ABS-Secure Encrypted Backup Solution reviews

Saturday, February 21, 2009, 7:17
Gadgets
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Security and convenience surely come at a price. This philosophy definitely applies to the ABS-Secure Encrypted Backup Solution by CMS Products. The backup solution carries with itself a hefty price tag of $180. The solution boasts of a very strong and secure external hard drive. The drive carries a 256-bit AES encryption on its entire domain, as opposed to individual folders or files. For the security conscious, the ABS-Secure also provides CMS Product’s ABS Plus external hard drive line. The company’s encryption level goes a lot beyond that offered by its closest competitors. This explains the reason of the hefty price tag carried by the device.

This device is a 2.5-inch notebook-class drive. The device comes with a permanently attached USB cable. A rubber jacket on the device gives protection to the drive against bumps and drops. To extend the internal cable’s reach and to supply extra power to the drive, the company includes a special Y-shaped wire with the device. Also, CMS’s BounceBack Express software, a document-based backup solution, is provided with the device.

As the features, ABS-Secure gives 256-bit AES security. This type of security is a lot stronger than the 128-bit AES cipher in drives like the Lenovo ThinkPad USB Portable Secure Drive, and the Maxtor BlackArmor. Leading intelligence agencies like the National Security Agency (NSA) requires 256-bit security for data that is “Top Secret.” So, you can gauge what ABS-Secure Encrypted Backup Solution aims at offering you.

However, as a downside, the CE-Secure software accompanying the drive is Windows-only, though it supports versions like 2000, XP, and Vista. The device presently lacks Mac or Linux support. You must have Microsoft .NET Framework 2.0 installed in your PC as the CE-Secure software needs it. You can use ABS-Secure as one user only on a single PC as the program requires you to install a CE-Secure reader on any other system you want to read the drive on. If security is your main concern, then the ABS-Secure is the drive for you to get. But remember, security does come at a price and this is especially true for the ABS-Secure Encrypted Backup Solution.