim 1, wherein the application component is located on a hard disk drive.

11. The electronic device security and tracking system of claim 10, wherein the BIOS component is located external to the hard disk drive.

12. The electronic device security and tracking system of claim 1, wherein the BIOS component is capable of determining if the non-viewable component is present and has been tampered with.

13. An electronic device security and tracking system, comprising:

a nonvolatile storage device;

a changeable area in the nonvolatile storage device, wherein the changeable area further comprises an application component and a secure area coupled to the application component; and

,

a server system capable of communicating through a secure medium with the application component.

14. The electronic device security and tracking system of claim 13, wherein the server system is capable of communicating through the secure medium with the secure area.

15. The electronic device security and tracking system of claim 13, wherein the electronic device is a personal digital assistant.

16. The electronic device security and tracking system of claim 13, wherein the nonvolatile storage device is a Flash memory.

17. The electronic device security and tracking system of claim 13, wherein the application component comprises an application file.

18. An electronic device security and tracking system, comprising:

a nonvolatile storage device;

a changeable area in the nonvolatile storage device, wherein the changeable area further comprises a system area in the nonvolatile storage device, said system area comprising an application component and a secure area coupled to the application component; and

a server system capable of communicating through a secure medium with the application component.

19. The electronic device security and tracking system of claim 18, wherein the server system is capable of communicating through the secure medium with the secure area.

20. The electronic device security and tracking system of claim 19, wherein the system area is not modifiable by a user of the electronic device.

21. The electronic device security and tracking system of claim 18, wherein the electronic device is a personal digital assistant.

22. The electronic device security and tracking system of claim 18, wherein the nonvolatile storage device is a Flash memory.

23. The electronic device security and tracking system of claim 18, wherein the application component comprises an application file.

24. An electronic device security and tracking system, comprising:

a non-viewable component;

an application component connected to the non-viewable component, wherein the application component comprises an application file, said application file capable of communicating with the non-viewable component;

a BIOS component connected to the non-viewable component; and

,

a server system capable of communicating through a secure medium with the application file.

25. The electronic device security and tracking system of claim 24, wherein the server system is capable of communicating through the secure medium with the non-viewable component.

26. The electronic device security and tracking system of claim 24, wherein the server system is capable of communicating through the secure medium with the BIOS component.

27. The electronic device security and tracking system of claim 24, wherein the non-viewable component comprises:

a fileset; and

,

a validator module connected to the fileset, said validator module capable of determining if the application file is present and has been tampered with.

28. The electronic device security and tracking system of claim 24, wherein the non-viewable component is located in a host protected area of a hard disk drive.

29. The electronic device security and tracking system of claim 24, further comprising a secure area coupled to the BIOS component.

30. The electronic device security and tracking system of claim 29, further comprising a recovery media receptacle coupled to the BIOS component, said receptacle capable of holding a recovery media.

31. The electronic device security and tracking system of claim 24, wherein the application file communicates with the non-viewable component through a communications area.

32. The electronic device security and tracking system of claim 24, wherein the application file is located on a hard disk drive.

33. The electronic device security and tracking system of claim 32, wherein the BIOS component is located external to the hard disk drive.

34. The electronic device security and tracking system of claim 24, wherein the BIOS component is capable of determining if the non-viewable component is present and has been tampered with.

35. An electronic device security and tracking system, comprising:

a remote component;

an application component connected to the remote component, wherein the application component is capable of communicating with the remote component through a communication medium;

a BIOS component connected to the application component; and

,

a server system capable of communicating through a secure medium with the application component.

36. The electronic device security and tracking system of claim 35, wherein the server system is capable of communicating through the secure medium with the remote component.

37. The electronic device security and tracking system of claim 35, wherein the server system is capable of communicating through the secure medium with the BIOS component.

38. The electronic device security and tracking system of claim 35, wherein the remote component comprises a fileset.

39. The electronic device security and tracking system of claim 35, wherein the application component comprises:

a plurality of startup files;

an application file connected to the startup files, wherein the application file is capable of communicating with the startup files; and

,

a dynamic link library connected to the application file.

40. The electronic device security and tracking system of claim 35, further comprising a secure area coupled to the BIOS component.

41. The electronic device security and tracking system of claim 35, wherein the application component communicates with the BIOS component through a communications area.

42. The electronic device security and tracking system of claim 35, wherein the application component is located on a hard disk drive.

43. The electronic device security and tracking system of claim 35, wherein the remote component is a world wide web component.

44. The electronic device security and tracking system of claim 35, wherein the communication medium is Internet.

45. The electronic device security and tracking system of claim 35, wherein the application component is located on a hard disk drive.

46. The electronic device security and tracking system of claim 45, wherein the BIOS component is located external to the hard disk drive.

47. The electronic device security and tracking system of claim 35, wherein the BIOS component is capable of determining if the application component is present and has been tampered with.

48. An electronic device security and tracking system, comprising:

a nonvolatile storage device;

a changeable area in the nonvolatile storage device, wherein the changeable area further comprises an application component and a communication protocol component coupled to the application component; and

,

one or more servers capable of communicating through a secure medium with the application component.

49. The electronic device security and tracking system of claim 48, wherein the communication protocol component is a smart messaging service component for mobile devices.

50. The electronic device security and tracking system of claim 49, further comprising:

one or more smart messaging service servers capable of communicating through a communications medium with the smart messaging service component; and

,

wherein the one or more servers that communicate with the application component are web servers.

