(Rate This Article)
Loading ...PIN your data key
Every once in a while here at Cool Tools Central, an oddly shaped package arrives, completely unsolicited. After listening very carefully to ensure it isn’t ticking, we open it it. It’s like Christmas every day, but without the socks.
Our latest little surprise came from the people at Corsair, who take USB memory keys and do things to the design that make you go, “I wish I’d thought of that.” A few weeks back, Corsair sent us the Survivor, a USB key housed in an aircraft-grade aluminium tube that gave us hours of entertainment trying to disprove its claims of indestructability.
The new package contained the Flash Padlock, an ingenious idea that protects your data with a PIN number. And if it’s half as secure as the FedEx package it came in, which took two strong men, a pair of scissors and about 15 minutes to open, then it’s, well, pretty secure.
The key comes in a rectangular plastic housing with a keypad on the front, featuring five numeric keys (0-1, 1-2, 3-4, etc.) and a set key. Flashing lights let you know what’s going on. Set up a PIN number, and your data remains inaccessible until you’ve entered the number. When you remove it from a USB port, it automatically locks. It’s really that simple.
It’s easy to set up a PIN, and the key can be used in an “always unlocked” mode. It’s a different way to protect yuor data as opposed to encryption; you can’t run a brute force crack on it, because someone has to physically enter the numbers. It’s only as secure as the PIN; it’ll take a combination of up to 10 digits. Because there are only numbers on the keypad, you can’t use words as a memory aid. You’re on your own if you forget the PIN.
This is no Survivor, though. It’s got a plastic outer casing that doesn’t feel like it’d survive being trod on. And there’s a tiny screw on the back, which makes it look like it wouldn’t be difficult to disassemble. Would someone then be able to retrieve the data?
We’ll find out. I’ve passed it on to our tech team, to see if they can recover a file I’ve saved on it without using the PIN … and without completely destroying the key. We’ll let you know in a couple days.
