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Arcanus 55 Private Wealth Safe review

REVIEW – The Arcanus 55 Personal Wealth Safe (a.k.a. Privacy Paranoid Vault) is a combination of a sophisticated, encrypted 16 GB USB drive and a rugged, waterproof, electronically isolated vault designed to protect the USB drive and other small items.

What is it?

The Arcanus 55 Personal Wealth Safe (a.k.a. Privacy Paranoid Vault) is a combination of a sophisticated, encrypted 16 GB USB drive and a rugged, waterproof, electronically isolated vault designed to protect the USB drive and other small items. The isolation vault provides protection from crushing, water infiltration, and acts as a Faraday cage protecting the contents from damage or snooping from to electromagnetic fields.

What’s in the box?

The Arcanus 55 system comes packed in a foam sleeve inside a sturdy cardboard box. The box contains the following

  • 16 GB encrypted USB drive with a metal case and external keypad
  • A metal vault with screw caps at each end
  • Multiple holographic seals
  • Small s-style carabiner
  • A USB-A extension cable
  • Decorative key
  • Quick-start instructions

 

Hardware specs

The Arcanus 55 vault is 15 cm long (including the loop) and 3.7 cm in diameter. It weight 129 grams.

The encrypted USB drive has a metal case and is 9.15 cm long, 2.4 cm wide, and 1 cm thick. It weights 36 grams. The cap at the top is removable to expose a USB-A connector.

Design and features

The Arcanus 55 system is designed to be the ultimate portable protection for your data by providing encryption for your data, physical protection through the use of a metal body of the USB drive, protection from environmental threats (water, dust, electromagnetic fields), and tamper-evident seals. This combination should be sufficient for the needs of most people’s data. It isn’t going to protect national secrets, but then national secrets shouldn’t be on a thumb drive.

Setup

When I opened the package, I was confused to find no obvious USB drive. When I read through the quick-start sheet, I found that the drive was inside the vault which had tamper-resistant seals already in place. Breaking one of the seals, allowed me to extract the drive.

Before using the drive the default security code must be reset according to the instructions on the guide.

Once the security code has been reset, I removed the cap, entered the security code, and inserted the drive into a free USB port.

I had some problems completing the reset of the security code and getting the drive to unlock. A quick email to Arcanus 55’s technical support address and an arranged phone call later, I was able to get the drive set up.  The instructions were a bit unclear on the key sequences needed to unlock the drive. This has been updated in a new quick-start guide which will ship with new units and is available online.

Performance

In addition to my initial difficulties getting the drive to accept a new security code, I also had trouble getting the drive to unlock. Both of these problems could be traced back to user error, rather than hardware or software failures. The first problem had to do with the speed at which I was entering the numbers on the keypad. I was informed that the presses have to be discrete with a brief pause between presses and not the rapid fire keying that I am used to with phones, keyboards, and ATMs. The second problem was incomplete instructions for the operation of the drive. Before the USB drive will recognize a security code, the key button must be pressed and only then will the code be accepted. A press of the key button submits the entered security code to unlock (if the code is correct) the drive.

Data is stored in encrypted form and is encrypted / decrypted on the fly for added security. I was concerned that this would negatively impact the drive’s performance, but this ended up not being an issue.  The Arcanus 55 USB key works at least as quickly as any of the other encrypted USB drives that I own (including drives from most of the major players). I did not perform rigorous read/write speed tests, but merely timed transfer operations to and from the Arcanus 55 drive and compared these to the same operations on other drives.  I was also able to playback 1080p video from files on the encrypted drive using VLC media player.

As an added layer of protection, you may install the included holographic seals over the joints where the caps screw onto the vault body. These seals are very difficult to remove without leaving a trace and serve as evidence of tampering with your vault.

In the event that your drive is lost or stolen, the encrypted storage system will not allow your data to be accessed, even if the chips are removed from the USB drive. If you need to quickly erases the drive because you have forgotten the security code, or you are under duress and want to make sure that your data is secure, a quick process will erase the decryption key and provide a wipe of the drive indices. Your data is now inaccessible (even with the security key). The drive may be reused by repeating the setup routine and selecting a new security code.

An important bit of information that was given to me during my technical support call is that if the unit has been left sitting without being plugged in for long periods of time (say “cold” storage), the unlocking functions and decryption systems may not work until the drive has been plugged in and the on-board power system has been allowed to recharge.

What I like

  • Rugged vault–strong, good seals, keeps water and dirt out
  • USB drive is physically strong and seems resistant to accidental damage
  • Drive is relatively speedy and performs at least as well as my other encrypted USB drives

What needs to be improved

  • Quick-start instructions (improved version now available on website)
  • Decryption key entry sequence timing needs to allow for shorter times between key presses
  • Add a USB-C connector version or add a UBC-A (female) to USB-C (male) adapter cable.
  • Since the product literature talks about securing the vault into your bag with a carabiner or similar method, the clip that is included in the package should actually be able to clip onto the hard point on the vault.