51. The electronic device security and tracking system of claim 50, wherein the communications medium is from the group consisting essentially of smart messaging service wireless link, Code Division Multiple Access, and Global Mobile System.

52. The electronic device security and tracking system of claim 49, wherein the electronic device is from the group consisting essentially of Smart phone, smart messaging service capable device, and mobile phone device.

53. The electronic device security and tracking system of claim 48, wherein the nonvolatile storage device is a Flash memory.

54. The electronic device security and tracking system of claim 48, wherein the application component comprises an application file.

55. An electronic device security and tracking system, comprising:

a nonvolatile storage device;

a changeable area in the nonvolatile storage device, wherein the changeable area further comprises a system area in the nonvolatile storage device, said system area comprising an application component and a communication protocol component coupled to the application component; and

,

one or more servers capable of communicating through a secure medium with the application component.

56. The electronic device security and tracking system of claim 55, wherein the communication protocol component is a smart messaging service component for mobile devices.

57. The electronic device security and tracking system of claim 56, further comprising:

one or more smart messaging service servers capable of communicating through a communications medium with the smart messaging service component; and

,

wherein the one or more servers that communicate with the application component are web servers.

58. The electronic device security and tracking system of claim 57, wherein the communications medium is from the group consisting essentially of smart messaging service wireless link, Code Division Multiple Access, and Global Mobile System.

59. The electronic device security and tracking system of claim 56, wherein the electronic device is from the group consisting essentially of Smart phone, smart messaging service capable device, and mobile phone device.

60. The electronic device security and tracking system of claim 55, wherein the nonvolatile storage device is a Flash memory.

61. The electronic device security and tracking system of claim 55, wherein the system area is not modifiable by a user of the electronic device.

62. The electronic device security and tracking system of claim 55, wherein the application component comprises an application file.

63. A computer system, comprising:

a central processing unit;

a memory array coupled to said central processing unit;

an expansion bus coupled to said central processing unit and said memory array, said expansion bus capable of interfacing peripheral devices;

a BIOS memory coupled to said expansion bus, comprising;

a BIOS component;

a hard disk drive coupled to said expansion bus, comprising;

a non-viewable component;

an application component connected to the non-viewable component, said application component capable of communicating with the non-viewable component; and

one or more servers capable of communicating through a secure medium with the application component.

64. The computer system of claim 63, wherein the server system is capable of communicating through the secure medium with the non-viewable component.

65. The computer system of claim 63, wherein the server system is capable of communicating through the secure medium with the BIOS component.

66. The computer system of claim 63, wherein the non-viewable component comprises:

a fileset; and

,

a validator module connected to the fileset, said validator module capable of determining if the application component is present and not been tampered with.

67. The computer system of claim 63, wherein the non-viewable component is located in a hidden partition of the hard disk drive.

68. The computer system of claim 63, wherein the BIOS memory is from the group consisting essentially of read-only-memory, electronically erasable read-only-memory, and Flash read-only-memory.

69. The computer system of claim 63, wherein the application component comprises:

a plurality of startup files;

an application file connected to the startup files, said application file capable of communicating with the startup files; and

,

a dynamic link library connected to the application file.

70. The computer system of claim 63, further comprising a secure area coupled to the BIOS component.

71. The computer system of claim 70, further comprising a recovery media receptacle coupled to the BIOS component, said receptacle capable of holding a recovery media.

72. The computer system of claim 63, wherein the application component communicates with the non-viewable component through a communications area.

73. The computer system of claim 63, wherein the BIOS component is capable of determining if the non-viewable component is present and has not been tampered with.

74. A computer system, comprising:

a central processing unit;

a memory array coupled to said central processing unit;

an expansion bus coupled to said central processing unit and said memory array, said expansion bus capable of interfacing peripheral devices;

a BIOS memory coupled to said expansion bus, comprising;

a BIOS component;

a hard disk drive coupled to said expansion bus, comprising;

a non-viewable component;

an application component connected to the non-viewable component, wherein the application component comprises an application file, said application file capable of communicating with the non-viewable component; and

one or more servers capable of communicating through a secure medium with the application file.

75. The computer system of claim 74, wherein the one or more servers are capable of communicating through the secure medium with the non-viewable component.

76. The computer system of claim 74, wherein the one or more servers are capable of communicating through the secure medium with the BIOS component.

77. The computer system of claim 74, wherein the non-viewable component comprises:

a fileset; and

,

a validator module connected to the fileset, said validator module capable of determining if the application file is present and not been tampered with.

78. The computer system of claim 74, wherein the non-viewable component is located in a host protected area of the hard disk drive.

79. The computer system of claim 74, wherein the BIOS memory is from the group consisting essentially of read-only-memory, electronically erasable read-only-memory, and Flash read-only-memory.

80. The computer system of claim 74, further comprising a secure area coupled to the BIOS component.

81. The computer system of claim 80, further comprising a recovery media receptacle coupled to the BIOS component, said receptacle capable of holding a recovery media.

82. The computer system of claim 74, wherein the application file communicates with the non-viewable component through a communications area.

83. The computer system of claim 74, wherein the BIOS component is capable of determining if the non-viewable component is present and has not been tampered with.

