Gift Card Idea: Secure Your Online Self with an Ironkey

When I first wrote about my Ironkey secure USB drive I didn't really expect to need its fancy self-destruct feature. But sure enough it got left at the Johannesburg security checkpoint and I didn't realize it until a day later. That one incident paid for the device. Because it is totally secure, both encrypted and physically designed to be impervious to cracking, I didn't have to worry about a thing. Simply get another one. But it does so much more than protecting your data that I wanted to update my review, especially since I'm sure many of you will wind up with Amazon gift cards burning a hole in your pocket after Christmas...

In simplest terms the Ironkey is a secure thumb-sized flash drive. Depending on the model it can hold from 1 to 8 Gigabytes (GB), enough to hold almost anyone's important documents and plenty of applications. It's physical design (the memory chip is encased in epoxy) and firmware design (after 10 wrong password tries the device literally self-destructs) make it uniquely secure and worry free. As long as you don't share your password the device is secure. And you can back your password up to the Ironkey site for safe-keeping.

But that really just scratches the surface of what the Ironkey does for your online protection. For starters the Ironkey comes with a portable version of Firefox installed on the drive. Not only does that mean you have a guaranteed non-hacked browser whereever you go, but the browser is specially configured to securely connect (encrypting all information sent from your machine) through the Ironkey servers and then on to the website you are browsing. That pretty much guarantees your traffic can't be snooped by others who might be listening in on your local network. This is invaluable for airports, hotels, coffee shops or anywhere where you have any doubts about the security of your local network. While having a secure browsing session is important, if you are not sure of the computer you're working on, it isn't enough. Keyloggers are common on public computers or computers infected with various kinds of malware. They'll quickly suck up your passwords and send them off to all sorts of evil folks. The Ironkey comes with an Identity Manager which can pretty much eliminate the threat of keylogging malware. First it can store your frequently used passwords (handy in itself) and play them back to websites without actually invoking any keys--thus defeating keyloggers. But it also has a virtual keyboard so even if you need to type a password on a non-secure computer you can do it without using the physical keyboard--once again defeating any lurking keyloggers. This might all sound a little paranoid until you run into a friend who has had their online identity stolen (like a good friend of ours did recently) or had their credit card number stolen (something most of us have lived through at least once, although not always as the result of anything we did online). Then you know that it can be an incredible hassle to get things sorted out and can result in the destruction of lots of your important data, be an incredible time sink, possibly a sizeable financial loss, and just plain embarrassing when all your friends start getting letters from Nigeria attributed to your email account.

Speaking of email, the built-in Firefox is great for securing you email communications if you use a web-based mail account. But if you have a full email client that uses POP or IMAP to retrieve data then your best bet for security is to install a portable version of Thunderbird (an excellent free email client) on the Ironkey itself and configure it to use SSL (secure socket layer) if your mail vendor supports it. If you don't want to go to all that trouble and will be using Outlook or some other mail program on your computer in public places you might want to read my article on securing your Email and Instant Messages on the PC Magazine site.

The Ironkey also has built-in features for updating itself as new firmware and software is released for it, as well as a built-in facility for backing up the Ironkey itself. That way if you lose it you can simply Activate your new key and restore your backup (assuming you have the proper password of course).

If you need extra privacy you can also turn on a feature which bounces your packets around the planet a little before delivering them. In that case the web site you are browsing can't even tell where you are. Not as crucial as securing your local connection, but kind of cool.

You can go well beyond these basic uses for the device by installing additional portable applications directly onto the drive. Note that these applications are currently only for Windows. The Ironkey works fine as a secure drive on Mac and Linux but all the fancy features and most of the portable application environment are only available when you are using the device on a Windows machine. Fortunately most public internet kiosks and Internet Cafes run Windows computers.

You have a couple choices when you go to buy an Ironkey. Size and speed.You can get an entry level 4GB Ironkey Personal D200 from Amazon for $80 which is great for occassional use but will be a little sluggish if you're running applications off it all the time. If you're up for the investment you can get the one I have, a larger and faster 8GB Ironkey Personal S200 for $160. If you want to carry your entire environment or an iPods worth of media with you you can get the 32GB Ironkey Personal D200 for $243. If you'd like to see their whole range of products, most of them are available online.

You can also learn more about the Ironkey in detail at their Ironkey Personal website.

Whichever you choose, if you travel and use a computer, it's worth taking a look at this relatively simple and inexpensive way to help guard your data and your online identity. Happy Holidays from all of us -- David Cardinal & Lorrie Duval