Final thoughts

The Arcanus 55 Private Wealth Vault system is more than adequate for my needs when it comes to protecting my personal information. We have stored copies of our important household and personal papers on the drive and we carry this when we travel in case of an emergency. We have left a copy of the security code with our lawyer (who also has copies of the documents as well).

Price: $92.76
Where to buy: Arcanus 55, Inc.
Source: The sample of this product was provided by Arcanus 55, Inc.

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Arcanus 55 Private Wealth Safe review originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on April 15, 2019 at 9:42 am.

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Armadillo USB Firewall review


REVIEW – I can remember when floppy drives were the craze and then CDs and DVDs all with increasing capacities and abilities. In recent times, our demand for storage capacity and portability has resulted in USB flash drives and portable hard drives becoming the common use norm for storing and sharing files. I have come across a few people who were in a desperate position because they used someone else’s USB drive and accessed a file that was infected with a virus. In other cases, they managed to transfer an infected file from a computer to their USB drive. The result was anywhere from a small and relatively easy to rectify difficulty all the way to having to format their drive and reload their OS. In many cases, they would lose files that they failed to back up. The Armadillo USB Firewall offers protection against this type of disaster and more.

What is it?

The Armadillo USB Firewall is a high-speed USB firewall that connects between any computer and your USB device, isolating malicious firmware and keeping your computer safe. It can be used for flash drives and portable hard drives where its high-speed USB 2.0 hardware enables quick file transfers.

What’s in the box


1 x Armadillo USB Firewall
1 x User Manual
1 x Micro USB

Design and features


On one side there is a “Read Only’ mode switch that allows or restricts the data passage between two-way and one-way writeability and the micro USB jack that allows you to connect to your computer.



Shown below is the opposite side of the Firewall that has the standard USB port to plug in the portable USB drive.


Performance

The Armadillo USB Firewall is pretty much plug-and-play, and its use is quite simple. Place it in between your USB portable drive and your computer and it will protect your computer and your USB drive from malicious software that can harm your computer files. The “read only” switch allows you to prevent any malicious files from being written to your storage device. Engaging or disengaging this switch requires you to unplug the firewall from your computer and then switch the mode and reconnect. It is also important to note that the firewall only supports drives up to 2TB in capacity.

The picture below shows the firewall connected between my 2TB encrypted drive and my laptop.

What I like

  • Build quality
  • Portability

What can be improved

  • The quality of the “read-only” switch. It feels a bit cheesy.
  • The firewall should have the ability to switch modes without unplugging and reconnecting each time
  • The limitation of up to 2TB drives since larger drives are now readily available and commonly used

Final thoughts

If you use USB drives on your computer from various known or unknown sources, this is a useful device to ensure that your computer and your drive are protected from malicious files/software. This is not a device for anyone who uses their own files and never shares drives, but for many of us who do, it is helpful. It is somewhat expensive and could be more efficient. The decision to purchase this firewall device is a personal choice and in my opinion, should be based on how exposed your computer and USB drives are.

Price: $249 NZD = $171.06 US
Where to buy: Globotron website
Sample: The sample for this review was provided by Globotron

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Armadillo USB Firewall review originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on March 27, 2019 at 9:00 am.

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Here are a couple of inexpensive tips for covering up the cameras (or LED lights) on your devices

ARTICLE – I love my gadgets, but I don’t want to worry about the cameras on those devices getting hacked, so I cover many of them up. Am I paranoid? Maybe, but I know I’m not the only one concerned about this so I thought I’d pass on my tips to those of you who are interested.

Even though there are some phone cases available that are designed with a mechanical camera cover, what do you do when there is nothing for your particular phone or, for that matter, all the rest of your devices with cameras?

I use mounting putty (a.k.a Loctite Fun Tak or Scotch Removable Mounting Putty) for non-mobile devices……and black washi tape (a thin, decorative, rice paper masking tape sold as Scotch Washi Tape or Duck Washi Tape) for my portable devices.

Mounting putty works well as a covering for non-mobile device cameras. It works especially well on my Amazon Echo Spot’s camera without covering up the light sensor. I simply pinched off a tiny bit of the putty (my putty is blue) and rolled it into a teeny ball and placed it over the camera (shown in the photo above located at the top of the Spot in the black bezel area). What’s nice about using this stuff is that it can easily be shaped and flattened to fit the camera without impeding the function of the light sensor on the Spot. It works perfectly!


Mounting putty is also useful for covering up annoying LED lights on things like desktop chargers, power strips, etc. located in your bedroom which can be distracting if you like to sleep in complete darkness as I do.

The funny thing is, I use this putty for lots of handy things except when hanging things on my walls because it leaves an oily stain behind over time.