84. A communication system, comprising:

a communication device, comprising;

a controller unit;

a digital signal processor coupled to the controller unit;

a nonvolatile storage device coupled to the controller unit, comprising;

a changeable area, wherein the changeable area further comprises an application component and a secure area coupled to the application component; and

a server system capable of communicating through a secure medium with the application component.

85. The communication system of claim 84, wherein the server system is capable of communicating through the secure medium with the secure area.

86. The communication system of claim 84, wherein the communication device is a personal digital assistant.

87. The communication system of claim 84, wherein the nonvolatile storage device is a Flash memory.

88. The communication system of claim 84, wherein the application component comprises an application file.

89. A communication system, comprising:

a communication device, comprising;

a controller unit;

a digital signal processor coupled to the controller unit;

a nonvolatile storage device coupled to the controller unit, comprising;

a changeable area, wherein the changeable area further comprises a system area, said system area comprising an application component and a secure area coupled to the application component; and

a server system capable of communicating through a secure medium with the application component.

90. The communication system of claim 89, wherein the server system is capable of communicating through the secure medium with the secure area.

91. The communication system of claim 90, wherein the system area is not modifiable by a user of the communication device.

92. The communication system of claim 89, wherein the communication device is a personal digital assistant.

93. The communication system of claim 89, wherein the nonvolatile storage device is a Flash memory.

94. The communication system of claim 89, wherein the application component comprises an application file.

95. A communication system, comprising:

a communication device, comprising;

a controller unit;

a digital signal processor coupled to the controller unit;

a nonvolatile storage device coupled to the controller unit, comprising;

a changeable area, wherein the changeable area further comprises

an application component and a communication protocol component coupled to the application component; and

,

one or more servers capable of communicating through a secure medium with the application component.

96. The communication system of claim 95, wherein the communication protocol component is a smart messaging service component for mobile devices.

97. The communication system of claim 96, further comprising:

one or more smart messaging service servers capable of communicating through a communications medium with the smart messaging service component; and

,

wherein the one or more servers that communicate with the application component are web servers.

98. The communication system of claim 97, wherein the communications medium is from the group consisting essentially of smart messaging service wireless link, Code Division Multiple Access, and Global Mobile System.

99. The communication system of claim 96, wherein the communication device is from the group consisting essentially of Smart phone, smart messaging service capable device, and mobile phone device.

100. The communication system of claim 95, wherein the nonvolatile storage device is a Flash memory.

101. The communication system of claim 95, wherein the application component comprises an application file.

102. A communication system, comprising:

a communication device, comprising;

a controller unit;

a digital signal processor coupled to the controller unit;

a nonvolatile storage device coupled to the controller unit, comprising;

a changeable area, wherein the changeable area further comprises a system area in the nonvolatile storage device, said system area comprising an application component and a communication protocol component coupled to the application component; and

,

one or more servers capable of communicating through a secure medium with the application component.

103. The communication system of claim 102, wherein the communication protocol component is a smart messaging service component for mobile devices.

104. The communication system of claim 103, further comprising:

one or more smart messaging service servers capable of communicating through a communications medium with the smart messaging service component; and

,

wherein the one or more servers that communicate with the application component are web servers.

105. The communication system of claim 104, wherein the communications medium is from the group consisting essentially of smart messaging service wireless link, Code Division Multiple Access, and Global Mobile System.

106. The communication system of claim 103, wherein the communication device is from the group consisting essentially of Smart phone, smart messaging service capable device, and mobile phone device.

107. The communication system of claim 102, wherein the nonvolatile storage device is a Flash memory.

108. The communication system of claim 102, wherein the application component comprises an application file.

109. The communication system of claim 102, wherein the system area is not modifiable by a user of the communication device.

110. An electronic device security and tracking system, comprising:

one or more clients, wherein the clients are electronic devices; and

,

a server computer system connected to each of the clients, wherein the server computer system is capable of tracking and locating each of the clients.

111. The electronic device security and tracking system of claim 110, wherein the one or more clients connect to the server computer system through a firewall.

112. The electronic device security and tracking system of claim 110, wherein the server computer system comprises:

one or more web servers coupled to each of the clients, wherein the web servers include a website for the electronic device security and tracking system;

one or more file transfer protocol servers coupled to each of the web servers; and

one or more database servers connected to each of the web servers.

113. The electronic device security and tracking system of claim 112, wherein the one or more database servers connect to each of the web servers through a firewall.

114. The electronic device security and tracking system of claim 112, wherein the web servers include a primary server coupled to a plurality of secondary servers.

115. The electronic device security and tracking system of claim 114, wherein the client will access the website on the primary server and if unable will try to access the secondary servers to determine status of the primary server.

116. A method for tracking, locating and disabling an electronic device, comprising:

activating the electronic device;

transferring control to a BIOS component after activation;

transferring control to a non-viewable component from the BIOS component;

verifying that an application component operated correctly during a previous device activation; and

,

continuing with activation of the electronic device if the application component operated correctly during the previous device activation.

117. The method of claim 116, wherein activating the electronic device comprises activating a power on self test of the electronic device.

118. The method of claim 117, wherein transferring control to a BIOS component comprises transferring control to a BIOS component during power on self test.

119. The method of claim 118, further comprising:

determining if the electronic device has been disabled;

displaying system information and unlock key if the electronic device is disabled;

prompting a user of the electronic device to enter activation password to re-enable electronic device if the electronic device is disabled;

determining if a bootable operating system partition exists;

rebooting the electronic device to restart power on self test; and

,

proceeding with booting the electronic device until it stops booting if no bootable operating system partition exists.

