Just Walk Away - Sabrent's Wireless USB Lock Keycard- Laptop Security Without Passwords
Owners who leave their portable pals unguarded for even a few moments, have to be aware of strangers' eyes slit and gleaming, scanning the headlines of our favorite web pages or gleaning confidential data from our emails. Now, we have discovered a great way to keep nosy parkers at bay. Sabrent's new wireless PC lock is a USB gadget that automatically locks down your notebook when you're away.
Laptopsecurity. Two words that fill every user with an impending senseof fear and guilt. Fear as they might wonder if they have doneenough to protect their expensive gaming notebook,and guilt knowing they probably haven't.
Now, let'stake a brief look at the history of laptop protection thusfar.
There are numerous software possibilities such as Lojack. Acheap alternative is to install a password onthe screensaver of your windows based operating system, which isprobably easier to hack than a tenderised steak. You then alsohave to remember the password, another burden on my brain's RAMin this hectic world.
You can, of course, go to the extreme of bolting your portablepal to the table, but then that's hardly embracing the beauty ofmobility that we are blessed with as laptop owners.
So what to do?
Well a clever solution comes from Sabrent in the guise of theirPC Security Protect Wireless Mini USB Lock key keycard (snappy name, guys, must have been allnight on that one).
This ingenious design works on a quite simple idea, one end ofthe gadget plugs into your laptop USBport and then you carry a tiny transmitter somewhere about yourperson.
The transmitter wirelessly communicates with the USB device,seemingly doing nothing, but if you move more than 6 feet awayfrom your beloved laptop then it locks up. Password access isrequired to gain control of it again, unless you are the owner ofthe transmitter. As soon as you are back in range the notebooksprings to life exactly as you left it, no passwords, no mess, nofuss.
The transmitter is powered by a lithium 3 volt battery with anaverage battery life of 2000 hours so that should keep it goingfor a fair while. The only thing to watch out for is that yourO/S can handle USB ports obviously, so Windows 95 and Windows NT4can't support this product.
The whole thing, including the equipment and a CD with driverson it costs about $35, a real bargain.
In addition to all this, the potential for Sabrent's application isamazing, at the end of a working day, don't sign off, and justwalk away. The PC instantly knows you're not there, slips intopassword protect mode, and waits patiently for you to return the next day.
Then in an instant it's back up and running and you're away.
What about the next step, could we be walking up to an ATM inthe future and it knows who we are and offers up its servicesinstantly?
The sky is the limit, but for now it looks like the world of laptop security has taken a step into a bold new future, and we canall sleep better in our beds thanks to Sabrent.
