Kanguru Wizard USB Security Key ReviewMay 10th, 2004
Pros: Strong encryption and privacy; included extension cord; large enough to be difficult to lose; 16MB storage included
Cons: USB 1.1 only; no Mac support; software needs refinement - can destabilize some systems.
Verdict: Kanguru Wizard USB Security Key may be just what many people are looking for, privacy-wise. It's certainly very flexible. Recommended for the serious user.
The Kanguru Wizard is a USB security key, which allows you to create multiple encrypted virtual drives on existing systems that have the drive space. It does not actually partition existing drives. Instead, it creates folders with Blowfish encryption and represents those folders as drives on Windows PCs. These drives are normally hidden (Windows users may choose to show hidden folders) and always inaccessible without the Kanguru Wizard installed. The entire folder/drive is encrypted. You must keep in mind that it is also a 16MB USB drive in itself. One might consider that a hidden 'feature' because it is not marketed as a storage device mainly. Unfortunately, it is not a Hi-Speed USB drive. It is strictly USB 1.1 or original USB.
What's Inside? The unit itself has an attractive blue anodized appearance and sports both a cap clip for pocket carrying and a lanyard for wearing around the neck. Kanguru has been generous and provided a quality 3ft/1M USB extension cord. Two CDs are provided - full-sized and mini-CD. The mini CD is much handier for carrying the software than a normal CD. The software can be readily downloaded if the CDs are left at home.
Wizard's Magic You install the drive much as any other USB flash drive - it's automatic in Windows ME, 2000 and XP, while Windows 98 requires the installation of drivers. While the drive can be used as storage on a Mac, there is no security function, because there is no Mac version of the software. One would hope for Mac support in the future.
Installing the Wizard software opens new possibilities. There are two main components - Create Virtual Disk and Setting Virtual Disk. That's what they call the applet (I know - these folks need a decent editor!). You create your encrypted folders with the first and maintain them with the last.
Create Virtual Disk
Setting Virtual Disk
Virtual drives up to 2GB can be created. It takes about 60 seconds to create a 2GB drive on a PC with a 2GHz CPU. Copying files to these drives carries very little penalty - hard drives and CPUs are fast nowadays. It's certainly quicker than the USB flash drives! As many as 8 drives can be made on one PC, but there is no limit to the number of PCs that the Kanguru Wizard can be used on. In this case, Encrypted is the virtual drive. It is inaccessible if one either ejects the drive properly or unmounts the drive with the Setting applet. The drive cannot be used without the Kanguru drive whether the password is known or not. Needless to say, it's important to not lose the USB drive! Thank goodness it's not a tiny drive. It should be hard to lose.
My New Protected Drive
Downsides There were some inconsistencies in the lab. One XP system would not accept the software at all because a previous USB storage device left some remnants that caused installation to halt and ask the user to uninstall first. Apparently, the installed encryption software was similar enough to make the Wizard say "no way!" Granted, that's to be expected on these test PCs. On another Windows 2000 PC, the software made the system unstable to the point that it would not shut down normally. A hard reboot was necessary. Make no mistake - this is powerful software. It must be treated with respect. Unplugging the drive with any Wizard applet open will cause some system instability - possibly a lot of it! Follow the rules, and the Wizard works fine. The security features are quite impressive.
As stated, this is powerful medicine and may be just what many people are looking for, privacy-wise. It's certainly very flexible. Recommended for the serious user.
- William DeVercelly, Contributing Editor
Where to buy Kanguru Wizard USB Security Key?
User Review(s)
We're currently upgrading our user review system; so we won't be accepting new reviews for now. Wizard USB Security Key Specs
Interface(s)
Original USB
Released date
September 2003
Platforms
Windows 98, Windows 98 SE, Windows ME, Windows 2000, Windows XP
