Road warriors live up to their name every day as they do battle to protect their mobile devices. Every individual who uses a computing platform, mobile or otherwise, must be wary of theft, not only of data but also identity. Mobile users have additional, unique data security issues that stem from the relative ease thieves exploit when stealing unguarded mobile devices. They may also leave digital fingerprints on devices that aren’t even theirs, such as kiosk computers.
Identity theft is made even easier than it might otherwise be because of the sheer number of passwords we must remember for day-to-day access to our computers, bank accounts, company networks, and other services. Many of us take the easy way out and use similar, if not the same, login information for every account. As a result, one compromised account can turn into a cascade of accounts available to an identity thief. |
Steganos Password Manager 2007 stores all of your passwords and other information in a list that you can access with a single password. It can automatically log you in to your favorite Web sites and supports Pocket PC devices, as well as desktop and laptop computers. |
Here are a few products that can help watch your back.
 Steganos Password Manager 2007
$19.95 • www.steganos.com
We all know that we should use strong (and unique) passwords, but who can remember something like "+D4v_ssALfL9VfA-6?f7/," let alone multiple versions of it? Password Manager 2007 can turn the seemingly impossible into a simple task.
The application stores passwords and other account information in a single list that uses an advanced 256-bit encryption key to ensure that the information is well-guarded. You access the list using a single password that you create. This means you can create a unique and very strong password for every account without worrying about having to remember them all.
Each account you create in Password Manager contains your username and password, as well as any additional information you wish. If you like to keep things tidy, you can organize accounts by category. A built-in password generator can judge the strength of a password based on parameters you define, such as number of characters and character types.
If you use Internet Explorer or Firefox, you can configure Password Manager 2007 to automatically provide your login information to your favorite Web sites and online services. If you don’t use IE or Firefox or a Web site won’t accept data from Password Manager, you can drag and drop or copy and paste the information from Password Manager to the site’s log-in fields.
Password Manager also supports Pocket PC devices and easily syncs with desktop and laptop computers.
Access Smart Power LogOn 4.0
Starts at $53 • www.access-smart.com
Power LogOn provides secure logon capabilities for computers, networks, and Web sites. Using a tag team of hardware and software, Power LogOn creates a two-factor authentication scheme that does a very good job of ensuring that the individual accessing your device or account is, indeed, you. |
Access Smart Power LogOn 4.0 combines software, a smart card, and a smart card reader to protect your personal information. It can also password-protect specific applications and data on your computer. |
The combination of hardware (a smart card and smart card reader) and software enables Power LogOn to require two items to be present for access to be granted: the smart card and a PIN that you select.
In addition to authenticating your identity, Power LogOn allows you to store information as triple-DES (Data Encryption Standard)-encrypted data on the smart card. This can include bank accounts, credit cards, online services, company networks—almost any type of account where secure access is necessary. Power LogOn also lets you password-protect specific applications and data on your computer and store the passwords on the smart card.
Once you configure the smart card with your information, you can access any of the accounts by sliding the smart card into the supplied reader and entering your PIN to unlock the smart card data. Power LogOn will then retrieve the necessary account information from the smart card whenever you access an application, Web site, or data set that Power LogOn has been configured to protect.
Power LogOn’s features are difficult to resist. Products like Password Manager 2007 only require you to remember a single (if complex) password, but Power LogOn only requires you to remember a single PIN (and, of course, have the smart card in hand). You can protect your various accounts with tough, impossible-to-remember passwords and feel secure in the knowledge that you can wield them all by remembering a relatively easy PIN. Power LogOn can even help you create cumbersome but secure passwords. It can also back up your smart card data to a triple-DES-encrypted file on your computer or other storage device.
The Access Smart smart card works with any computer that has the Power LogOn software installed. The package includes a USB card reader, but you can also purchase PC Card and ExpressCard-based readers for your laptop or an all-in-one USB stick that contains a smart card and reader in a single unit.
Lieberman Software Random Password Manager
$2,900 for 100 licenses • www.liebsoft.com
With the proliferation of computing systems and services that are now part of day-to-day tasks, many businesses find that their employees make things easier for themselves by creating simpler and simpler passwords. This is a major security issue because simple passwords are simple to crack. |
Lieberman Software Random Password Manager stores password information in an encrypted central storage vault. It can create complex, unique passwords that have a lifetime ranging from a single use to several days. |
Trying to force employees to use strong passwords isn’t the answer. This approach tends to lead to increased pressure on the company help desk to recover lost or forgotten passwords. Random Password Manager offers a solution that’s easy on both end users and IT departments by housing all account information in an encrypted central storage vault. When individuals forget their password, they can retrieve the information via an SSL (Secure Socket Layer) Web interface to their password vault without the need to contact IT or a help desk.
