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SanDisk Shows a More Secure Flash Drive

New Cruzer Profile features biometric technology; company also unveils a 2GB Titanium drive.

Brad Cook, MacCentral.com

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SanDisk this week updated its line of USB flash drives, adding a 2GB model to its Titanium line and unveiling the Cruzer Profile, which includes embedded fingerprint identification technology.

The Titanium line of flash drives feature an outer shell made of a titanium alloy created by Liquidmetal Technologies.

The new 2GB model will ship in April with a $250 price tag, joining the currently available 512MB ($85) and 1GB ($170) versions.

Like the other Titanium drives, it ships with three Windows-only utilities--the encryption software CruzerLock 2, the Outlook data synchronization tool CruzerSync, and the file backup application Cruzer PocketCache--as well as a pocket clip, a keychain ring, and a lanyard. Mac OS X v10.1.2 or higher is required.

Added Security

The new Cruzer Profile, a USB 2.0 flash drive, isn't available on SanDisk's Web site yet, but the company is displaying it at the CeBIT trade show this week in Hanover, Germany.

SanDisk says that the drive is approximately the size of a pack of gum and will be available in 512MB and 1GB capacities for $100 and $200, respectively, when it starts shipping in mid-April.

The Cruzer Profile features two tethered parts, the drive itself and the identification hardware, which stores fingerprint images and activates the drive when the user presents a matching print. SanDisk notes that fingerprints never pass through the host computer and that the drive includes a portable password manager for extra security.

The drive, which is compatible with Mac OS X v10.1.2 or higher, comes loaded with the same three Windows-only utilities that come with the Titanium drives: CruzerLock 2, which encrypts files; CruzerSync, which synchronizes Outlook data; and Cruzer PocketCache, a file backup program. It also comes with a lanyard.

To see PC World's complete CeBIT coverage, check out our CeBIT 2005 news page.

For more Macintosh computing news, visit MacCentral. Story copyright © 2007 MacCentral. All rights reserved.

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