VIRGINIA SECURIKEY LETS COMPUTER USERS LOCK INFORMATIONTimesDispatch.com | SecuriKey lets computer users lock information
DOUG STANLEY
PLUGGED IN May 12, 2005

You have a key to your car -- why shouldn't you have a key for your computer?

That's the idea behind a group of security products aimed at keeping banking and tax records, business documents, medical data and other private information increasingly stored on laptop and home computers out of the hands of strangers.

SecuriKey Professional Edition from Griffin Technologies is among those products meant to keep your information secure from the office busybody, the snooping houseguest and others with physical access to your computer -- even if it is stolen.

While passwords may protect your system from casual snoops, they may do little more than slow down people determined to access sensitive information.

SecuriKey, $129 at www.securikey.com, adds a layer of protection using a small key, called a token, that you plug into a USB port on your computer.

The token interacts with security software to give you access to your computer. No key, no access. With SecuriKey installed, removing the token locks the computer. The computer can't be unlocked until the key is reinserted.

The token looks like a standard USB flash drive and fits on a key ring. SecuriKey comes with two tokens. The second can be kept as a backup, like a spare set of car keys, or can be configured for another user.

Basic setup
Install the software that comes with SecuriKey, then attach one of the two provided tokens to a USB port. Because of the way Windows recognizes USB devices, you'll have to briefly plug the key into each USB port on your computer, one at a time, during the setup process.

Once you've "introduced" the token to each of your computer's USB ports, you'll be asked to set SecuriKey's default response to being removed from the computer.

The recommended response is for the computer to be automatically locked, but you also can choose instead to log off the current user or shut down the computer when the token is removed.

The next step is to fill out an online registration form so the token can be replaced if damaged or lost.

Performs as promised
Following the on-screen prompts, I removed the token and restarted the computer. The Windows logon screen appeared as usual.

After typing in my Windows password, a box appeared telling me I could not logon without my token. I inserted the token into a USB port, retyped my Windows password and my computer started normally.

Just as it is designed to do, SecuriKey locked my computer when I removed the token while the machine was running. When I plugged the token back in, my PC resumed work where it had left off.

When I tried later to get into the machine without my token, everything I tried failed.

SecuriKey does an admirable job of conveniently adding a layer of security, even going so far as preventing Windows from going into Safe Mode, which hackers sometimes use to compromise security systems.

But it isn't bulletproof. If your computer is stolen, for example, the hard drive could be removed and connected to another computer, thereby defeating SecuriKey.

For such reasons, Griffin Technologies recommends that SecuriKey users encrypt sensitive files for an extra layer of security.


Doug Stanley is a staff writer at The Tampa Tribune in Florida.