I found that washi tape is ideal for covering the cameras on my portable devices like my phone. I used a hand-held single hole puncher to quickly cut out small circles of tape which are large enough to cover the cameras. I then placed the washi tape on my phone’s front and back cameras. I used black washi tape so that it would blend into the background of the black bezel on my phone. You can barely tell it’s there.

Washi tape is ideal for this use because it is lightly adhesive – enough to stay on the device when slipping my phone into my purse or pocket but easily removable when I need to use the camera. And it doesn’t seem to leave any residue when removed. You can use the same piece of tape several times before needing to replace it.

I also use it on our laptop cameras which get zero use in our house. 


How well do these coverings work? Very well. The above pictures show the front-facing camera on my phone with me standing right in front of it (left screenshot above) and the other shows my laptop cam (right photo above). Both pictures show that you cannot see anything when using washi tape. The mounting putty worked equally well in blocking any images on my Echo Spot.

All-in-all, both of these solutions are easy to apply, remove, and reuse leaving little to no residue and they’re a fast fix. Another benefit to using mounting putty and washi tape to cover my device’s cameras and LEDs is that they are really inexpensive: Scotch Removable Mounting Putty is sold at Target for $1.89 and Duck Washi Tape black is sold at Walmart for $2.88.

What is your favorite way to cover up your cameras (that is, if you care enough to cover them up)? Leave a comment and let me know!

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Here are a couple of inexpensive tips for covering up the cameras (or LED lights) on your devices originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on February 27, 2019 at 10:00 am.

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SecureDrive KP hardware encrypted external portable harddrive review


REVIEW – I’ve been into computing for many years and I’ve collected a good amount of data that has to be kept secure. When the opportunity to review the SecureDrive came along, I figured this would be a good time to implement even better security than I previously had.

What is it?

The SecureDrive KP is a hardware encrypted external portable drive. It features a physical keypad and works across and with any OS and Devices.

Hardware specs

Capacity:   1TB, 2TB, 5TB, 500GB SSD, 1TB SSD, 2TB SSD, 4TB SSD, 8TB SSD
Cryptographic Processes:   AES-XTS 256 Bit Hardware Encryption (OS independent)
Dimensions (L x W x D):   127mm x 77mm x 12.5mm (1&2TB) – x 20.5mm (5TB)
Weight:   Approx. 9 oz. (1TB & 2 TB) Approx. 12 oz. (5TB)
Interface/Power Supply:   USB 3.0 (2.0 compatible) / BUS powered
Certifications:   RoHs, FCC, CE, USB, FIPS 140-2 Level 3
Assembled:   U.S.A
Languages:   English
Warranty:   2 years (limited warranty)
Password Policy:   Strong password (7-15 chars) Alpha Numeric
System Compatibility:   Microsoft, iOS, Android, Linux, Chrome, Thin Clients,
Embedded Systems (No software or drivers  needed)

What’s in the box?

  • SecureDrive KP (250GB SSD as tested)
  • Quick Start guide
  • 16″ USB cable
  • Export Notice information sheet


Design and features

The SecureDrive KP is about the same size as all other external drives, measuring just 3″x5″x0.5″. There is no external power supply requirement, it simply operates off of the USB cable power.

One of the key ways the SecureDrive keeps your data safe is that there is absolutely no communication between the host Operating System (Windows, Linux, MacOS or similar) and the drive until the User enters the correct PIN via the onboard keypad. This prevents computer/software brute force attacks and/or hacking of the system.

Once the correct pin is entered the drives USB controller is unlocked to initiate communication between the drive and host OS. This also prevents any malicious firmware modifications/updates that might be intended to breach the security of the drive.

The drive uses 256 bit AES XTS Mode hardware encryption. This hardware encryption is much faster than software based encryption which can slow performance by 30% or more.

Speaking of performance, the USB 3.0 super speed interface provides for a transfer rate of 5.0 Gbit/s while being backward compatible with USB 2.0 for older hardware. The USB cable is 16″ long and appears to be a standard cable often used for portable drives.

The wear resistant keypad has a special coating which masks key usage, without such coating an attacker could determine the most commonly used keys. The drive requires a 7 to 15 character password.

A secure drive would not be completely secure if it allowed access to the electronics that control the drive. The SecureDrive is certified FIPS level 3 (U.S. government computer security standard) and every vital piece of electronics is covered with a tough epoxy coating cementing the critical components in an indistinguishable solid capsule. There are no externally visible means to open the drive enclosure.

The SecureDrive works with any host operating system (Microsoft Windows, MacOS, iOS, Linux, Chrome, Thin Clients, Zero Clients, Android & Embedded Systems).

