Patent ID: 8145892

Claim:
A method of providing an electronic device security service, by an electronic device security and tracking system, the method comprising: providing, to a user of an electronic device, a user interface which allows the user to request activation of a security service for the electronic device, the security service to provide security and tracking for the electronic device; after providing the user interface to the user, receiving opt-in input from the user via the user interface, the opt-in input indicating that the user has requested activation of the security service; and in response to receiving the opt-in input from the user, activating the security service, wherein the system includes a non-viewable component, an application component that is connected to the non-viewable component, that is capable of communicating with the non-viewable component, that executes within an operating system environment, and that is capable of communicating through a secure medium with a server system, and a Basic Input/Output System (BIOS) component connected to the non-viewable component, wherein the BIOS component is configured to determine whether the non-viewable component is present and whether the non-viewable component has been tampered with, wherein the BIOS component is configured to check integrity of the application component during a boot process for the electronic device, wherein the BIOS component is configured to automatically cause the electronic device to restore the integrity of the application component, in response to a negative integrity check of the application component, wherein the application component is substantially distinct from the BIOS component and the non-viewable component, and wherein the non-viewable component is configured to determine whether the application component is present and whether the application component has been tampered with.