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Private data on portable computers is inherently more at risk than on desktop PCs; if a portable is lost you have no way of knowing how much effort or what techniques a hacker might use to read the data it contains. So, while KeyDrive II can be used to secure a desktop machine, it is particularly relevant to a notebook.
KeyDrive works by creating an encrypted virtual drive on the hard disk of your choice. You can specify it's size and the encryption
method to use -
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Blowfish, DES-56, Triple DES, IDEA and CAST-256, all of which are thought to be uncrackable within a reasonable length of time. Windows 2000, 2003 and XP Pro have built in encrypted filing systems but XP Home and earlier versions have much lower levels of security. |
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PROs & CONS
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V
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Supremely easy to use
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X
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Four digit PIN may not be enough security for some circumstances
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What makes KeyDrive special is that it uses a USB dongle which contains the encryption keys; without it you can't get to the data even if you can log onto the machine. When you plug your key into your USB port, you are prompted for a four digit PIN. Without the key and the correct PIN, you can't even see the encrypted drive in My Computer. With the key in and the PIN entered, the drive appears and works like a normal disk drive. Even if the key is lost along with the portable computer, the PIN is still required to get at the data and the unauthorised user gets only a limited number of guesses.
KeyDrive supports lots of additional features; for example, you can store a small amount of encrypted data on the key or make the key necessary to log onto Windows. Cut-down and more advanced versions of the software are also available, but this version provides reliable, easy to use encryption and comes at a reasonable price.
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Mike James |
Requirements: Widows 98, FAT or NTFS hard drive, 15mb drive space plus for encrypted drive, USB port.
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