120. The method of claim 119, further comprising:

determining if a hidden partition exists if the electronic device is not disabled;

transferring control to a non-viewable component if the hidden partition exists; and

,

creating a hidden partition if the hidden partition does not exist.

121. The method of claim 120, further comprising rebuilding the hidden partition from a recovery media if the bootable operating system partition exists.

122. The method of claim 120, wherein transferring control to a non-viewable component if the hidden partition exists, comprises:

checking the communication area to determine if an application component operated correctly during last device boot; and

,

returning control to power on self test to proceed with booting the electronic device if the application component operated correctly during last device boot.

123. The method of claim 122, wherein transferring control to a non-viewable component if the hidden partition exists, further comprises:

prompting that the electronic device will be disabled within a number of device boots unless corrective action is taken if the application component did not operate correctly during last device boot;

disabling the electronic device if the number of device boots has been reached; and

,

prompting for an activation password if the number of device boots has been reached.

124. The method of claim 123, wherein transferring control to a non-viewable component if the hidden partition exists, further comprises restoring the application component from a backup fileset if the application component did not operate correctly during last device boot.

125. The method of claim 123, wherein the number of device boots is five.

126. The method of claim 125, wherein power on self test proceeds with booting the electronic device by transferring control to the application component, comprising:

executing system processes and an application program contained in the application component;

checking if the application component is operating correctly; and

,

communicating to the BIOS component if the application component is operating correctly.

127. The method of claim 126, wherein power on self test proceeds with booting the electronic device by transferring control to the application component, further comprising:

detecting an Internet connection on the electronic device;

attempting to contact a primary server; and

,

sending an encrypted message to the primary server if successful in contacting the primary server.

128. The method of claim 127, wherein power on self test proceeds with booting the electronic device by transferring control to the application component, further comprising:

receiving a response from the primary server, wherein the response indicates status of whether or not the electronic device is reported stolen;

waiting a random interval before sending another encrypted message to the primary server if the electronic device is not reported stolen; and

,

performing actions based on user selected service options if the electronic device is reported stolen.

129. The method of claim 128, wherein the actions include disabling the electronic device or erasing hard disk drive.

130. The method of claim 128, wherein power on self test proceeds with booting the electronic device by transferring control to the application component, further comprising:

informing the communication area that the electronic device has been disabled if the user had selected the disable electronic device service;

sending an encrypted message to the secondary server if not successful in contacting the primary server;

warning the user that the primary server and secondary server can not be accessed if not successful in contacting the primary server or secondary server; and

,

disabling the electronic device after five device boots if an override code is not entered.

131. The method of claim 130, wherein specialized hardware on the electronic device checks if the application component is operating correctly.

132. The method of claim 130, wherein the message is encrypted by security hardware and includes the electronic device serial number or model number.

133. The method of claim 130, wherein the encrypted message to the secondary server requests the status of the primary server.

134. The method of claim 130, wherein warning the user that the primary server and secondary server cannot be accessed comprises requesting the user correct the problem within five device boots or enter an override code to continue operation of the device.

135. The method of claim 134, wherein the override code is obtained from a website, call center or automated response system.

136. The method of claim 117, wherein continuing with activation of the electronic device comprises returning control to power on self test to proceed with booting the electronic device if the application component operated correctly during a previous device boot.

137. The method of claim 116, wherein verifying that the application component operated correctly comprises checking a communication area to determine if the application component operated correctly during a previous device boot.

138. A machine-readable medium that provides instructions, which when executed by a machine, cause said machine to perform operations comprising:

activating an electronic device;

transferring control to a BIOS component after activation;

transferring control to a non-viewable component from the BIOS component;

verifying that an application component operated correctly during a previous device activation; and

,

continuing with activation of the electronic device if the application component operated correctly during the previous device activation.

139. The machine-readable medium of claim 138, wherein activating the electronic device comprises activating a power on self test of the electronic device.

140. The machine-readable medium of claim 139, wherein transferring control to a BIOS component comprises transferring control to a BIOS component during power on self test.

141. The machine-readable medium of claim 140, further comprising:

determining if the electronic device has been disabled;

displaying system information and unlock key if the electronic device is disabled;

prompting a user of the electronic device to enter activation password to re-enable electronic device if the electronic device is disabled;

determining if a bootable operating system partition exists;

rebooting the electronic device to restart power on self test; and

,

proceeding with booting the electronic device until it stops booting if no bootable operating system partition exists.

142. The machine-readable medium of claim 141, further comprising:

determining if a hidden partition exists if the electronic device is not disabled;

transferring control to a non-viewable component if the hidden partition exists; and

,

creating a hidden partition if the hidden partition does not exist.

143. The machine-readable medium of claim 142, further comprising rebuilding the hidden partition from a recovery media if the bootable operating system partition exists.

144. The machine-readable medium of claim 142, wherein transferring control to a non-viewable component if the hidden partition exists, comprises:

checking the communication area to determine if an application component operated correctly during last device boot; and

,

returning control to power on self test to proceed with booting the electronic device if the application component operated correctly during last device boot.

