Review: Pocket-sized SurfEasy defeats online spies, corporate or otherwise
chad sapieha Saturday's Globe and Mail Feb. 24, 2012
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/technology/gadgets-and-gear/gadgets/pocket-sized-surfeasy-defeats-online-spies-corporate-or-otherwise/article2349064/
When I sit down at one of the public computers made available to journalists at consumer tech conferences it’s not without a bit of trepidation. How secure is the network? What’s happening to all of those usernames and passwords I’m entering to get at my mail, social networks and web-based work tools? Who might be snooping at my browsing activity?
Kazuo Hirai, President and Group CEO of Sony Computer Entertainment America, presents the Playstation Vita at the Sony Playstation media briefing on the eve of the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) on June 6, 2011 in Los Angeles.
I don’t think I’m alone. Most people have at least occasional need to use public computers at hotels, airports, schools or cafés, and I’m sure the more cautious among them wonder just how secure these networks are.
SurfEasy, a Toronto-based startup, hopes to alleviate these worries with its first product, a small USB key that creates a personal, highly secure tunnel to the Web from any Windows or Mac computer on a public network.
The key isn’t much bigger than an SD card. It’s stored inside a compartment in a credit-card shaped holder. File it away in your wallet and you’ll always have it with you should you suddenly have need to hop online using a strange machine.
Plug it in and you’ll be prompted to enter a password that will launch a simple Mozilla browser that runs off the key. All data transmitted by the browser is protected with secure socket layer (SSL) encryption – the same flavour of security used by banks, SurfEasy is eager to point out – before heading on to the company’s private network, which removes your IP address for additional security.
Everything you do in this browser is protected from exposure to the public network, which sees only an encrypted connection and bandwidth usage. Plus, information collected by the browser – usernames and passwords, browsing history, form data – stays on the key, not the host computer.
Not coincidentally, SurfEasy says it’s seen significant interest from people interested in using the key at work who want to keep their personal activity hidden from employers. Ditto for moms, dads, kids and spouses who share a family computer but want to keep other members of the clan from checking up on their surfing history or accessing their email and social network accounts.
I tried using it in a few different public locations with both a Mac and a Windows PC on wireless and Ethernet connections. I’m no network security guru, but it appeared to function as advertised. I had instant password-protected access to the Web using my own private browser.
Of course, that custom browser is also SurfEasy’s biggest limitation. It’s adequate, but may not meet your specific needs. Those who prefer more robust web surfing tools and travel to niche sites that may not display well in Mozilla-based browsers could end up dissatisfied with the experience.
And there’s always the danger of accidentally leaving that wee key behind. A password is still required to open the browser – if a villain attempts to hack your credentials and fails 10 times the key resets and all of your personal information is erased – but there is a real security risk should you accidentally leave your browsing session open. A malicious person who hops on right after you leave be able to access not just the password protected web apps used that session, but also others for which you’ve stored credentials on the key, not to mention your long-term web history.
Of course, if you buy this product you’re probably going to be a little more careful than to walk away from a public computer leaving browsers open and USB keys inserted.
A SurfEasy key sells for $60 and comes with two gigabytes of encrypted bandwidth per month, which equates to about 180 hours of basic web browsing (that is, no streaming video). That ought to meet the needs of anyone using the key on an infrequent basis. However, heavy users will need to pay a little more. You can upgrade bandwidth to 25 gigs per month for $50 per year or 75 gigs for $100.
end of article
chad sapieha Saturday's Globe and Mail Feb. 24, 2012
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/technology/gadgets-and-gear/gadgets/pocket-sized-surfeasy-defeats-online-spies-corporate-or-otherwise/article2349064/
When I sit down at one of the public computers made available to journalists at consumer tech conferences it’s not without a bit of trepidation. How secure is the network? What’s happening to all of those usernames and passwords I’m entering to get at my mail, social networks and web-based work tools? Who might be snooping at my browsing activity?
Kazuo Hirai, President and Group CEO of Sony Computer Entertainment America, presents the Playstation Vita at the Sony Playstation media briefing on the eve of the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) on June 6, 2011 in Los Angeles.
I don’t think I’m alone. Most people have at least occasional need to use public computers at hotels, airports, schools or cafés, and I’m sure the more cautious among them wonder just how secure these networks are.
SurfEasy, a Toronto-based startup, hopes to alleviate these worries with its first product, a small USB key that creates a personal, highly secure tunnel to the Web from any Windows or Mac computer on a public network.
The key isn’t much bigger than an SD card. It’s stored inside a compartment in a credit-card shaped holder. File it away in your wallet and you’ll always have it with you should you suddenly have need to hop online using a strange machine.
Plug it in and you’ll be prompted to enter a password that will launch a simple Mozilla browser that runs off the key. All data transmitted by the browser is protected with secure socket layer (SSL) encryption – the same flavour of security used by banks, SurfEasy is eager to point out – before heading on to the company’s private network, which removes your IP address for additional security.
Everything you do in this browser is protected from exposure to the public network, which sees only an encrypted connection and bandwidth usage. Plus, information collected by the browser – usernames and passwords, browsing history, form data – stays on the key, not the host computer.
Not coincidentally, SurfEasy says it’s seen significant interest from people interested in using the key at work who want to keep their personal activity hidden from employers. Ditto for moms, dads, kids and spouses who share a family computer but want to keep other members of the clan from checking up on their surfing history or accessing their email and social network accounts.
I tried using it in a few different public locations with both a Mac and a Windows PC on wireless and Ethernet connections. I’m no network security guru, but it appeared to function as advertised. I had instant password-protected access to the Web using my own private browser.
Of course, that custom browser is also SurfEasy’s biggest limitation. It’s adequate, but may not meet your specific needs. Those who prefer more robust web surfing tools and travel to niche sites that may not display well in Mozilla-based browsers could end up dissatisfied with the experience.
And there’s always the danger of accidentally leaving that wee key behind. A password is still required to open the browser – if a villain attempts to hack your credentials and fails 10 times the key resets and all of your personal information is erased – but there is a real security risk should you accidentally leave your browsing session open. A malicious person who hops on right after you leave be able to access not just the password protected web apps used that session, but also others for which you’ve stored credentials on the key, not to mention your long-term web history.
Of course, if you buy this product you’re probably going to be a little more careful than to walk away from a public computer leaving browsers open and USB keys inserted.
A SurfEasy key sells for $60 and comes with two gigabytes of encrypted bandwidth per month, which equates to about 180 hours of basic web browsing (that is, no streaming video). That ought to meet the needs of anyone using the key on an infrequent basis. However, heavy users will need to pay a little more. You can upgrade bandwidth to 25 gigs per month for $50 per year or 75 gigs for $100.
end of article
