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USB flash memory modules are great little devices. You just plug one into a machine with a USB port, drag and drop data to it, then pop it in your pocket. The chances are that any machine you’re going to want to copy your data to will have a USB port, so it’s the ideal solution for transferring medium size files between computers.

The choice of USB flash memory modules is vast and which one you buy usually comes down to price since functionality is pretty much the same, or at least it used to be.

The Jadetec ClipDrive Bio is a USB flash memory module available in capacities from 64MB up to 1GB, but it does have a trick up it’s sleeve. At one end of the device is a fingerprint sensor that can be used to lock and unlock the storage area inside.

There’s been a lot of talk about biometrics in computing over the last few years, but it’s only recently that the talk has started to bear fruit. The latest incarnation of the HP iPAQ Pocket PC has fingerprint security that’s surprisingly easy to use as well as being accurate. But whether a small USB memory device can pull off the same feat is another matter altogether.

Before getting carried away with the highlights it’s worth taking a look at the basics. This particular ClipDrive Bio has 128MB of storage, which should be enough for the majority of users. The ClipDrive Bio is well designed and a lot more robust than many of the USB flash modules that are available.

The USB connector is hidden from view by a sliding cover. This is a neat design feature as there is no lid that can get lost when you’re plugged into your PC..
At the rear is a switch to write protect the drive if you’re worried that important data could be deleted by mistake.

Connecting the ClipDrive Bio to your PC is simply a case of locating a USB port and inserting it. If your PC is under your desk or your USB ports are just hard to access it’s not a problem. Inside the ClipDrive Bio box you’ll find a USB cradle for the device. Simply plug the extension lead into a USB port and then position the cradle on your desk for easy connection.

Once plugged in the ClipDrive Bio will be recognised by Windows and the relevant drivers will be loaded. This will allow you to see the drive, but you won’t be able to use the biometric features yet. Don’t be worried if you can only see 16MB of space on the ClipDrive at first. This is because the rest of the memory is in the secure area and you won’t be able to see it until you install the biometric security software.

The ClipDrive Bio Administrator utility allows you to add users that can access the secure area on the drive. Adding a user means enrolling a finger and registering a name. Once this is done, every time the drive is plugged in the chosen finger needs to be scanned before the secure area can be accessed.

If you plug the ClipDrive Bio into a PC that doesn’t have the security software installed you can only access the non-secure memory area. However, if you’re smart you’ll copy the security software to the non-secure partition of the drive, then you can install it on any PC you come across and access the secure area of the drive.

Even if you are installing the software on a new PC only an already registered user will be able to access the secure area of the drive, and you can’t add a new user until a registered user has unlocked the device.

The security seems to be pretty solid and after many attempts the ClipDrive Bio refused to allow a non-registered user to gain access to the secure area, no matter how many fingerprint scans were tried.

The ClipDrive Bio really does do what it’s supposed to. It gives you secure file storage while you transport data between machines. But you really have to ask yourself how much you need that security, because you can buy a standard 128MB USB flash memory module for around £25.

That said, this is a niche product that’s aimed at the security conscious or overly paranoid user where protecting the data is far more important than cost.

Verdict

A clever spin on USB flash memory storage for users that transport very sensitive data. Be prepared to pay a hefty premium for the biometric functionality though.

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