145. The machine-readable medium of claim 144, wherein transferring control to a non-viewable component if the hidden partition exists, further comprises:

prompting that the electronic device will be disabled within a number of device boots unless corrective action is taken if the application component did not operate correctly during last device boot;

disabling the electronic device if the number of device boots has been reached; and

,

prompting for an activation password if the number of device boots has been reached.

146. The machine-readable medium of claim 145, wherein transferring control to a non-viewable component if the hidden partition exists, further comprises restoring the application component from a backup fileset.

147. The machine-readable medium of claim 145, wherein the number of device boots is five.

148. The machine-readable medium of claim 147, wherein power on self test proceeds with booting the electronic device by transferring control to the application component, comprising:

executing system processes and an application program contained in the application component;

checking if the application component is operating correctly; and

,

communicating to the BIOS component if the application component is operating correctly.

149. The machine-readable medium of claim 148, wherein power on self test proceeds with booting the electronic device by transferring control to the application component, further comprising:

detecting an Internet connection on the electronic device;

attempting to contact a primary server; and

,

sending an encrypted message to the primary server if successful in contacting the primary server.

150. The machine-readable medium of claim 149, wherein power on self test proceeds with booting the electronic device by transferring control to the application component, further comprising:

receiving a response from the primary server, wherein the response indicates status of whether or not the electronic device is reported stolen;

waiting a random interval before sending another encrypted message to the primary server if the electronic device is not reported stolen; and

,

performing actions based on user selected service options if the electronic device is reported stolen.

151. The machine-readable medium of claim 150, wherein the actions include disabling the electronic device or erasing hard disk drive.

152. The machine-readable medium of claim 150, wherein power on self test proceeds with booting the electronic device by transferring control to the application component, further comprising:

informing the communication area that the electronic device has been disabled if the user had selected the disable electronic device service;

sending an encrypted message to the secondary server if not successful in contacting the primary server;

warning the user that the primary server and secondary server can not be accessed if not successful in contacting the primary server or secondary server; and

,

disabling the electronic device after five device boots if an override code is not entered.

153. The machine-readable medium of claim 152, wherein specialized hardware on the electronic device checks if the application component is operating correctly.

154. The machine-readable medium of claim 152, wherein the message is encrypted by security hardware and includes the electronic device serial number or model number.

155. The machine-readable medium of claim 152, wherein the encrypted message to the secondary server requests the status of the primary server.

156. The machine-readable medium of claim 152, wherein warning the user that the primary server and secondary server cannot be accessed comprises requesting the user correct the problem within five device boots or enter an override code to continue operation of the device.

157. The machine-readable medium of claim 156, wherein the override code is obtained from a website, call center or automated response system.

158. The machine-readable medium of claim 139, wherein continuing with activation of the electronic device comprises returning control to power on self test to proceed with booting the electronic device if the application component operated correctly during a previous device boot.

159. The machine-readable medium of claim 138, wherein verifying that the application component operated correctly comprises checking a communication area to determine if the application component operated correctly during a previous device boot.

160. A method for tracking, locating, and disabling an electronic device including a BIOS component, comprising:

determining if the electronic device has been disabled;

displaying system information and unlock key if the electronic device is disabled;

prompting a user of the electronic device to enter activation password to re-enable electronic device if the electronic device is disabled;

determining if a bootable operating system partition exists;

restarting the electronic device to allow the device to boot an operating system; and

,

proceeding with booting the electronic device until it stops booting if no bootable operating system partition exists.

161. The method of claim 160, further comprising:

determining if a hidden partition exists if the electronic device is not disabled;

transferring control to a non-viewable component if the hidden partition exists; and

,

creating a hidden partition if the hidden partition does not exist.

162. The method of claim 161, further comprising rebuilding the hidden partition from a recovery media if the bootable operating system partition exists.

163. A machine-readable medium that provides instructions, which when executed by a machine, cause said machine to perform operations comprising:

determining if an electronic device has been disabled;

displaying system information and unlock key if the electronic device is disabled;

prompting a user of the electronic device to enter activation password to re-enable electronic device if the electronic device is disabled;

determining if a bootable operating system partition exists;

restarting the electronic device to allow the device to boot an operating system; and

,

proceeding with booting the electronic device until it stops booting if no bootable operating system partition exists.

164. The machine-readable medium of claim 163, further comprising:

determining if a hidden partition exists if the electronic device is not disabled;

transferring control to a non-viewable component if the hidden partition exists; and

,

creating a hidden partition if the hidden partition does not exist.

165. The machine-readable medium of claim 164, further comprising rebuilding the hidden partition from a recovery media if the bootable operating system partition exists.

166. A method for tracking, locating and disabling an electronic device including a nonviewable component, comprising:

checking if an application component operated correctly during last power-up of the device; and

,

placing the device under control of power on self test to proceed with powering-up the device if the application component operated correctly during last device power-up.

167. The method of claim 166, further comprising:

prompting that the electronic device will be disabled within a number of device power-ups unless corrective action is taken if the application component did not operate correctly during last device power-up;

disabling the electronic device if the number of device power-ups has been reached; and

,

prompting for an activation password if the number of device power-ups has been reached.

168. The method of claim 167, further comprising restoring the application component from a backup fileset if the application component did not operate correctly during last device power-up.

