Mac|Life - June 2009

yoGGIe GatekeePer (cont.)

in the event that the USB device is lost or stolen. The Gatekeeper Pico comes with one year of free, secure software updates for the device. After that, a $30 per year subscription will keep your Gatekeeper up to date with the latest security software.

the bottom line. Gatekeeper Pico offers top-notch, hardware-based security in a portable package. We only wish it had more thorough documentation that would allow users to make appropriate, informed choices about securing their Macs.

Gatekeeper’s Status panel keeps track of incoming threats.

GatekeePer PIco
For Mac

Yoggie Security Systems

www.yoggie.com

Price: $149

Requirements: Mac OS 10. 4 or later, USB port

Simple to set up. Comprehensive suite of security applications. Can deny network access when device is removed.

Online and electronic documentation can be vague at times. Security novices could become overwhelmed.

Mac|Life ^GREAtRATED
>>>Ironkey Personal
Rock-Solid EncRyption, Without FRillS
This gadget’s No. 1 job is to keep your data secret and secure—we just wish it were more Mac-friendly.

IronKey’s line of hard-core flash drives are the stuff that action-movie heroes and paranoid privacy freaks dream about. On the outside, the rugged metal case is waterproof, and the drive itself is protected against both physical and electronic attacks. While the military-grade encryption housed on the device is strong enough to keep state secrets, well, secret, this USB drive is geared toward consumers looking for some electronic privacy, making the IronKey Personal a good place to stash your tax returns, banking records, website passwords, secret family recipes, and anything else you need to keep from prying eyes.

With some major caveats for Mac users, the IronKey works right out of the box. Software and documentation come on the drive itself, and there are no drivers or applications to install on your Mac before you use it. The first time you mount the IronKey, an app called IronKey Unlocker will prompt you to create a password for the device. Entering a password creates a secure key stored on the device. And pick something good, because that password is what stands between your secret information and the bad guys. From that point, mounting the drive requires entering your password, which can be changed at any time.

Your data is stored in on the drive after being encrypted by onboard hardware that can’t be hacked or turned off. To protect against brute force attempts to guess your password, the

IronKey will delete your files after

10 incorrect password entries—so be sure you have backups somewhere.

And the device itself needs to be removed and reconnected after three failed password attempts. The drive itself can also detect physical tampering, destroying your data if the case is compromised. So you can rest assured that if your drive is lost or stolen, the data it contains will remain unusable to anyone else. Pretty sweet, although unfortunately that’s where the good news ends, at least for Mac users.

The IronKey is multiplatform and supports Mac, Windows, and Linux environments. Unfortunately, however, the majority of the IronKey’s additional security features are Windows only.

For Windows users, IronKey also includes a secured version of Mozilla’s Firefox browser, which can be set up to access the Internet via IronKey’s private Tor network for added security. Mac users could mimic some of that functionality by grabbing a copy of Portable Firefox ( www.freesmug.org/portableapps/