Apricorn Aegis Bio 120GB Portable Hardware Encrypted Hard Drive (A25-BIO-120)

September 26, 2010 Brownweb 2 comments

Apricorn Aegis Bio 120GB Portable Hardware Encrypted Hard Drive (A25-BIO-120)

Meets requirements for HIPAA, Sarbanes Oxley, CA SB-1386
Biometrically secure, just swipe finger for access
Real-time 128-bit AES hardware encrypted Hard Drive
Bus powered from integrated Hi-Speed USB 2.0 Cable
16 point omni directional shock mounting system

The Aegis Bio fuses leading edge technology in biometric fingerprint authentication and hardware data encryption with a rugged portable design to produce a truly remarkable hard drive. The Bio’s 128-bit AES hardware encryption encodes 100% of the hard drive in real-time without a performance delay. The Bio is supports 10 finger print profiles and multiple authentication password features. The Bio does not require software on the host system to access your data and is cross platform compatible

Rating: (out of 2 reviews)

List Price: $ 219.00

Price:

#12-24 Hardware Kit

Works with the following models: APC AR201, APC PS250, APC PS250I, APC PS450, APC SU1000R2BX120
APC SU1000RM2U, APC SU1400RM2U, APC SU1400RMXL3U, APC SU1500RMX155, APC SU2000R3X155

MODEL- AR8400 VENDOR- AMERICAN POWER CONVERSION

FEATURES- #12-24 Hardware Kit
Rack accessories designed to organize equipment within a rack
environment.
Includes: Quantity 100 #12-24 x 0.5 inch pilot screws.

Price: $ 15.77

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Computer Hardware 120GB, A25BIO120, Aegis, Apricorn, Drive, Encrypted, hard, Hardware, Portable

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Written by Paul Christensen about -27572 seconds ago.

Review by Paul Christensen for Apricorn Aegis Bio 120GB Portable Hardware Encrypted Hard Drive (A25-BIO-120)
Rating:
Based on early reviews, I bought the Aegis Bio to protect my sensitive work files. The Aegis Bio is 128-bit hardware-encrypted – even if the drive is removed from the case it can’t be read. The drive itself is well-designed, compact, lightweight. A single USB cable is attached and provides both power and signal to the drive (unlike some other drives that require separate cables for power and signal). In a nice design touch, the cable stores in a slot on the side of the case. In another nice move, Apricorn includes a thin neoprene sleeve case that offers some protection.

On Windows, performance is good but not as fast as an unencrypted USB 2.0 drive. On my Core 2 Duo / USB 2.0 configuration (Windows XP) I can write to the Aegis Bio at around 19MB/sec.

On Mac OS X, unfortunately, the drive is not recognized as a USB 2.0 device so performance is unusable for anything but small files. On both my PowerMac G5 and MacBook Pro Core 2 Duo running OS X 10.4.10, the drive is only recognized as a USB 1.1 device, regardless of what USB port I use (on the machine or through a USB 2.0 hub). This is apparently a common issue with Apple’s OS X USB drivers. But on the same MacBook Pro, booted under Windows XP with Apple’s BootCamp, using the same USB port, the drive is recognized at full USB 2.0 speed.

Aegis advertises this as a Windows and Mac device, although they clearly state that you must have access to a Windows machine to setup the drive, and register or change fingerprints. Also on Windows (but not Mac OS X), Apricorn provides software that lets you use the fingerprint reader to authenticate and auto-fill passwords in Web pages and system prompts.

One limitation that Apricorn doesn’t clearly state is that the drive can only be formatted FAT32 and only using the Apricorn Aegis Formatter utility. If you try to use the built-in OS formatting utilities on Windows (or Mac) you will be unable to mount the drive on any other computer – apparently a side-effect of their hardware encryption. Apricorn doesn’t provide a download for the formatter – it is only included on the install CD, so keep a copy handy if you need it. Although FAT32 provides the “lowest common denominator” for read/write across platforms without additional software, individual files cannot be greater than 2GB on the Aegis Bio.

Based on the Windows-only (and limiting) formatter, Windows-only drive activation and registration software, and slow USB 1.1-speeds under MacOS X, I cannot recommend this drive for Mac users, hence the 3-star review. If you’re only on Windows, you’ll probably be happy with this drive as long as you don’t have to store files larger than 2GB (if so, you’re out of luck).

For Mac users, it looks like the best choice might be the LaCie Safe Mobile USB 2.0 drive with encryption. LaCie provides both Mac and PC software and fingerprint registration, lets you format the drive using standard formatting utilties, and from other reviews this drive is recognized by OS X at full USB 2.0 speeds.
Written by Robespierre about -29585 seconds ago.

Review by Robespierre for Apricorn Aegis Bio 120GB Portable Hardware Encrypted Hard Drive (A25-BIO-120)
Rating:
While the previous review of this product is reasonable and well written, it promotes a common misconception about USB drives and Macs: that the drive is at fault for the USB port’s performance. This simply isn’t true. I own two Macs as well as a PC laptop. I can tell you from experience that pre-2008 Macs have underpowered ports, which is why USB storage devices perform so disappointingly. Thumb drives, portable drives, AC-powered drives — all disappear from the desktop without warning unless a USB Y extension cable is used. Most USB drive manufacturers don’t include such an accessory, but Apricorn does(!), and I use mine constantly.

Read your OSX manual and you’ll discover that Apple warns USB drives cannot be used as boot drives. The company doesn’t say that *certain* USB drives can’t be used, it says *none* — zero, zip. Translation: USB drives on a pre-2008 Mac are inherently unreliable. (Post-2008 Macs might be unreliable, too, but if so, that’s troublesome, because some no longer offer firewire ports.) If you want a speedy backup drive for a 2007 mac, you’ll be forced to choose a *firewire* drive exclusively. The Bio doesn’t offer a firewire option, but other Aegis portables do. If you want a reliable boot drive, get one of those and spend the extra $20.

If, however, you want extra security and are willing to settle for OK performance due to the great deals on the Bio that have sprung up lately, then buy the Bio and use the included USB Y extension cable.

Aegis is a thoughtful and reliable company; their drives are easier, more convenient and better implemented than any other portable drives I’ve used. This particular drive has a 16-point omni-directional shock mounting system to keep the disc (as well as your data) safe. Almost all Aegis portables use a built-in USB cable that tucks into the side of the case, which is extremely convenient — I’ve yet to experience any problems with the built-in cables and I’ve been carrying my Aegis drives around for the past four years.

The fingerprint ID feature is nicely implemented and easy to use, but, truthfully, the sturdy-yet-dinky case and discounted price are the reasons to pick this up.

If you use the drive with Windows, you’ll find that apps like Explorer can use your finger-scan to fill in user names and passwords. Up to ten different fingertips (and therefore people) can access the drive and maintain their own sets of passwords. The feature is quite fun, but it can only store single password sets for each fingertip. This means you can’t maintain different settings for different situations unless you happen to carry around someone else’s finger (in which case, please don’t contact me!). If, for example, you want one group of logins for home and one for work, you’ll find that’s impossible.

Outside of Amazon and Newegg (which still has a number of five-star reviews), every extensive review on this product has been glowing. Now that I own and love this critter, add my review to the five-star list!

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