Thanko's PIN-protected Morse Code Drive
By Evan Blass 
posted Jul 17th 2006 1:10PM
posted Jul 17th 2006 1:10PM
You may think that those USB thumb drives with biometric protection are keeping your data on adequate lockdown, but with so many Play-Doh-equipped crooks looking to steal your personal information these days, are you really willing to trust your most secure infoswag to a notoriously unreliable fingerprint reader? Our old friends at "innovative" Japanese manufacturer Thanko certainly aren't, as evidenced by their new keypad-sporting model called the Morse Code Drive -- which, despite its name, has nothing to do with the dash-dot-dashing we've seen performed by characters in old war movies. Available in either 512MB or 1GB flavors, this USB 2.0-compatible drive requires the user to input the proper PIN before revealing its precious data on a Mac or Windows machine, although we doubt that a determined hacker would be unable to penetrate its defenses. Still, most consumers will find the $60 and $85 drives acceptable for everyday use, and the fact that they camouflage themselves as a cheap calculator when stored in your pocket protector should only help seal the deal.[Via Fareastgizmos]
Why didn't they just go all the way and stick a cheap calculator screen on the top?
The cost of the PIN-pad and the other mechanisms is (of course) included in the final price. I would rather choose some sort of a software encryption tool - this will cut costs down.
Haha yeah, I agree. A cheapo calculator without a screen, but I guess if it did have a screen silly people would be saying, "hey why doesn't it show what numbers I press when I enter my PIN"
No thanko.
I thought the point of the device was to have unlock capability on machines you don't have admin rights on. Such as University and work computers. The PIN is set on your home machine. As to the screen, that's not a deal breaker for me.
It looks like the Samsung P900, albeit there are a few diffrences. But its still the retro look I favor. Is it plastic or brushed "metal"?
Looks like one of those remote doohickies for answering machines back in the '80s.
"Leave your message after the tone." [Beeeeep].