169. The method of claim 167, wherein the number of device power-ups is five.

170. The method of claim 166, wherein powering-up the device includes allowing the device to boot an operating system.

171. A machine-readable medium that provides instructions, which when executed by a machine, cause said machine to perform operations comprising:

checking if an application component operated correctly during last power-up of an electronic device; and

placing the device under control of power on self test to proceed with powering-up the device if the application component operated correctly during last device power-up.

172. The machine-readable medium of claim 171, further comprising:

prompting that the electronic device will be disabled within a number of device power-ups unless corrective action is taken if the application component did not operate correctly during last device power-up;

disabling the electronic device if the number of device power-ups has been reached; and

prompting for an activation password if the number of device power-ups has been reached.

173. The machine-readable medium of claim 172, further comprising restoring the application component from a backup fileset if the application component did not operate correctly during last device power-up.

174. The machine-readable medium of claim 172, wherein the number of device power-ups is five.

175. The machine-readable medium of claim 171, wherein powering-up the device includes allowing the device to boot an operating system.

176. A method for tracking, locating, and disabling an electronic device including an application component, comprising:

executing system processes and an application program contained in an application component;

checking if the application component is operating correctly; and

communicating to a BIOS component if the application component is operating correctly.

177. The method of claim 176, further comprising:

detecting an Internet connection on the electronic device;

attempting to contact a primary server; and

sending an encrypted message to the primary server if successful in contacting the primary server.

178. The method of claim 177, further comprising:

receiving a response from the primary server, wherein the response indicates status of whether or not the electronic device is reported stolen;

waiting a random interval before sending another encrypted message to the primary server if the electronic device is not reported stolen; and

performing actions based on user selected service options if the electronic device is reported stolen.

179. The method of claim 178, wherein the actions include disabling the electronic device or erasing hard disk drive.

180. The method of claim 178, further comprising:

informing a communication area that the electronic device has been disabled if the user had selected the disable electronic device service;

sending an encrypted message to a secondary server if not successful in contacting the primary server;

warning the user that the primary server and secondary server can not be accessed if not successful in contacting the primary server or secondary server; and

disabling the electronic device after five attempts at contacting the primary server or secondary server.

181. The method of claim 180, wherein specialized hardware on the electronic device checks if the application component is operating correctly.

182. The method of claim 180, wherein the message is encrypted by security hardware and includes the electronic device serial number or model number.

183. The method of claim 180, wherein the encrypted message to the secondary server requests the status of the primary server.

184. The method of claim 180, wherein warning the user that the primary server and secondary server cannot be accessed comprises requesting the user correct the problem within five device boots or enter an override code to continue operation of the device.

185. The method of claim 184, wherein the override code is obtained from a website, call center or automated response system.

186. A machine-readable medium that provides instructions, which when executed by a machine, cause said machine to perform operations comprising:

executing system processes and an application program contained in an application component;

checking if the application component is operating correctly; and

,

communicating to a BIOS component if the application component is operating correctly.

187. The machine-readable medium of claim 186, further comprising:

detecting an Internet connection on the electronic device;

attempting to contact a primary server; and

,

sending an encrypted message to the primary server if successful in contacting the primary server.

188. The machine-readable medium of claim 187, further comprising:

receiving a response from the primary server, wherein the response indicates status of whether or not the electronic device is reported stolen;

waiting a random interval before sending another encrypted message to the primary server if the electronic device is not reported stolen; and

,

performing actions based on user selected service options if the electronic device is reported stolen.

189. The machine-readable medium of claim 188, wherein the actions include disabling the electronic device or erasing hard disk drive.

190. The machine-readable medium of claim 188, further comprising:

informing a communication area that the electronic device has been disabled if the user had selected the disable electronic device service;

sending an encrypted message to a secondary server if not successful in contacting the primary server;

warning the user that the primary server and secondary server can not be accessed if not successful in contacting the primary server or secondary server; and

,

disabling the electronic device after five attempts at contacting the primary server or secondary server.

191. The machine-readable medium of claim 190, wherein specialized hardware on the electronic device checks if the application component is operating correctly.

192. The machine-readable medium of claim 190, wherein the message is encrypted by security hardware and includes the electronic device serial number or model number.

193. The machine-readable medium of claim 190, wherein the encrypted message to the secondary server requests the status of the primary server.

194. The machine-readable medium of claim 190, wherein warning the user that the primary server and secondary server cannot be accessed comprises requesting the user correct the problem within five device boots or enter an override code to continue operation of the device.

195. The machine-readable medium of claim 194, wherein the override code is obtained from a website, call center or automated response system.

196. An electronic device security and tracking system, comprising:

a client device application including an encryption/decryption module, wherein the module directly transmits and receives data to and from the client device application; and

,

a server device application including an encryption/decryption module coupled to the client device application through a communication medium, wherein the module directly transmits and receives data to and from the server device application.

197. The electronic device security and tracking system of claim 196, wherein the communication medium uses a hyper-text transfer protocol.

198. The electronic device security and tracking system of claim 196, further comprising wherein the encryption/decryption module encrypts and encodes data for transmission and decrypts and decodes received data.

199. The electronic device security and tracking system of claim 198, wherein the client device application sends query information to the server device application.

200. The electronic device security and tracking system of claim 199, wherein the query information is sent at randomly selected times.

201. The electronic device security and tracking system of claim 199, wherein the query information asks if the electronic device has been reported stolen.

202. The electronic device security and tracking system of claim 201, wherein the query information is encrypted into a binary format.

