Imation Defender F200 for Flash Drive Security

Imation Defender F200 Biometric Flash Drive is now available on the market. What makes this flash drive sexy is its stylish appeal and security features. It comes with a metal, “tamper-resistant” waterproof casing with built-in biometric fingerprint reader.

The device uses 256-bit AES data encryption and is validated for Level 3 of FIPS (Federal Information Processing Standardization) 140-2, which is a government security guideline that costs companies a lot of time and money to achieve.

It may be configured to use a password, the fingerprint scanner, or both, for double-duty security. A setting is also included for the option of mandatory swiping of a fingerprint from each hand, in case of unexpected amputation or limb loss. The user has an option to choose which security requirements to use and eliminate. Upon setup, the user can either choose “standard” or “custom”. For standard, it means the biometric fingerprint security option is used with no need for password authentication. “Custom” allows the use of both passwords and fingerprint authentication.

Imation uses ACCESS Standard software which is portable and easy to use without installation, and supports both PCs and Macs. Identity-based authentication is built into the processor’s firmware which allows 2 roles – administrator or user and can manage up to 10 users with individual password and/or fingerprint.

Since the Imation Defender F200 came out, the reviews have been mixed. PCWorld tagged it “secure but slow” while Computerworld said it is “safe, but expensive.” Both agreed that the fingerprint scanner adds a high level of security to the drive. With that added security, the price is higher compared to other flash drives.

Its drawback, however, is in its performance. PCWorld and Computerworld compared its performance with other flash drives and Defender F200 fell short of it. While it reads at 18.6 MBps for small files and 19.3 MBps for larger files, other flash drives like IronKey Secure Flash Drive (limited to just password security) reads at burst speed of 31 MBps or average read rate of 29.6 MBps.

Article Topics

access control  |  fingerprint scanner  |  fingerprint verification  |  government  |  mac  |  mobile scanners  |  pc  |  security  |  USB flash drive