It’s not Juzt security!

Pro

Security is a major concern for businesses these days, and with the increased use of portable notebooks and other devices, the risk to sensitive data has increased.

However, there are programs out there that will protect your data as much as possible.

Juzt Lock restricts access to your PC or notebook by using a smart card device. The accompanying software must be installed to use the smart card and its reader.

At first, I had a few problems setting up the smart card reader; it must be connected to the serial and PS/2 port on your computer. This is where the reader gets it power. As my mouse was already hooked up to the PS/2 port, it involved re-connecting to the mouse to the PS/2 pass-through adapter on the smart card reader.

This promptly caused my mouse to cease working. A few frustrating moments later, the mouse problem was sorted and the smart card reader was hooked up.

The idea is that once the smart card has been removed from the reader, no one can access your files. You can set the screen saver to kick in once the Smart Card is removed, making it impossible for anyone to access your files even if you’ve only stepped away from your desk for a minute or two. The settings can also be changed so that a period of inactivity will cause the security settings to prevent unauthorised access to your PC. You can also lock the PC manually.

As someone who has to regularly replace lost ATM cards, I probably wouldn’t be the best person to use this to safeguard my data. The thought of entrusting my file access to something I could lose makes me a little bit nervous, to be honest.

Juzt-Guard offers to do pretty much the same thing — safeguard your data — but without the smart card.

After installing the software, users are asked to connect the anti-piracy protector, which connects to the parallel port on your machine. According to the documentation, this prevents any unauthorised access and duplication of the software without the owner’s permission. In fact, the software won’t work without the anti-piracy protector and I had a bit of difficulty at first getting the software to recognise the device.

Once you get up and running, there are plenty of ways you can use the product to protect your data. First, though, you will be asked to create an Emergency Disk, so it is handy to have a blank disk on hand for the task. If you forget your password, this will allow you to restore it.

The software will encrypt or decrypt your files and directories, or if you have a few frequently used files, you can create a batch file that will encrypt or decrypt the files at the touch of a single button. E-mail protection is also included.

Mask encryption will encrypt the file and ‘mask’ it with an Image file. Once the masked file is opened, it will show up as an image file, protecting your data. Not everyone you send the encrypted files to will have Juzt-Guard software; to get around this, the software has an Executable Decryption function. This changes the encrypted file into an executable file. To access the file, users run the executable and enter a pre-set password to decrypt it. 

As the software has single machine but multiple user capabilities, any non-administrator will get their own file locker if they are using the same computer. The file locker is useful as any file that is dragged into it is automatically encrypted. The Administrator is the person who first starts Juzt-Guard; subsequent users log in, choose their password and username and once this is verified, they have access to their own file locker. I found this program a bit more user-friendly than the Juzt-Lock product. 

Specs:

Juzt-Lock

The Smart Card and reader is probably a good idea for those who are careful with their belongings; however, the chance of losing the smart card is just one that personally, I wouldn’t be willing to take.

• System Requirements: Microsoft Windows 98/ME/NT/2000, Pentium processor or later, 32Mbyte RAM (more than 64Mbyte is recommended), 20Mbyte or more available hard disk space.
• Rating 3/5
• Price: EUR75 +VAT

Juzt-Guard

A useful program that is easy to install, set-up and use, despite the initial problems with the anti-piracy protector.

• System Requirements: Microsoft Windows 95/98/ME/2000/NT, 486 or later CPU, 8Mbyte Ram (more than 16Mbyte is recommended), more than 1.6Mbyte hard disk space.
• Rating 4/5
• Price: EUR60 +VAT

Juzt Innovations: +353 (0)1-8396158

08/05/2003

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