Mac|Life - June 2009

HOW TO LAUNCH A COUNTER-SPY(WARE) MISSION

firefox). Using the Windows-only IronKey Control Panel software, you can create a lost-and-found message to be displayed in the IronKey Unlocker so that Good Samaritans who stumble across your lost drive can contact you.

Windows users also have the ability to use IronKey’s secure Password Manager and a virtual keyboard—both handy for using your IronKey on foreign computers. The Password Manager makes all your login info portable and secure, while the virtual keyboard can be invoked to thwart any keyloggers that may be lurking on the machine you’re using.

IronKey also offers encrypted backup of device contents—again, only for Windows users. Using the Secure Backup client, you can send some or all of your encrypted files into a local encrypted backup, to protect

against your IronKey device getting lost or stolen. And via the MyIronKey service, you can store your access credentials for your IronKey device, in the event that you forget your password—and set up monitoring to report on any interactions with your online account.

For those who have a mixed environment of Mac and Windows computers, the suite of security options that come with IronKey Personal offer several useful features.

But for Mac-only setups, the IronKey’s hardware encryption is its only truly useful feature.

The bottom line. Hardware-based encryption and rugged, tamper-proof construction is compelling, but for Mac-only users, the lack of support for IronKey’s other security features is disappointing.

IRONKEY PERSONAL

IronKey

www.ironkey.com

Price: $79, 1GB; $109, 2GB; $149, 4GB; $199, 8GB

Requirements: Mac OS X, USB

2.0 port

Built-in hardware encryption.

Waterproof. Hardware and software is tamper-resistant. Multiplatform (Mac, Windows, Linux).

Nearly all features are Windows-only. Mac support limited to encrypted storage.

Mac|Life SOLID RATED

TOR: WHAT IS IT GOOD FOR?

Tor is a distributed network for allowing anonymity on the Web. By rerouting your browsing sessions through a volunteer network of relays, using Tor prevents someone spying on a network from figuring out which sites you’re visiting. It also keeps websites from knowing where you’re located based on your IP address, which can be tied to a specific user at a specific Internet service provider. Traffic over Tor is encrypted as it travels across the network, so anyone intercepting your traffic midstream won’t know what you’re requesting or who requested it.

Why use Tor? Anytime you send information over the Net, it’s vulnerable to being intercepted. And anyone from the IT guy in your office, to employees of your ISP, to admins at your favorite website can tell where you’ve been, and where you’re going on the Internet—not to mention where you’re at as you surf. And it’s not just crooks who need to cover their tracks. Everyone from soccer moms researching medical conditions to journalists covering political issues could use a little online anonymity now and then.

How can I protect myself with Tor? A device like the Gatekeeper Pico can enable anonymous browsing automatically on your Mac, or you can set it up yourself to work with your browser. For more information on using Tor, see www.torproject.org.