Chromebooks are becoming a vital item in schools slowly but surely. Now there is new added security from teachers and students if their device is misplaced.

“A mere week ago, the company rolled out the ability to automatically unlock your Chromebook when it's near your Android phone,” says Ian Paul, a writer for PCWorld, “and now another long-anticipated feature is available. Chrome OS just got a basic remote lock feature—if your Google laptop is part of an enterprise or education deployment, that is.”

The new lock feature provides added safety aside from a password unlock just incase students or teachers happen to misplace their device. Once misplaced the teacher or student would have to notify the schools IT department who will then “remote-lock” the device.

“Once a device is locked, all anyone will see when they open it up is contact information and a message stating that the device is locked,” reports Paul. “The remote lock is also pretty bare bones at the moment. You can only disable a device, and there's no option to remotely wipe any locally saved files, for example.” 

Any student information carried by teachers or personal information stored on the device by students will be safe incase anyone tries to steal the device or hack into it.

“While you can only lock your device right now rumors from last year suggest we should see more remote security features headed to Chromebooks,” says Paul. “In May 2014, the developer channel of Chrome OS had experimental features for remote wiping, locking, and locating your Chromebook, similar to what you see on Android.”

Added security isn’t just a necessity for regular consumers. The new technology will be a safety net that provides peace of mind to students or teachers who depend on technology for educational purposes.

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Article by Navindra Persaud, Education World Contributor