Tag: Security | OhGizmo!

iZON Remote Room Monitor

By Andrew Liszewski on 08/30/11 • Leave a comment!

iZON Remote Room Monitor (Images courtesy Stem Innovation)
By Andrew Liszewski

The idea that everybody recording everybody else makes for a safer, more accountable, world is taken one step further with remote video camera monitoring solutions like Stem Innovation’s new iZON (eyes on – get it?) security monitor. Using a clever rounded magnetic base that can be set on a flat surface or mounted to a wall, the iZON camera connects to your home or office’s wireless network providing you with a constant video feed of wherever you have the lens pointed.

You’ll need to download the accompanying Stem:Connect iOS app to monitor the feed from your iPhone, iPod Touch or iPad, but you can also set it up to capture footage directly to a private YouTube account for perusing later. And besides just providing a window to your home or office while you’re away, the iZON’s software also allows it to serve as a remote tattletale, keeping track of suspicious sounds or movements and alerting you when something has been detected via push notifications. Available “soon” for $129.95.

[ iZON Remote Room Monitor ]

AIRprint Fingerprint Scanner Works From Up To Six Feet Away

By Andrew Liszewski on 05/18/11 • 1 Comment

AIRprint Fingerprint Scanner (Image courtesy Advanced Optical Systems) By Andrew Liszewski

If you’re the paranoid type and have diligently worked to keep your personal details, including fingerprints, out of various government databases and the like, you might soon want to start wearing tin foil gloves as well. That’s because a company called Advanced Optical Systems has developed a device they call the AIRprint which can collect fingerprints from up to 6 1/2 feet away. It uses a pair of cameras that have just 1.3MP of resolution each, but adding polarized light into the mix apparently allows them to capture fingerprints that are detailed enough to be analyzed. MIT’s Technology Review explains how it works:

Slightly smaller than a square tissue box, AIRprint houses two 1.3 megapixel cameras and a source of polarized light. One camera receives horizontally polarized light, while the other receives vertically polarized light. When light hits a finger, the ridges of the fingerprint reflect one polarization of light, while the valleys reflect another. “That’s where the real kicker is, because if you look at an image without any polarization, you can kind of see fingerprints, but not really well,” says Burcham. By separating the vertical and the horizontal polarization, the device can overlap those images to produce an accurate fingerprint, which is fed to a computer for verification.

The current prototype has a few limitations in that it can only scan one finger at a time, it has to remain at a fixed distance in order to produce accurate results, and the processing time clocks in at around 4 seconds. But future versions will be able to handle multiple fingers at once, even if the person is in motion, in less than a second.

[ AIRprint Long Range Fingerprint Scanner ] VIA [ MIT Technology Review ]

IDEAL 0101 Hard Drive Puncher

By Andrew Liszewski on 04/21/11 • 2 Comments

IDEAL 0101 Hard Drive Puncher (Image courtesy PC Pro)
By Andrew Liszewski

You probably already have a paper shredder at the office for disposing of confidential documents, but since those often choke on something as small as a forgotten paperclip, you need something with a little more oomph if you hope to do the same with discarded hard drives. Like the IDEAL 0101 HDP from Duplo, which promises to pierce an unneeded old drive with up to 3 tons of force. PC Pro recently had one dropped off for testing, and they were kind enough to shoot a short video of the slow, agonizing carnage.

I wouldn’t go as far as to say the drive is left completely unreadable, I’m sure there are some data recovery facilities who could probably still pull a file or two off of it. But for the average office the damage it does is adequately fatal. I particularly like the ominous green light that comes on, the terrible cracking sounds and the fact that the now deceased drive is unceremoniously dropped into a bin below, like Sweeney Todd’s victims. At almost $3,300 (£1,995) it’s not the cheapest way to destroy a drive, but at the least there’s some perverse satisfaction to watching it do its thing.

[ IDEAL 0101 HDP ] VIA [ PC Pro ]

Burglar Blaster Uses Pepper Spray To Keep Out Intruders

By Chris Scott Barr on 03/17/11 • 4 Comments

By Chris Scott Barr

Not all of us can afford a fancy home security system that’s monitored 24×7. Instead, if we want to deter criminals from taking our possessions, we lock our doors and hope for the best. There are some low-tech alarms that will simply emit a loud sound, in hopes of scaring off burglars, but even those aren’t the most effective. So why not step it up a bit, and make sure they want to get far away from your house as fast as they can.

This Burglar Blaster is one thing that no would-be thief will want to tangle with. Once tripped, it will not only start wailing loudly, but it’s going to shoot out pepper spray. The 4oz container is enough to cover 2,000 square feet with the stuff, leaving the criminal with a good bit of pain in the eyes. Of course, the trade-off here is that you have a house full of pepper spray. I’ve never tried to clean that stuff up, but it seems to be that it wouldn’t be much fun. Also, you’re going to have to shell out $600 for one of these. While I appreciate the harm it would cause to someone breaking into my house, I think it would be more of a hassle than it’s worth.

