What a nifty, brilliant device! That's my first reaction when I opened up the nonretail packaging that Apricorn sent it in. On the outside it is rather nondescript but when you pull the cover off it looks like a mini Fort Knox with three LEDs, 10 buttons for inputting your pin number and a slightly larger button with a key symbol on it. Is this the most secure USB key? Well, let's put in the default pin to get started and let's find out.

We have reviewed quite a few USB drives, starting 10 years ago when they were still an exciting novelty, including a few that came with encryption. Then this whole category became so obnoxiously prevalent that there was no way in the world you could hold a reader's attention for a review. The only times when USB keys were in the news was when some high-up dude lost one with all sorts of sensitive information on it.

Well, these days most everyone has a need to protect data, particularly when travelling. Apricorn has been supplying the market for quite some time already with a number of encrypted drives, including ones with keypads or biometric security. This is the latest one.

The device itself is dust and water resistant, made from durable aluminium housing covered by tough epoxy coating which should prevent a potential hacker from accessing the encryption circuitry. The outer skin is black with slightly rubbery exterior which gives a secure grip when you're trying to manipulate the rather small buttons.

What You Can't See

I hate to serve it up to you so early in the review but there is some gibberish we need to talk about first which makes this device as valuable as it is. It uses a military grade 256 bit AES CBC hardware encryption. If you know what that means you can skip this paragraph. All it really means in dummy terms is that no one can mess around with your data unless you write your unique pin on the back of this device. Or when you’re being waterboarded into giving your torturers the access code…

The key to your data has to be a 7 to 15 digit pin (you can also type in a word which is easier to remember) but if you lose your pin you have basically nine more tries before it explodes and self-destructs. Well, not quite that dramatic but your data is indeed lost if you can't get it right within 10 attempts to enter your correct pin. All you can do then is to reset the device and set up a new pin. So make the pin something you can remember easily as long as it is not a series of repeating or any sequential numbers.

Here is another good bit: there is no software required and the Aegis Secure Key is ready right out of the box. It comes with the factory default pin which is: nah, I'd better not tell you even though it is in the documentation and freely available on the net. Anyways, you put in these digits and then you have 30 seconds to plug it into a USB port. All the while there are red, blue and green LEDs flashing for the various sequences. It is important to follow the simple guidelines on the Quick Start Guide.

Final Thoughts

There is much to like in this latest product from Apricorn. Its main claim to fame is the extremely high security that is implemented in the smallest possible form factor. As soon as you unplug it from a USB port it goes into lockdown mode and you will have to re-enter your pin. Even if you put your computer to sleep and leave your Secure Key in the USB port, the auto lock feature will prevent access unless you first put in your pin again. You can use this USB key with any operating system and without having to install any drivers. It's only USB 2.0, not the much faster 3.0, but the data transfer rates are around 25 MB per second for read or write, so it's not too shabby.

Highly recommended!

The Aegis Secure Key is available in three different capacities: 4, 8 and 16 GB. Pricing is $65, 95 and $125 respectively. Check some of the following retailers for your best deal: CDW, Buy.com, Amazon, eCost, Zones, MacMall, PCMall, Provantage, Softchoice, PC Connection and a few others like Newegg and Dell having the Secure Key in a few weeks.

When you need to transport highly sensitive data, sending it in email or over the Internet may not be such a great idea. Transporting a physical drive holding the encrypted data significantly reduces points of possible exposure. Even so, a determined hacker could attack the decryption software, possibly compromising the data. The fully self-contained Aegis Secure Key ($65 direct) uses an onboard PIN pad rather than relying on software. That $65 price gets you a 4GB unit; 8GB and 16GB devices can be had for $95 and $125 respectively.

Since no software is needed, you can use the drive with any USB-capable device, regardless of the operating system. Windows, Mac OS, Linux—even a proprietary device with a proprietary operating system would be fine as long as it supports USB.

Button-based Configuration

In many ways Aegis Secure Key resembles LOK-IT Secure Flash Drive ($76.25 direct, 4 stars). That's only natural, as both license some basic technology from the same source. Both work with any USB-capable operating system, both use an onboard PIN pad for access, both destroy the stored data after ten bad guesses, and so on. However, there are some significant differences.

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This is essentially a USB stick with a combo lock on it. The stick contains a 0-9 keypad arranged in two rows of five, plus a key with a key icon on it and three LED indicators. An aluminum enclosure that is dust and water resistant covers the stick when you carry it around.

Using the device is simple and, once activated, works as fast as a typical USB stick. To activate the stick you press the key icon, enter a 7-15 digit pin and then connect it to your PC or other device. The device comes up just like any other USB device, installing its drivers the first time you use it. Once connected, all data moved to the drive is encrypted in real-time with 256-bit AES CBC (cipher-block chained) hardware encryption. After you’re finished copying or moving your files to the device, you just pull it out of the PC and off you go, knowing that no one can access those files except you, thus protecting your data if the drive is lost or stolen.

Like its previous products in this category, Apricorn goes the whole nine yards in trying to protect your data from getting into the wrong hands. Besides encryption, there’s protection against brute force attacks, keystroke logging, and physical tampering of the device. For example, internal drive components are protected by a super tough epoxy compound that is virtually impossible to remove without causing permanent damage to the electronics. This prevents a potential hacker from accessing the encryption circuitry and launching a variety of potential attacks.

I tried the Aegis Secure Key on a couple of Windows PCs, but it also works with other OSs including the Apple Mac, Linux, Android and Symbian. So, not only can you use the device with PCs, but also with tablets and mobile devices that contain USB ports. Pricing starts at $95 for the 8 GB model and $125 for the 16 GB model.