US COMPUTER LAPTOP SECURITY DEVICE LOCKSkvue.com | News for Austin, Texas | Personal TechnologyNotebook computing under lock and key

October 20, 2004

Tech Files are video reports examining popular topics about technology and the Internet. Links to helpful Web sites are listed. Mike Goldfein reports from the Belo Washington bureau.

STORY
More than a 500,000 laptop computers are stolen in the United States each year. In most cases, the victims quickly realize they are more concerned about what is stored on the computer than the computer itself. Today in "Tech Files," Mike Goldfein tests a product that locks your computer so thieves can't turn it on.

Watch the video at weblink............
SecuriKey
For many people — especially business travelers — laptop computers hold more personal information than wallets. Imagine the nightmare of having one stolen, especially if it contains your company's proprietary data or your credit card information.

You can lock you car, and you can lock your house, so why not your computer?

That's the idea behind SecuriKey, a small USB token that, when inserted into your computer's USB port, acts like a key.

The $129 SecuriKey Kit comes in an over-the-top James Bond-style metal case. You get two keys, by the way — in case you lose one.

Setup was simple. Install some software, insert the key and that's pretty much it.

Try turning the computer on without the key and users see a message telling them the computer has been locked by SecuriKey. Insert the key, and the computer boots. Pull out the key, and the computer will either log off or shut down until the key is put back in.

We'd give this an A+ grade, save but one small oversight: It is possible to bypass SecuriKey and boot into Windows safe mode. SecuriKey has a setting to prevent that from happening, but it is turned off by default. That probably isn't wise since hackers and thieves certainly know about safe mode, but many computer users may not.