Both XP and Win2K support the Cigar Pro's security software. I installed the software on my XP system from the CD-ROM, and an icon in the system tray let me resize the device's security and public zones partitions. After I selected the sizes, the partitions were resized in approximately 1 minute and the security installation executable was copied to the public zone. I inserted the Cigar Pro into the Win2K system and double-clicked the setup icon in the public zone to install the software. By right-clicking the security icon in the system tray, you can resize partitions, change the password, log on, log off, or exit the security software.
The Cruzer includes CruzerLock software, which encrypts and decrypts files stored on the Cruzer. I copied the CruzerLock executable to the Cruzer according to the online documentation, then opened the CruzerLock program. The interface was easy to use and the program did its job, but there were a few annoyances. You can select files from only one directory at a time for encryption or decryption; you can't encrypt an entire directory structure in one operation. Also, when files are encrypted, they go into the secure directory, which doesn't maintain the directory tree structure from the files' original location. If you need to encrypt only a few individual files, this solution is workable, but more intelligent file handling would improve the product.
Interoperability
I tested all the devices on XP Home, Win2K, Win98, and Mac OS X for interoperability. I also tested the devices claiming support for Linux on Red Hat Linux 7.3. Cross-platform tests between the Windows and Mac OS platforms were uneventful: All devices operated as the vendors claimed. Among the devices that claim Linux support, none furnish documentation for configuring that support. I found unofficial documentation for Linux support on the Web and was able to verify that the devices that claim to work under Linux do mount as a Virtual FAT (VFAT) volume. I was able to read from but not write to the USB storage mounted as VFAT. The different security implementations that the devices offer support varying platforms; however, all the devices support the interoperability of a secured device between XP and Win2K.
Effective and Valuable Tools
All the devices I tested effectively move data between USB-equipped systems. Aside from selecting the capacity you need, deciding what type of security model fits your needs might determine the best product for you. If you like the idea of split secure and public zones, the products from M-Systems, Sony, SOYO, and Targus will deliver; the EasyDisk and Transcend products secure the entire storage area. The Cruzer is the only product in this group that encrypts files, but the software for doing so is a bit clumsy. Although performance was acceptable across the board, some products performed better on certain platforms. The Cruzer cruised on Win98 but demonstrated below-average transfer speeds on a Macintosh. The EasyDisk lagged behind the other products in Mac performance, and the DiskOnKey maintained the most even performance numbers across all the tested platforms. (See Web Graph 1 for a comparison of how much time a 12.5MB data package took to copy to each device from each of five OSs.) The Cruzer and DiskOnKey get bonus marks for compatibility: The Cruzer uses standard removable SD memory cards, which can be shared with devices such as Pocket PCs, and DiskOnKey supports NT.
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