These days we are all more aware of the need for security measures, if only to avoid disruption by theft or sabotage. Even on your home PC it may be crucial that certain files should be made unavailable to others, especially considering that whenever you link to the internet your data becomes open to attack from anywhere in the world.

Two strategies have been proposed to safeguard private data: authorisation and encryption. Authorisation is where people without the correct identification are forbidden access to files: encryption is used where data is changed into a form unreadable by someone without a key.

Encryption techniques can be cumbersome, and authorisation often fails because of sophisticated hacking, which can exploit holes in the Windows file handling procedures. Each strategy is powerful, but neither answers the problem. KeyDrive is a new program, which ingeniously combines these two strategies, and has been especially developed for both individual PCs, and in a Professional version for networked computers.

If the key fits?

When you start up your system with your personalised I-key in place and supply the correct password, a virtual removable disk is created within the data structure. Within it are all the files you choose to retain in encrypted form, but because you are authorised you get to see them in plain readable form.

If you leave your PC and take away the I-key and your authority, an intruder won't be able to see the virtual disk, let alone it's contents. If your PC is stolen (a possibility that every laptop owner should consider seriously) the files will still be encrypted, even if a hacker uses direct tools to overcome authentication.

KeyDrive handles encryption invisibly: you cannot forget part of the file preparation. If you are not authorised you will not even see that the secure files exist. We tried many attacks known to compromise other authentication systems (dual boot, resetting the Registry, starting in Safe Mode and others) but at no time were we able to gain unauthorised access to data that has been encrypted.