IronKey 4 GB Secure Hardware-Encrypted USB 2.0 Flash Drive D20402A
by Ironkey
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List Price: Category: CE See more product details |
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Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of IronKey 4 GB Secure Hardware-Encrypted USB 2.0 Flash Drive D20402A
Customer Review: The most functional secure drive of its kind.
Summary: 5 Stars
I have tried the 1 GB 2 GB and 4 GB. They are all the same as far as the interface. You can lock out your drive forever if you lose your password. That is by design, obviously no backdoors, if there were believe me you would hear about it. Simplicity in itself the ten password lockout can't be fooled, once locked its locked. One of the innovations is the ability to manage the data and store encrypted copies that will only work on a different key with the original password. So if you lose it no one can get in unless you use "password" as your password etc.
So you're safe far beyond any reasonable standard. Also there is multi layered levels of security that you choose so it can be stronger with a log and a needed email code confirmation to recover a password, or you can choose not just 3 security questions but 4 or 5 and there much more detailed and again the security is to the level where the weakest link is the one thing a product can't help with witch is password strength and security protocol.
They are also a very quickly growing respected company right in Los Altos CA in the heart of the Silicon Valley. Same city the apple was born. Same city I used to live, my last apple was the IIC. But just to be clear I don't have anything to do with the company, except as a customer. The bottom line this is about security of data and the ability to use windows based computer without leaving any records or things behind. So if it's a solid secure key you are looking for nothing on the market comes close. Just remember this is for security it weighs a little more it does not say on the key weather it is 1 2 or 4gb which is nice for an inconspicuous key. The only thing is make sure to mark the key on the side where there is a soft plate you can engrave with a pen. And note the cereal number. They all look the same, this could be the one drawback in a lost and found situation, or networking meeting. Sorry for the strange all over the place review, I have been a customer for over ten years purchased the majority of books and media I would have otherwise bought in stores, around 500 items, recycled a lot of cardboard, I even remember the UPS Strike of 1997 I was able to place my first pre-order. but this is my first review, I am just trying to help I am not a writter as you can tell.
Customer Review: Centralized password management, secure file storage AND it looks cool
Summary: 5 Stars
I purchased my first Iron Key, the 2MB model, on a lark. It seemed 'way cool' - military grade encryption in a brushed metal finish... I was like a kid on December 23rd while I was waiting for it to arrive. It did not disappoint.
The key features:
1 - Uncrackable, even with an electron microscope. Your files will be secure on this device, period. Rather than keep any personal files on my work computer, I leave them on the Iron Key and access them from there.
2 - Centralized password management. If you're like me, you have online accounts at dozens of places - banks, credit card companies, retailers, social networking, etc. It's insane to use the same username/password combination at all these sites, because if one site has a security flaw, hackers can get your username and password and then use that to go after your accounts on the other sites. Unfortunately, I can only remember so many passwords, and I don't like to keep a written list. The Iron Key solves that problem by giving you a centralized password management system. All you need to remember is the password for the Iron Key.
3 - If you lose it, you can still recover your data IF you were smart enough to back it up. I have recovered data from 3 lost Iron Keys (just once with my own key). All you do is insert the new drive, point it to your backup file, enter the password used to encrypt the backup, and press enter. In a few minutes, your bookmarks, passwords and files are all recovered. The only problem I have with the backup is that it shows the individual files in the backup, so if you have a file named 'Current Resume', it's available for anyone with access to the backup to see - though the contents of the file are completely inaccessable.
We have upgraded people from the 2GB to the 4GB to the 8GB as needed. All of these devices are worth the investment if you take security and privacy at all seriously.
Customer Review: Absolute necessity for carrying data
Summary: 5 Stars
I purchased one IronKey (1 GB) because I needed a secure way to carry a very large number of records files, mostly Word and Excel files. Because I had tried a number of flash drives and other hardware, I didn't think any kind of flash drive would be adequate. However, I was surprised: the IronKey performed beautifully, was simple to use and very secure. Perfect!
I have only minor complaints, fewer than I've had for other new products. The secure password storage feature is very handy, but it can be an annoyance on occasion. And I can't use two IronKeys simultaneously on one computer, when that would make it much easier to back up from one IronKey to another.
But I have purchased two more: one for my wife (2 GB) a 2 GB for me. Now I use my first one for data backup to my larger one. They are soooo easy to carry about: I attached a cell phone mini lanyard and keep them clipped inside my planner.
The IronKeys seem to use a bit more power resource than some flash drives, probably a reflection of the fact that so many of the features are hardware based. So it you put it in a usb slot shared by other energy intensive hardware, such as a web cam, it could keept he other from working smoothly. But I have not run into a problem that couldn't be solved easily. Works with Vista or XP.
Tech support and forum support are great. Responsive and fast, but not needed very much.
A truly indispensable bit of hardware at a great price. Really great as replacements for my Zip and Jazz drives, and handier than mini hard drives. I'm really, really pleased with IronKeys.
Customer Review: Ironkey 4 G
Summary: 5 Stars
I have 1 1 Gig and a 4 Gig. I use them everyday whenever I go on the internet and use the security features and the Firefox browser. I would rate it with five stars. The only problems I have had was whenever you are asked to update the version, I was not very happy with the Ver 3. It changed the way I used things and I could not us the password manager to sign onto the passworded sites. I later learned they did not recommend that upgrade at that time, but it prompted me and allowed me to update to that version (did this on my 1 Gig). Today when I was trying to update my 4 Gig thumb drive as they recommended (since it was still in the Ver 1, and I wanted to refresh it with a lower version), it stopped working and I could not log into it again. I sent a message to customer support, but I am afraid it is fried. I got a great deal of use out of it and will miss it greatly. It is an expensive error on their part if it is a programming issue.
A security feature which is very good to have unless you use many passwords and forgot which one you used for the thumb drive is the one where the contents gets erased if there are 10 attempts in a row with the wrong password (I got up to number 9 and just survived that one on an occasion). With that in mind, you have to be very careful not to log in 10 times in a row with the wrong password. It would then become a paperweight. If someone got a hold of it, I would trust it would self destruct if they tried to hack into it.
I think I will always own one of these... they are worth it.
Customer Review: IronKey Is A Good Solution to the Complex Problem of Encryption
Summary: 5 Stars
IronKey represents a significant step forward in protecting sensitive information including ePHI from disclosure in the event the device is lost. USB devices are lost all the time. The problem with software based solutions (opposed to hard-ware based encryption such as with IronKey) I have found is that the learning curve for the average user is to steep. The software while having options that may meet government standards these options must be affirmatively selected. The best algorithm in the world will not solve the human factor issue.
Recently the Department of Health and Human Services ("HHS") released guidance "specifying the technologies and methodologies that render protected health information unusable, unreadable, or indecipherable to unauthorized individuals for purposes of the breach notification requirements". PHI must be encrypted using a NIST approved algorithm and procedure to be considered unreadable. Electronic PHI is encrypted when "the use of an algorithmic process to transform data into a form in which there is a low probability of assigning meaning without use of a confidential process or key" (45 CFR 164.304) and key to decrypt the PHI has not been breached. Encryption identified by NIST and judged to meet this standard NIST's encryption standards is acceptable to render PHI unreadable. (Guidance at 16).
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