Digital Trends

Crucial Gizmo! 256MB

November 20th, 2003 | by Rob Curtis

Secure-D Encryption software:

The Secure-D software allows you to create a secure zone on the flash drive.  The entire drive can be allocated as a secure zone or the user can split the drive up between an unencrypted public section and an encrypted private section.  The encrypted zone is perfect for those that would like to store confidential or personal information.  This data can only be accessed with a password that you designate. The public zone can be accessed by anyone that has physical access to the drive. The software comes pre-installed on the flash drive and will need to be copied to any machine that you will be using the drive in. An important note is that when you change the size of zones on your drive all of the data on your USB drive is erased. Be sure to backup any data present before changing the size of public and private zones. 

Setting up these zones is easy through the software interface. Moving the slider up or down increases or decreases the amount of space allocated to the two zones. 

To secure the private zone a password must be entered in the Password field. To access the data in this area the user will be prompted for the password, once entered access is granted. 

This feature is definitely useful for securely storing credit card information, passwords and any other sensitive data. 

Conclusion

We really enjoyed this flash drive and there is little to dislike about it. It handles file transfers with speed and efficiency and has the added benefit of securing sensitive and confidential information. Its small size makes it easy to tote from PC to PC and even from home to work. The included dust cap and hard plastic case make it unlikely that a drop or throwing the unit in your junk drawer will cause any stability problems.