[ Burglar Blaster ] VIA [ GeekAlerts ]

adidas’ New SLVR S-M-L Concept Shoes, Now We’ve Even Got Footwear Specifically Designed For Dealing With Airport Security

By Andrew Liszewski on 03/02/11 • 1 Comment

adidas SLVR S-M-L Concept Shoes (Images courtesy adidas)
By Andrew Liszewski

Almost every laptop bag manufacturer now has a version that’s claimed to be airport security-friendly, meaning you don’t actually have to remove your laptop from the case when it passes through scanners and x-ray machines. And since it’s now the norm for everyone to have to also remove their shoes when dealing with security, it looks like footwear manufacturers have taken a cue from the laptop bag makers.

adidas’ new SLVR S-M-L Concept shoes are not actually a concept, but are available for sale ($140) from adidas’ SLVR online store in just three sizes: small, medium and large, hence their name. Based on the description on their website the shoes are the perfect accessory when flying since they feature a 4-way stretch mesh upper making them particularly easy to repeatedly slip on and off, or stash away in a carry-on bag. And because even the soles of the shoes are stretchable, it allows adidas to release in them just 3 unisex sizes covering everything from men’s UK size 4 to 12.

[ adidas SLVR S-M-L Concept Shoes ] VIA [ Acquire ]

Bicycle Anti-Theft Alarm

By Andrew Liszewski on 02/21/11 • 1 Comment

Bicycle Anti-Theft Alarm (Images courtesy VirtualVillage.com)
By Andrew Liszewski

Often times a chain or a bike lock is just a minor inconvenience to a bicycle thief who wants to pinch your ride. And while removing the wheels and your bike seat is a useful visual deterrent, it can also be a giant pain to deal with day in and day out. So like the blinking dashboard light of your car’s alarm system, this bike-specific anti-theft alarm is supposed to let would-be thieves know that they’d best move on to the next bike lest they set off an ear-piercing alarm while trying to steal yours.

It connects to your bike with a set of included nuts and bolts, and since it’s completely weatherproof it never needs to be removed, even if you leave it locked up outside. Arming it is as easy as pressing the ‘B’ button for just 2 seconds, at which point a motion-sensitive alarm is activated which can be set to one of 3 different sensitivity levels. If and when someone tries to tamper with your bike an 80db alarm will sound for 15 seconds, hopefully scaring them away. If they continue to tamper with it the alarm will continue to sound, requiring you to enter a custom 4 digit code using the three buttons to deactivate and disarm it. (i.e. BACA) It’s powered by a single 9V battery which will probably keep it powered for months on end with no incidences, and is available from VirtualVillage.com for just $3.99.

[ Bicycle Security Anti-Theft Alarm ] VIA [ The Red Ferret Journal ]

Hiddn Crypto Adapter Makes Any Flash Drive Or Hard Drive Secure

By Andrew Liszewski on 02/17/11 • Leave a comment!

Hiddn Crypto Adapter (Image courtesy Hiddn)
By Andrew Liszewski

More and more flash drives and external storage solutions are shipping with built-in encryption options, and it makes sense. Back when flash drives were just 32MB in size having one go missing was not necessarily the end of the world. But these days you can carry 100+ gigs of data in something that’s as easy to misplace as a pen, so making sure your digital life stays private and protected is a genuine concern. And the USB Crypto Adapter, from a Norway-based company called Hiddn, promises to make any drive secure no matter how old or small it may be.

As the name implies, the Crypto is an adapter that sits between a computer’s USB port and the storage drive and deals with all of the encryption/decryption details. It uses an AES 256-bit encryption algorithm which is still strong and secure, as well as a combination PIN and smartcard to access the files on the drive. None of the security or encryption keys are stored on the actual media either, so if they go missing there’s little to no chance your files will be accessible to anyone but you. Obviously it would be nice if the unit was a little more compact so it was a touch easier to travel with, but the ability to encrypt all of your drives, no matter what capacity or brand they are, makes it a handy tool to have on hand, even if you’re not an IT person.

[ Hiddn Crypto Adapter ] VIA [ Everything USB ]

Dunhill Biometric Wallet – Probably A Little Overkill

By Andrew Liszewski on 01/31/11 • 3 Comments

Dunhill Biometric Wallet (Images courtesy Dunhill)
By Andrew Liszewski

If you live in a busy urban area and spend your time engulfed in crowds of people on the street, or bumping into the masses on the subway, it’s probably not a terrible idea to be a little extra cautious with your wallet. You never know when your pockets might get picked. But there’s cautious, and then there’s downright paranoid, which I think can be said of anyone who drops $825 on this biometrically protected wallet from Dunhill.

The wallet can only be opened by swiping your fingerprint, so while would-be thieves might be able to get their hands on it, they won’t be able to open it. And attempts to crack it open will be mostly thwarted by its sleek carbon fiber outer shell. I mean it’s not completely indestructible, but it should be frustrating enough to deter most people. The Biometric Wallet can even let you know if it’s been taken or forgotten thanks to a Bluetooth link to your phone which sounds an alarm if the two are more than 5 meters apart. On the inside you’ll find a real leather finish with a stainless steel money clip, but I’d expect nothing less when they’re asking almost $1,000 for it.

[ Dunhill Biometric Wallet ] VIA [ Uncrate ]

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