The Aegis Bio encrypted hard drive has a fingerprint scanner and software that secures both the drive and the contents of your PC.

The Aegis Bio not only has hardware encryption but also is one of the few drives with a built-in biometric fingerprint reader. The reader lets you bypass creating a password for accessing the drive; instead, you register your fingerprint and then swipe your finger across the reader. Using such a drive is a lot easier, since you have no password to memorize (or forget, which would render the data useless). Apricorn takes the biometric security up a notch, too: The bundled software (licensed from reader-manufacturer Upek) lets you scan your fingerprint to log in to Windows. Another tool automatically enters saved passwords (and other data) into forms when you swipe your finger. All of that added functionality makes the Aegis Bio one of the handiest hardware security tools I've encountered.

Have you ever gotten excited by reading a spec sheet? I have, particularly when I’m in the market for a certain product and the spec sheet ticks all the boxes. Such was the case before I received the latest external hard drive from Apricorn. Wait, you say, getting turned on by a hard drive? Yes, and it’s not even a full Terabyte...but wait till you see how it is packaged! I’m talking about the Apricorn Aegis BIO Encrypted Biometric 640MB drive. So what’s so great about this product?

For starters, let’s recognise the problem with UNsecured data. It’s bad enough when it’s your own personal details that gets swiped but if you realise the risks that corporations run when laptops or hard drives get stolen or lost, we’re talking about a whole other dimension of consequences. So how best to secure your data with maximum efficiency and effectiveness? It has to have biometrics login. Fingerprints are the easiest to implement, the most proven technology and now also much more refined with UPEK’s 3D Sensing technology. Case in point: my latest ASUS business notebook comes with a facial login through the webcam. No fingerprint swipe mechanism any more. Good move? NO! The camera does not always recognise me or confuses me with my business partner who also has access to this computer. It would have been faster and more secure with the fingerprint swipe.

Good news: the Bio drive can also serve as a secure login for this computer when it is connected to it. And while we’re on the business of swiping: wouldn’t it be nice if a simple swipe could generate any userid and password for any site you’re re-visiting? Good thinking as the Aegis Bio can indeed remember all you logins very securely. And no datalogger can intercept these details. The PStoken software includes a password bank and the Windows Logon feature.

Security is so important with this device that they use a very strong 128bit encryption. So everything gets encrypted on the fly by hardware, not software, right up to the equivalent of Secret level. There are stronger encryption algorithms out there for Top Secret stuff but there’s a penalty in encryption time.

There are more details I could mention on both the Biometrics and Encryption aspects but let’s just highlight one more feature that makes this drive not only very secure but rugged: it has a 16 point omni-directional shock mounting system. So an accidental bump, knock or drop should not damage the drive...

Unboxing, Installation and Testing
While the Aegis Bio series from Apricorn has been around for a good while already, the 640MB unit is the latest to be released. We like the small form factor of the 2.5 inch drive with in-built USB cable. No separate power cable is needed. Just in case there’s not enough power supplied from one USB port the extra Y extension cable included allows you to draw power from two ports simultaneously. The blue colour of the top of the unit fits well in the corporate world where it certainly will find its niche. A simple neoprene sleeve gives added padding whilst travelling.

Installation of the Bio threw up one curly for me: the software to install onto the host system is written for 32bit systems only! A bit of a disappointment as most new Windows installations are for 64bit platforms. This does not mean you can’t use the Bio as you can still activate the drive for finger swiping. First you have a couple of test runs to finetune your swiping technique and then you select which of your digits will be given the honour to say “Open Sesame!” I chose my two index fingers and voila! After formatting I now have an ENCRYPTED drive. You can rename that drive of course but now you’re in business. The green LED also indicates its readiness after it turned from red before the swipe. It’s interesting that your fingerprints are not stored on the device. Instead, specific points of your fingerprint are captured and mapped into a profile. Pretty smart and secure!

Testing the Windows Logon feature could not been done as you need to install the host software first on a 32bit system... Hopefully Apricorn will make a software upgrade available soon for the 64bitters among us.

Final Thoughts
Are there any concerns with this concept of storing your data on the Aegis Bio? Not that we found out in our testing but any hard drive can fail. So a backup drive or NAS would be a good investment. Apricorn doesn’t mention in the specs what drive make they’ve put in, only the RPM (5400). Not every drive is created equal when it comes to failure rates...

To ease your mind Apricorn chucked the SMART-ER utility on the CD as well. This simple program monitors the health of the drives in your system. Sounds good and works well BUT it does not check the health of any attached drives such as the Bio! That’s the one I’m most interested in as the SSD in my notebook seems robust enough.