203. The electronic device security and tracking system of claim 202, wherein the binary encrypted query information is encoded into American Standard Code of Information Interchange text format.

204. The electronic device security and tracking system of claim 203, wherein the binary encrypted query information is encoded by:

selecting a subgroup of bits from one or more bytes of query information data;

passing the subgroup of bits to an encoding function that performs binary mapping operations on the subgroup of bits to generate an encoded byte; and

,

encoding the next one or more bytes of data from the binary encrypted query information if the end of the binary encrypted query information has not been reached.

205. The electronic device security and tracking system of claim 204, wherein the binary mapping operations further comprises mapping of the subgroup of bits to a character that may be printed and displayed.

206. The electronic device security and tracking system of claim 205, wherein every three bytes of query information data is mapped to four bytes of encoded data.

207. The electronic device security and tracking system of claim 204, wherein the subgroup of bits is six bits.

208. The electronic device security and tracking system of claim 204, further comprising:

storing the byte of data in a first variable, wherein the byte of data is made up of bits;

storing the subgroup of bits from the byte of data in a second variable; and

,

storing the encoded byte into a data structure.

209. The electronic device security and tracking system of claim 208, wherein the data structure is an array of bytes.

210. The electronic device security and tracking system of claim 203, wherein the encoded American Standard Code of Information Interchange text format query information is received by the server device application.

211. The electronic device security and tracking system of claim 210, wherein the American Standard Code of Information Interchange text format query information is decoded into the binary format query information.

212. The electronic device security and tracking system of claim 211, wherein the binary format query information is decrypted into the query information.

213. The electronic device security and tracking system of claim 211, wherein the American Standard Code of Information Interchange text format query information is decoded by:

selecting a byte of data;

passing the byte of data to a decoding function that returns a decoded byte;

extracting the lower six bits of the decoded byte and discarding the upper two bits, wherein the lower six bits are appended to a stream of bits that form consecutive bytes; and

,

decoding the next bytes of data from the American Standard Code of Information Interchange text format query information if the end of the American Standard Code of Information Interchange text format query information has not been reached.

214. The electronic device security and tracking system of claim 213, wherein the decoding function further comprises mapping the American Standard Code of Information Interchange byte of data to the binary format query information data byte.

215. The electronic device security and tracking system of claim 213, further comprising storing the consecutive bytes into a data structure.

216. The electronic device security and tracking system of claim 215, wherein the data structure is an array of bytes.

217. The electronic device security and tracking system of claim 198, wherein the client device application send messages to the server device application.

218. The electronic device security and tracking system of claim 217, wherein the server device application sends messages to the client device application.

219. The electronic device security and tracking system of claim 218, wherein the messages are short messaging service messages.

220. The electronic device security and tracking system of claim 219, wherein the message is encrypted into a binary format.

221. The electronic device security and tracking system of claim 220, wherein the message is encrypted by:

storing electronic device information into a first variable;

jumbling the electronic device information;

storing the jumbled device information into a second variable;

passing the jumbled device information and a secret command to an encryption function that returns an encrypted array of bytes; and

,

encoding the encrypted array of bytes into American Standard Code of Information Interchange text format.

222. The electronic device security and tracking system of claim 221, wherein jumbling further comprises shuffling the device information.

223. The electronic device security and tracking system of claim 222, wherein the encryption function comprises performing symmetric encryption on the jumbled device information using a built-in key.

224. The electronic device security and tracking system of claim 221, wherein encoding the encrypted array of bytes comprises:

selecting a subgroup of bits from one or more bytes in the encrypted array of bytes;

passing the subgroup of bits to an encoding function that performs binary mapping operations on the subgroup of bits to generate an encoded byte; and

,

encoding the next one or more bytes of data from the encrypted array of bytes if the end of the encrypted array of bytes has not been reached.

225. The electronic device security and tracking system of claim 224, wherein the binary mapping operations further comprises mapping of the subgroup of bits to a character that may be printed and displayed.

226. The electronic device security and tracking system of claim 225, wherein every three bytes of query information data is mapped to four bytes of encoded data.

227. The electronic device security and tracking system of claim 224, wherein the subgroup of bits is six bits.

228. The electronic device security and tracking system of claim 224, further comprising:

storing the byte of data in a first variable, wherein the byte of data is made up of bits;

storing the subgroup of bits from the byte of data in a second variable; and

,

storing the encoded byte into a data structure.

229. The electronic device security and tracking system of claim 228, wherein the data structure is an array of bytes.

230. The electronic device security and tracking system of claim 221, wherein the encoded array of bytes is received by the server device application.

231. The electronic device security and tracking system of claim 230, wherein the encoded array of bytes is decoded into the binary format.

232. The electronic device security and tracking system of claim 231, wherein decoding into the binary format comprises:

selecting a byte of data;

passing the byte of data to a decoding function that returns a decoded byte;

extracting the lower six bits of the decoded byte and discarding the upper two bits, wherein the lower six bits are appended to a stream of bits that form consecutive bytes; and

,

decoding the next bytes of data from the encoded array of bytes if the end of the array of bytes has not been reached.

233. The electronic device security and tracking system of claim 232, wherein the decoding function further comprises mapping the byte of data to the binary format.

234. The electronic device security and tracking system of claim 232, further comprising storing the consecutive bytes into a data structure.

