MyLOK Personal

The whole point of using a password manager tool is to protect your sensitive login credentials. For some, storing that information in the cloud, no matter how well encrypted, is a non-starter. Even if all the data stays on your computer, a thief could conceivably steal the whole PC and crack the encryption. With MyLOK Personal ($89.95 direct) you carry that data in your pocket, securely encrypted on a tiny smart card. As a bonus, the device also offers 4GB of standard USB flash storage.

Those who purchased the original MyLOK ($89.95 direct, 4 stars) got a bargain, as the initial product run included 8GB of storage. The EEPROM password storage remains at 36KB. That sounds small, but the company estimates it's enough to hold about 300 passwords. The current MyLOK Personal ?includes a number of user-experience enhancements.

Initialization
The first time you launch MyLOK, you must go through initialization and registration. At this time you'll define your four-digit PIN and two security questions. Yes, unfortunately the new model still allows only a four-digit PIN. After several wrong PIN guesses it locks out PIN authentication, meaning you must answer those security questions.

A thief could open the device by answering those same questions, so you need to choose extremely secure questions. Got a deep, dark, secret? Use it as one of your answers. Don't forget the answers, as too many wrong guesses will cause the device to wipe all data.

Encryption is handled by an on-board crypto-chip, which self-destructs if there's any attempt to tamper with it. IronKey Personal S200 ($79 direct, 4 stars) also offers USB storage combined with a dedicated crypto-chip; it self-destructs utterly after ten wrong password guesses.

MyLOK Manager
Once you've initialized the device you're ready to check out the MyLOK Manager. This component launches automatically when you insert the device, unless you've disabled USB autorun to avoid attack by threats like Stuxnet and Flamer. New in this version, you can install a tiny background program that causes the MyLOK Manager to launch on insertion even when autorun is disabled.

To open the main manager window you double-click its tray icon and enter your pin. If desired, you can use a virtual keyboard to enter the PIN. For security the manager console automatically closes any time you switch focus to another window. New in this edition, a Getting Started page helps new users understand how to use the program.

Any time the manager is running, you'll find a MyLOK button in Internet Explorer or Firefox. You don't need to enter your PIN to use these browser add-ins, and they don't log out automatically after inactivity the way LastPass 1.72 (free, 5 stars), RoboForm Everywhere 7, and others do. The assumption is that if you walk away from the computer, you'll take the MyLOK with you. Don't forget it!

Another user-requested enhancement in this edition is a simple option in the tray icon's menu that shuts down MyLOK. This ensures you won't lose data when you pull it out.

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