It’s not a superfast drive and that’s OK as long as it is reliable. A couple of minutes to transfer a 2GB file is a bit tedious. On speeds: I’m really looking forward to seeing this product in a USB 3.0 model and perhaps a SSD version as well. I’d be happy to pay a premium price to get this kind of security, ease of use and speed! Oh wait! They already have an SSD model! Stay tuned for some findings on that one... It just might be the perfect answer for the small concerns I just mentioned!

Conclusion
We seldom award our highest commendation, our Editor’s Choice Award, let alone twice in a row to the same manufacturer! Yet if the Aegis Bio 640MB drive not only ticks all the boxes when just reading the spec sheet but also when testing and using the product, it deserves this accolade well and truly.

Even more so because it fulfils a real need enabling everybody to secure their personal and corporate data. When I say everybody I mean exactly that because the Aegis Bio is priced at a value-for-money USD159 for the 640GB. Lower capacities are also available at an equivalent lower price, down to $119 for the smallest one (250GB).

Grab one today!

I think we all can agree that a USB flash drive is an essential accessory for just about every computer user. However, they are limited in capacity, and most of us have one that is 1 to 4 gigs on our keychain, so only the essential info will be moving around with us. However, there are plenty of times when there is a need to take more with us. Like many gigabytes more of info. And a netbook hard drive at 160 GB or even 250 GB in plenty of cases will not have the space to get the job done.

Enter, the portable USB hard drive. This small device can hold more than what most desktop drive held a few years ago. However, there is the concern that the data will not be safe as it shuttles between home, the office, and the road. Hence the need for a secure device.

Answering that call is the Aegis Bio. This device is an encrypted biometric hard drive. The idea is that the hard drive is encrypted with 128 bit security. In other words, if someone finds the device, and decide to take it apart to bypass it, they won’t get a single 1 or 0 of the data. That’s right, nothing.

The drive is available in capacities of 250 GB, 320 GB, 500 GB and 640 GB, the latter is the subject of this review. The Aegis Bio is compatible with USB 2.0, and is bus powered. It also features extensive shock mounting that is designed to protect the drive with a 16 point omini-directional shock mounting. The hard drive features an 8 meg buffer, with a 5400 RPM spindle speed. The dimensions are 19 mm x 84.5 mm x 120 mm, which is a little larger than a deck of cards, with a weight of 6.2 oz.

The hard drive functions quite well as a standard backup device. The formatted size of the 640 GB model is still a capacious 596 gigs. The read speeds are just under 27 MB/s. All this makes it a viable option for portable storage, but nothing is really a standout so far.

The central feature of the Aegis Bio is the fingerprint scanner, that small rectangle on the top of the drive. I have to admit that I was not sure if it could really protect my data to military standards. The idea is that it uses fingerprint scanning, a well established biometric security standard to keep the data safe. This way there is no passcode that can be easily pilfered from the unsuspecting.

There are many different types of biometrics that can be used in security devices, such are iris scans, retinal scans, face recognition and voice recognition. The Aegis Bio uses fingerprints, which for over a century have proven unique and are used in law enforcement quite routinely (as an aside it still fascinates me that the tip of each individual’s finger is so unique with five billion of us on the planet). The Aegis Bio utilizes a UPEK 3D technology, which measures at the finger surface and into the live skin layers; this eliminates a photocopied print from unlocking the sensor.

It is useful that the Aegis Bio is not required to be installed in order to set it up, although I did install the Fingerprint Enrollment Software. This allowed me to digitize each of my ten fingerprints, which it did by swiping them three times in succession. This process took about 10 minutes. To see the sophistication involved, I repeated a finger, and it quickly let me know that the fingerprint was already enrolled which was reassuring. After the initial setup, the Aegis Bio can be used just like any other portable hard drive. The drive is connected to a USB port, and there is an indicator light that is red. This changes to a flashing red when a fingerprint is dragged across the sensor. If it is recognized, the color will change to green, and the drive will now be active. The process only takes a few seconds, works consistently, and is absolutely secure. There is also no way to turn it off, which is a good thing as it forces one to take advantage of the security offered.

Overall, the Aegis Bio is a useful product for the right user. This would be the user that has a need to bring along large amounts of potentially sensitive data, that require serious protection. While biometric security may be overkill for some users, at a starting price of $119 for the 250 GB version, and maxing out at $159 for the 640 GB one, this is quite affordable. In addition, it is backed by a 3 year warranty.

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