Oh! Gizmo

By Chris Scott Barr

Are you one of the paranoid people out there that’s deathly afraid of someone recovering data off an old CD or hard drive? Sure, if you store sensitive financial records, you aren’t really going to want to just chuck it out without so much as a format. However, you probably won’t need to go so far as to purchase a special tool for destroying all of the data. If you’re bound and determined to obtain such a device, then let me introduce you to the Erase-o-Matic.

This little sucker is going to get rid of your data for good. Rather than physically destroying the media, it uses powerful magnetic waves to do the dirty work. All you have to do is slide your disc, tape or any other magnetic media through the device and toss it in the trash. Since it uses Rare-Earth Magnets, it doesn’t have any need for electricity, which is great, I guess.  So how much will this thing set you back? Just $400. Now you might think that is a rather high price, but you’re wrong. It’s bigger brother (which is needed if you want to destroy your computer’s hard drive) has the really high price, which is $1,500.

[ Erase-o-Matic ] VIA [ RedFerret ]

By Andrew Liszewski

This Manual Hard Drive Destroyer kind of reminds me of those hand-cranked quarter stamping machines you see all over touristy towns like Las Vegas. But this contraption doesn’t leave your hard drives imprinted with an image of the Luxor. Oh no. Once you’ve inserted your drive, using one of the drive height adapters as needed, you simply turn the handle 8 full rotations and the hard drive will be bent in half ‘approximately’ 90 degrees. And that mangling will pretty much guarantee the platters won’t be able to spin any more, preventing unwanted users from accessing its data.

Now I’m not 100% sure if the data is completely destroyed via this method, as there has to be some government agency with the ability to read even a bent drive, but in a pinch it could at least buy you some time before an incriminating file is recovered.

[ The Model MHDD - Manual Hard Drive Destroyer ] VIA [ The Red Ferret Journal ]

By Evan Ackerman

If there’s one thing that scares me more than sharks, it’s this: sharks with guns. I’m relieved to report that Armor of America has seen this problem coming leagues away and has developed a bulletproof vest that also, somehow, floats. The ArmourFloat vest uses lightweight hard plate armor that can stop most assault rifle rounds, and includes shotgun shell holders and plenty of pockets for ammo clips. It’s available now in all kinds of colors including, for some reason that I can’t fathom, desert camo.

And in answer to your question, yes, the only reason I’m posting about this is so that I had an excuse to photochop a picture of a shark with a gun.

[ ArmourFloat ] VIA [ Crave ]

By Andrew Liszewski

The effectiveness of the CAPTCHA (Completely Automated Public Turing Test to Tell Computers and Humans Apart) security system is still being debated. It’s far from bulletproof, but at the least it provides one more stumbling block to someone or something trying to compromise a website’s security. So D-Link has now added an integrated CAPTCHA system to some of its more popular routers including the DIR-615, DIR-625, DIR-628, DIR-655, DIR-825, DIR-855, DIR-685, and DGL-4500. The company is hoping the added level of security will reduce the number of incidents where routers have been used to compromise a home or small office network.

And if you’re currently using any of the aforementioned D-Link routers you’ll actually be able to download and install a firmware update from support.dlink.com that adds the CAPTCHA security functionality .

[ D-Link ]

By Andrew Liszewski

Are you serious about backing up and protecting your company’s data? I mean really, really serious? Because if you are, you’ll want to take a look at Axxana’s Phoenix System which includes this nearly indestructible Black Box solid-state disk array. It’s designed to sit on-site and in the event of a worst-case-scenario it’s built to withstand earthquake level shocks up to 40 G’s and 5,000 pounds of pressure in case this thing gets buried in rubble.

In terms of fire, it can also endure direct flames with a temperature of 2000 degrees F for an hour, or 450 F for up to 6 hours. It can even survive being submerged up to 30 feet underwater, in the event your corporate HQ goes all Atlantis. And for an added bit of peace of mind the Phoenix Black Box is also equipped with wi-fi and 3G antennas allowing you to remotely retrieve your data should you not have access to the array. As for the cost? Well not surprisingly it’s not listed on the Axxana website, but anyone seriously interested in this type of data protection probably wouldn’t be concerned with the price anyways.