235. The electronic device security and tracking system of claim 234, wherein the data structure is an array of bytes.

236. The electronic device security and tracking system of claim 231, wherein the decoded array of bytes is decrypted into the short messaging service message.

237. The electronic device security and tracking system of claim 236, wherein decrypting into the message comprises:

passing a decoded byte into a decryption function that returns a decrypted byte;

extracting the jumbled device information and the secret command from the decrypted byte; and

,

unjumbling the jumbled device information to determine the device information.

238. The electronic device security and tracking system of claim 237, wherein unjumbling further comprises unshuffling the device information.

239. The electronic device security and tracking system of claim 238, wherein the decryption function comprises performing symmetric decryption on the decoded byte using a built-in key.

240. A method of encoding data, comprising:

selecting a subgroup of bits from one or more bytes of binary encrypted information, wherein the binary encrypted information is for tracking, locating, and disabling an electronic device;

passing the subgroup of bits to an encoding function that performs binary mapping operations on the subgroup of bits to generate an encoded byte; and

,

encoding the next one or more bytes of binary encrypted information if the end of the binary encrypted information has not been reached.

241. The method of claim 240, wherein the binary encrypted query information is encoded into American Standard Code of Information Interchange text format.

242. The method of claim 240, wherein the binary mapping operations further comprises mapping of the subgroup of bits to a character that may be printed and displayed.

243. The method of claim 242, wherein every three bytes of binary encrypted information is mapped to four bytes of encoded data.

244. The method of claim 240, wherein the subgroup of bits is six bits.

245. The method of claim 240, further comprising:

storing the one or more bytes of binary encrypted information in a first variable, wherein each byte of data is made up of bits;

storing the subgroup of bits from the one or more bytes of data in a second variable; and

,

storing the encoded byte into a data structure.

246. The method of claim 245, wherein the data structure is an array of bytes.

247. A method of decoding data, comprising:

selecting a byte of American Standard Code of Information Interchange text format information, wherein the American Standard Code of Information Interchange text format information byte is for tracking, locating, and disabling an electronic device;

passing the byte to a decoding function that returns a decoded byte; and

,

extracting the lower six bits of the decoded byte and discarding the upper two bits, wherein the lower six bits are appended to a stream of bits that form consecutive bytes;

decoding the next bytes of data from the American Standard Code of Information Interchange text format information if the end of the American Standard Code of Information Interchange text format information has not been reached.

248. The method of claim 247, wherein the decoding function further comprises mapping the byte of American Standard Code of Information Interchange text format information to the binary format query information data byte.

249. The method of claim 247, further comprising storing the consecutive bytes into a data structure.

250. The method of claim 249, wherein the data structure is an array of bytes.

251. A machine-readable medium that provides instructions, which when executed by a machine, cause said machine to perform operations comprising:

selecting a subgroup of bits from one or more bytes of binary encrypted information, wherein the binary encrypted information is for tracking, locating, and disabling an electronic device;

passing the subgroup of bits to an encoding function that performs binary mapping operations on the subgroup of bits to generate an encoded byte; and

,

encoding the next one or more bytes of binary encrypted information if the end of the binary encrypted information has not been reached.

252. The machine-readable medium of claim 251, wherein the binary encrypted query information is encoded into American Standard Code of Information Interchange text format.

253. The machine-readable medium of claim 251, wherein the binary mapping operations further comprises mapping of the subgroup of bits to a character that may be printed and displayed.

254. The machine-readable medium of claim 253, wherein every three bytes of binary encrypted information is mapped to four bytes of encoded data.

255. The machine-readable medium of claim 251, wherein the subgroup of bits is six bits.

256. The machine-readable medium of claim 251, further comprising:

storing the one or more bytes of binary encrypted information in a first variable, wherein each byte of data is made up of bits;

storing the subgroup of bits from the one or more bytes of data in a second variable; and

,

storing the encoded byte into a data structure.

257. The machine-readable medium of claim 256, wherein the data structure is an array of bytes.

258. A machine-readable medium that provides instructions, which when executed by a machine, cause said machine to perform operations comprising:

selecting a byte of American Standard Code of Information Interchange text format information, wherein the American Standard Code of Information Interchange text format information byte is for tracking, locating, and disabling an electronic device;

passing the byte to a decoding function that returns a decoded Byte;

extracting the lower six bits of the decoded byte and discarding the upper two bits, wherein the lower six bits are appended to a stream of bits that form consecutive bytes; and

,

decoding the next bytes of data from the American Standard Code of Information Interchange text format information if the end of the American Standard Code of Information Interchange text format information has not been reached.

259. The machine-readable medium of claim 258, wherein the decoding function further comprises mapping the byte of American Standard Code of Information Interchange text format information to the binary format query information data byte.

260. The machine-readable medium of claim 258, further comprising storing the consecutive bytes into a data structure.

261. The machine-readable medium of claim 260, wherein the data structure is an array of bytes.

262. A method for including an electronic device security and tracking system BIOS component into a system BIOS read-only-memory, comprising:

creating a data structure;

placing an address of the data structure into the system build file;

placing BIOS component into a system build file, wherein the BIOS component accesses the data structure using the address; and

,

placing into the system build file a call to the BIOS component just before a call to the system BIOS.

263. The method of claim 262, wherein the data structure includes electronic device system information, software for saving and restoring critical information in a secure non-volatile area, and a recovery media read function pointer.