Random Password Manager can also generate complex, unique passwords for each service within a business, thus ensuring that a single compromised password won’t provide access to multiple services or systems. Passwords are randomly generated as needed and then checked out to individuals via the SSL Web interface. Random passwords can have a limited lifetime, ranging from a single use to several days. The software can also log when and how the password is used.
Random Password Manager uses AES (Advanced Encryption Standard) 256-bit encryption for the centralized storage vault. All browser access uses SSL encryption to prevent unauthorized eyes from making use of data being streamed to and from the browser.
Siber Systems RoboForm2Go
$39.95 • www.roboform.com
On the road or back at home, Robo-Form2Go is a handy password manager that can also automatically complete Web-based forms for you. You can even use it from a USB key without having to install any software on the computer to which you connect the device.
RoboForm2Go adds a toolbar to your Web browser and an icon to your System Tray. Each time you log in to a Web site, RoboForm2Go will offer to remember the log-in information. You can access any remembered site directly from the Robo-Form2Go toolbar. Think of it as a bookmark list with automatic login. |
In addition to generating and protecting passwords, Sibert Systems RoboForm2Go can automatically log you in to your favorite Web sites and complete Web-based forms for you, based on identities (profiles) that you create. |
Like other password management systems we looked at, RoboForm2Go frees you from the chore of remembering passwords by helping you create long, secure passwords that are difficult, if not impossible, to break using today’s technology. A built-in password generator can produce a 511-character password; that’s a password with 3,118-bit strength. (For comparison, a five-character password has 31-bit strength; a 21-character password has 128-bit strength.)
As far as Web-based forms, Robo-Form2Go lets you create identities that contain your name, address, billing information, shipping information, and other such data. When you visit a site that needs this type of information, select the appropriate identity and RoboForm2Go will populate the site’s fields. You can also opt not to let a Web site store your login information; this protects you from having your stored data and identity pilfered if the Web site is hacked.
RoboForm2Go keeps your data securely encrypted on your USB drive. Access is provided through a single master password that you create. When you remove the USB drive or tell RoboForm2Go that you’re logging out, all cached data is stripped from the computer, leaving no usable data behind. |
Secure Computing SafeWord MobilePass uses your smartphone as the hardware piece of its two-factor identity authentication system. It currently supports BlackBerry, Palm, Windows Mobile, and J2ME (Java)-enabled mobile devices. |
Secure Computing SafeWord MobilePass
Starts at $18 per user; requires a valid SafeWord PremierAccess license and a MobilePass starter pack • www.securecomputing.com
Two-factor authentication is the identity authentication method of choice for many large businesses. By combining a hardware token (usually a smart card) and a memorized password, two-factor authentication helps ensure that individuals are who they say they are.
The main flaw in two-factor authentication systems is the need to carry a piece of hardware around. (Of course, you must also remember—and never divulge—your password.) SafeWord MobilePass may very well eliminate these two concerns. By using existing hardware that nearly every professional carries—a smartphone—as the hardware token and replacing the memorized password with single-use passwords, SafeWord Mobile-Pass creates secure identity information. |
Internet Security Plus 2008 from Computer Associates is available as a standalone software package and bundled on a ReadyBoost-certified 2GB flash drive. The flash drive offers faster installation and better performance with Windows Vista. You can also use the flash drive to store music, video, and data files. |
SafeWord MobilePass is primarily software that you can install on supporting BlackBerry, Palm, Windows Mobile, and J2ME (Java)-enabled mobile devices. A version will also be available for Windows. When you need to log in to a corporate service, MobilePass will generate a single-use password by communicating with the Secure Computing PremierAccess software installed on the corporate network. CA Internet Security Flash Drive
$69.99 • shop.ca.com
Internet Security Flash Drive includes the same features as CA’s Internet Security Plus 2008 preinstalled on a ReadyBoost-certified 2GB flash drive. The benefits are twofold. A flash drive delivers a faster installation on the target computer, and if you use Windows Vista, ISS Plus 2008 can achieve faster performance by caching disk reads to the flash drive instead of to your hard drive.
Aside from a novel delivery system, ISS Plus 2008 provides the typical security features that most computers require, including antivirus, antispam, antispyware, antiphishing, parental controls, a Web site inspector, and a firewall. The suite also includes a handy data migration tool for moving your user data to another computer via the flash drive. You choose which security tools to install, so you won’t waste disk space or CPU cycles on tools you don’t need. Licenses for three PCs are included with purchase of the Internet Security Flash Drive, adding considerable value to the package. 
by Tom Nelson and Mary O’Connor
|
Email This
Print This