[ Axxana Phoenix System ] VIA [ The Red Ferret Journal ]

By Andrew Liszewski

Today Fujitsu Laboratories announced a couple of new technologies that should help prevent data stored on a USB flash drive from ending up in the wrong hands. The first is the secure USB memory device prototype pictured above that may have been inspired by a piece of Babybel cheese. It works like your standard USB flash drive, but it’s got a processor and battery on-board that can be used to automatically erase the data after a specified amount of time, or if the flash drive is plugged into an unregistered computer.

The second development is a file redirect technology that can prevent files on a USB flash drive from being saved to another computer, or uploaded to an unapproved server. I’m not exactly sure how that technology is designed to work, since the Fujitsu press release is a little vague on the details, but the goal is to prevent confidential files from being emailed outside the office, or even printed.

[ PR - Fujitsu Develops Secure USB Memory Device Featuring Automatic Data-Erase Function ] VIA [ Akihabara News ]

By Evan Ackerman

Remembering and entering passwords in anything is a major hassle, which is why everything should have seamless biometric identification built in. Failing that, KDDI has come up with a gesture based system that at least eliminates annoying number codes. Using an accelerometer, the phone looks for a specific pattern of movements as you bring it up to your ear. These movements depend on things like arm length, muscle structure, and patterns such as holding methods and other habits. According to KDDI, the error rate is only 4%, which is easily good enough for casual use.

As far as I can tell, there’s no reason why something like this couldn’t be implemented into any phone with an accelerometer, even without KDDI’s fancy arm length etc. analysis software. You just have to turn the phone on, and shake shake shake it in a particular way, and it’ll unlock. KDDI eventually plans on taking this technique a little further, allowing you to use specific motions to run programs or unlock your porn folder.

[ Tech-On! ] VIA [ DVICE ]

By Andrew Liszewski

At the International Security Conference in Las Vegas last week, Seoul Commtech, a division of Samsung, showed off the company’s EZON SHS-1210 digital door lock. Instead of using physical buttons for the individual numbers, the SHS-1210 features a touch sensitive display integrated into special black tempered glass. So the numbers are only visible after the user has pressed a control button which activates a backlight. For added security the SHS-1210 is also made from aluminum alloy to enhance its strength, has built-in fire detection and is even able to withstand electric shocks up to 30,000 volts.

[ AVING.net - Seoul Commtech to present its digital door lock ' EZON (SHS-1210)' ] VIA [ Cribcandy ]

By Evan Ackerman

Hey. Hi there. How’re you doing, good? Good. So, when’s the last time you backed up your computer? I only bring this up because last Friday, someone broke into my apartment and stole my laptop. This, to put it mildly, really sucks for me. But luckily, I had backed up most of my data, which downgraded this whole experience from utterly catastrophic to a serious inconvenience. With this in mind, I would like to spend just a little bit of time suggesting ways in which you can prepare yourself for something happening to your computer which, if you’re anything like me, probably has stuff on it that represents a significant chunk of your life and sanity.

Now, I realize that many (if not most) of you probably have never had to deal with serious data loss. Yeah, maybe some file gets misplaced or eaten every once in a while, but that’s about it. I won’t belabor the multitude of ways in which totally unexpected and really bad stuff can happen to your computer, but you should just spend a minute thinking about what exactly is stored on your hard drive and what the implications would be if you were to come home one day and find that it had just disappeared. Never mind the actual physical computer, that’s replaceable. But think about your music. Your documents. Your email. Your pictures. A lot of that stuff is just not recoverable, and some of it (pictures especially) are priceless. I’m not saying you should be super paranoid all the time, but I am saying that you should recognize what some of the data on your computer is worth, and treat it accordingly. Some suggestions, after the jump. Read the rest of this entry »