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Everywhere you turn, there are stories of intellectual property being stolen, hacked or otherwise exploited. There is sensitive data, such as bank account information, personal data, even your "double secret" journal. What are you using to protect it ? Your windows password ? Really ? You need to think about what hackers do for a living. They want to prove Windows vulnerabilities and do so by hacking. Maybe you are saying well, I live with my spouse or partner, my world is their world and you hide nothing. Ok, great, you have an open life. Well if it is open to those you don't mind seeing it, those that you don't even know, can see it too.
Earlier this month, Lexar released the Lexar JumpDrive SAFE S3000 FIPS. It is the first drive in USB Flash Format that is designed to meet FIPS 140-2 Level 3 "validation". In laymans terms, what goes in your drive stays secure in your drive until YOU say different. The high level of security also boasts AES 256-bit encryption. Any data on the drive, whether it is a document, PDF, picture, video, etc, is encrypted and passphrase protected at all times. The coup de gras feature is the tamper proof Gemalto .NET V2.2 FIPS Smart Card which gives the drive its proven authentication tor access. It also works in the background, managing all critical algorithms like key generation and storage.
A third way to protect your data is the fact the drive is secured in a waterproof metal housing. To prove this, upon receipt, the writer's drive was dropped into a one gallon fish bowl for over an hour. After that, and a few moments of air drying, the install process was done. Then after transferring some data, it was once again transferred to the fish bowl. The article you are reading now, is one file that was on the drive when it was "scuttled" a second time. There was no data loss, no internal moisture, and it still works fine. Also, while nothing is guaranteed to be hack proof, this was tested by an expert in the field, and after 1.5 hours of attempting to gain access, he was unsuccessful. So again, it is secure, and safe.
Getting to the install, it was tested on both Windows XP SP2 and Windows Vista SP1. The install was flawless; true plug and play.It dis not boast this as it was released before Winbdows 7, but guess what.. On Windows 7, the plug anbd play is still there, and flawless. No need to hit the autorun sequence on any machine. This can go from desktop to laptop in an instant. It even will remind you that the drive will perform faster if put on a USB 2.0 port and gives you a list of those that are available. Within the setup, after a few click and choosing my security and passphrases, this drive was now ready to secure data.
Once the install was complete, the speed of transferring data from an unprotected drive to the JumpDrive was almost instant. 50 megs of data, gone in an instant. It was just that fast.
The security of this JumpDrive, while unmatched anywhere, by any manufacturer, has a few caveats (warnings to prevent data loss really) which are due to its high level and certainly not a negative reflection of its performance.
- The JumpDrive SAFE S3000 FIPS is not just a insert and unplug type of drive. You need to follow the "Safely Remove" proticol to prevent data loss from an improper removal.
- You need to follow all setup instructions to a "T". Do not skip over or neglect to create a security question and answer, as you will need it if you ever forget your password. If you do not create one, then you have no choice but to do a reset which will wipe out all of your data.
This is just more proof, that Lexar is now the manufacturer to beat when looking to secure data.
The Lexar JumpDrive SAFE S3000 FIPS secures your data in such a way, that it is waterproof, shockproof, and dare let it be said, maybe even HACKproof. In this day and age, security is the key. They are the first, and thus far, the only, to protect your vital data with smart card-based security.
The best rule of thumb is to back up the data that your family, home or business would be lost with out. If it is that important, why not back it up on the most secure unit out there, The Lexar JumpDrive SAFE S3000 FIPS. In the palm of your hand, you can hold an object weighing no more than a few quarters and being no larger than an adult pinkie, with the data that is as important as life itself. This product is valuable on all levels from the homeowner to the small business owner, to the CEO of "Big Business Inc."
The Lexar JumpDrive SAFE S3000 FIPS is available in 2 GB, 4 GB and 8GB. You can purchase it from online retailers such as PC Connection or at the Lexar Store.
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