It’s been all over the news several times in the last couple of years: News stories about a corporate traveler who has his laptop stolen and with it, the mounds of personal and business data on it. Despite all of the concern about Internet security and privacy, we all often overlook the fact that when we travel with a laptop we are carting around proprietary information which is subject to theft.

Securikey is a cunning, reasonably low cost solution to this problem. The system consists of a software package which is linked to a USB “key.” Each key has a unique identifier and, once properly installed, a user can not access the operating system on the PC until the correct key is properly inserted. Securikey stops you even before most drivers are installed and before network login, so it’s virtually impossible to defeat the system. Even after Securikey is inserted if a network or PC password is enabled you must still type that in, so just having the key alone is not enough. One possible loophole might be to run in “Safe Mode” where Windows doesn’t load anything but the core of the OS, but Securikey allows you an option to block booting in Safe Mode without the key as well. If you use Windows’ file encryption as well, even removing the HD and reading it with another machine becomes a formidable, if not impossible, task, as well. With Securikey properly installed and Windows security features enabled, a laptop thief is very, very unlikely to see any of your private data.



Securikey comes with two keys, so that you have a spare to prevent accidental lockout or to use to set up different security privileges on a per-key basis. Securikey’s software allows you to specify which files or directories can or can not be seen when a specific key is inserted. When combined with user profiles in WinXP, you have a very powerful way to control who has access to specific data on a given machine. In fact, this functionality makes Securikey attractive for home computers, as well. Anyone who shares a home computer with their children will appreciate a key-based system which can regulate access to the computer and to specific data on it. Additional keys are available from the company, so you could have one for each member of your family, if you wanted.

Securikey requires WinXP or Win 2000, since it takes advantage of the more robust security in the newer versions of Windows. It also requires at least one free USB port for the key. As long as your machine is capable of running these newer versions of Windows and has at least 20 Mb of hard drive space, you should have no trouble.

Installing Securikey is a bit more complex than installing most applications, since there are some choices to be made during setup and you need to insert the key at the proper time to allow the software to recognize it. However, the instruction booklet that accompanies it is detailed and clearly written and if you follow it, there’s nothing required that would thwart even the least computer-savvy user. If you’ve ever installed an external piece of hardware, such as a printer or scanner, you should have no problem installing Securikey.

This is not to say that I had no quibbles with Securikey. The data for Securikey’s operation is stored in the My Documents folder and there is no option to change that. This won’t be a problem for 99% of the users, but I usually have my Documents folder set up as an offline folder stored on another machine. Since this folder is synchronized over the network and since the network is not available until after Securikey is activated, this seemed to be a recipe for disaster. I disabled my offline folders before trying it out to avoid possible disaster. Would failing to do so have caused problems? I don’t know for sure, but allowing me to choose a different location for the Securikey data would have made me much more comfortable.

Securikey allows you to set various actions from locking the computer to shutting it off as the response to the key being removed. The key is a bit ungainly sticking out of the side of my Tablet PC and had a tendency to get knocked out when I was using the Tablet, which put the computer in locked mode and required me to reinsert the key and enter my password before continuing. It would be nice to have an “office mode” where it would only require a key after a reboot, coming back from hibernate or sleep, or when I manually locked the computer. That way I could carry the Tablet around all day without fear of dislodging the key but lock it when I left the room or was not using it. For travel or meetings outside of work the more secure settings would still be available.

Lastly, the biggest advantage of Securikey is also its biggest drawback. If you should lose your keys or some bit gremlins were to corrupt your Securikey installation to the point it didn’t work, you would have no recourse than to reformat and reinstall all of your software. This isn’t really a bad thing, because that’s exactly what you want to happen if some unapproved user swipes your laptop. But it does require you to be very conscientious about backing up critical data. I’d highly recommend you build up some very good habits in this regard if you install Securikey. Of course, if you are using it on a home computer to regulate access, you can still leave Safe Mode open as an emergency “back door” – but that opens the back door for your kids, as well. Even if you intend to block Safe Mode, I’d recommend leaving it unblocked (the default for Securikey installation) until you are sure everything is working well.

Is a system with Securikey installed 100% safe? Well, I suppose even Fort Knox isn’t truly 100% safe, but Securikey is a very formidable barrier to would-be data thieves. Passwords and encryption by themselves are a reasonably secure first step. Adding Securikey, which greatly reduces opportunities for hacking an ads a physical layer of security in case someone knows or guesses your password, greatly enhances this. For those of us not carrying around military secrets it is unlikely anyone who stole our laptop would have the resources to defeat this combination.

All in all I’m very impressed with Securikey. It installed easily, worked flawlessly, and did exactly what was promised. That’s exactly what you want in a security system.

Tucker Hatfield
Technology Editor

Securikey Personal
Griffin Technologies
www.securikey.com
Approx $120