The drive has a brute force anti-hacking self destruct feature that is triggered after entering an incorrect password ten consecutive times. When triggered it will crypto-erase the passwords, all User data and drive formatting. Basically, it will wipe the drive and it will reset the password to the factory password. The drive is still useable, just empty. I tested this feature and it indeed worked perfectly. This is probably a good point to mention that there are no techniques to retrieve the pin. There are absolutely no back-doors and all data will be erased permanently.

One feature I really like about this drive is that you can configure an admin password and a user password. This also allows you to optionally set the user to be read-only and set an inactivity autolock.

When there are an admin and user password set, entering the wrong user password ten consecutive times only erases the user password, the admin password and drive data remain intact. This prevents a malicious user from intentionally or accidentally erasing the drive.

Another feature I like about the drive is the inactivity autolock. The Drive can be set to automatically lock after a pre-set amount of time of inactivity. The default state of the Inactivity Lock is OFF. This is a great feature because regardless of how careful you are to re-lock the device, one instance of forgetting to lock it and the drive becomes vulnerable. This feature can be set to activate (lock) at predefined times between 1 and 60 minutes. The 60-minute limit is something I would like to see changed. For me, I work from home and would like the drive to remain unlocked all day, but then lock after 8 hours or so.

For the technical minded, here are some CrystalDiskMark tests from my setup:



What I like

  • Physical keypad
  • Compact design

What needs to be improved

  • Auto lock times need to be longer
  • Did not have a full printed manual with it, but PDF’s are on the drive and a printed quick start instruction sheet was provided.

Final thoughts

The SecureDrive KP provides an easy and portable way to secure data and is available in the following capacities: 1TB, 2TB, 5TB, 500GB SSD, 1TB SSD, 2TB SSD, 4TB SSD, 8TB SSD.

Price: $279 as tested, many other models available
Where to buy: SecureDrive
Source: The sample of this product was provided by SecureDrive

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SecureDrive KP hardware encrypted external portable harddrive review originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on February 25, 2019 at 8:00 am.

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YubiKey 5 NFC security key review

REVIEW – In a previous YubiKey review, I mentioned how we now live in a world where many websites are being compromised. Along with mobile authenticator apps available, using a hardware device such as the YubiKey is great for extra login security. I had the opportunity to take a look at the newest of Yubico’s hardware keys; the YubiKey 5 NFC. Let’s take a look!

What is it?

The YubiKey 5 NFC is a hardware-based authentication device that provides extra authentication over NFC (Near Field Communications). It also supports FIDO2, allowing organizations to enable passwordless login on a computer that supports FIDO2 open authentication standards.

Hardware specs

  • Dimensions: 0.7 in x 1.8 in x 0.13 in
  • Weight: 0.04 oz

What’s in the box?

  • YubiKey 5 NFC along with paper documentation

Design and features

The YubiKey 5 NFC looks much like any traditional USB device, but is flat and with a gold disk in the center of the key. It also has a keyhole to keep it on a lanyard with your EDC gear. I find it useful to keep in my backpack since I have it with me every day and keep it separate to my cell phone that I carry in my pocket.

Setup

Just like with the YubiKey 4 and other series, you can add this hardware key to tons of online services that support two-factor authentication. You can look into account preferences for an option along the lines of “set up a hardware key”. Then insert your YubiKey into your computer’s USB port, follow instructions, and all is set. When logging in, you touch the gold plating on the YubiKey to activate log on.

With this YubiKey 5 NFC, you can simply touch the key to the back of your phone (if your supports NFC). I have the Google Pixel 2 XL, and was able to set up my second Google account easily. I touched the key to the back of my phone shown above. It buzzed and then logged me in. It’s a little bit easier than using my mobile authenticator app, copying the password, and then logging into the site directly.

The software and services that support two-factor authentication with YubiKey are listed on their website. You can also use the YubiKey Authenticator for desktop or Android to generate OATH credentials on your YubiKey. Note: Since I already use the Authy Authenticator app with all my online services, I didn’t test this out. It’s also possible to log onto Windows 10 and all Microsoft accounts using the YubiKey. (Windows 10 version 1809 update and Microsoft Edge need to be installed for this to work.)

What I like

  • Extra security for most online services such as Google, Dropbox, most social media sites etc.
  • Durable, waterproof, and crush resistant
  • Fits on a key chain for portability

What needs to be improved

  • If you lose your YubiKey, then you’ll need to reconfigure all of your apps to use another authentication method
  • Expensive for a small usb device

Final thoughts

Overall, as someone who appreciates an extra layer of security in her web apps, I really love using my YubiKey. It puts my mind a bit more at ease when logging onto my laptop, work machine, or phone. I think it’s very much worth grabbing one if you can!

Price: $45.00
Where to buy: You can purchase the YubiKey 5 NFC directly via their website or various online resellers including Amazon.
Source: The sample of this product was provided by Yubico.

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YubiKey 5 NFC security key review originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on January 13, 2019 at 11:00 am.

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