USB Flash
Corsair releases "Flash Padlock" PIN-based flash drive
Innovation in the flash drive sphere seems to be limited to bringing the price down, and adding on new security features. Corsair’s new “Flash Padlock” flash drive seemingly does both. By retailing at $29.99 and $39.99 in 1GB and 2GB variants, and tacking on a PIN based security system that limits who can access the drive. The benefit to the Flash Padlock is that its security solution is entirely hardware based, so it’s supposedly working under all systems as well as impervious to hackers and crackers and other deviant folks.
An interesting looking device, is it not? The basic premise of the Corsair Padlock is to secure the data on the drive by requiring a PIN code to be entered before the device will enable. You may have seen other flash drives that attempt to offer user security by encrypting the data on the drive and requiring a password to access it on your PC. The problem with that solution is that it requires drivers and software to be installed on the computer before data can be accessed, removing much of the portability and convenience of USB flash drives.
The Corsair Padlock works by including a seperate security processor in the device that is seperate from the flash memory modules. Until the PIN code is properly entered on the device, it be electrically invisible to the computer it is plugged into. Once the code is entered correctly, it acts just like any other flash drive for the span that it is plugged into the PC.
Setup of the device is pretty simple: holding down the “key” button for a few second initially puts the Padlock in programming mode where you can enter your new PIN code and then verify it. After that, you’ll simply hit the key button once, enter your code and then hit the key button once more and the green “unlock” light on the right will flash for about 15 seconds while you plug it into your machine. If you don’t plug it in in time, or unplug the Padlock from a machine, it will automatically re-lock itself after 15 seconds or so.
By not requiring any software for this to work, the Corsair Padlock can still be used on public terminals as well as Linux and Mac OS machines without issue. The only downside here is that if you forget your PIN, you’re pretty much screwed — but Corsair has provided a “register my pin” feature on their website to securly store your PIN number in case you should forget it.
Source: pcper
