Corsair Memory Incorporated has launched its new Flash Padlock drive: a USB flash drive secured with a five-button PIN-based "padlock" built into the drive itself. The PIN interface forces the user to hit the unlock button and the chosen code (up to 10 digits) before accessing the drive. The drive requires no special software to operate. Flash Padlock drives also don"t need a separate partition for the security driver, as password-based drives do. To avoid the code being forgotten, users are invited to register their PIN code on Corsair"s Web site. If the PIN is forgotten, the code can then be retrieved by supplying a valid e-mail address and password.
Beyond describing the PIN system, Corsair"s description of the drives inner security workings, and any use of encryption, is vague. Presumably, the PIN is stored on a physically separate memory location within the drive. Flash padlock costs $29.95 and $39.95 for the 1GB and 2GB capacities on offer, and can be used on Windows 2000, XP, Vista and Apple OS X.