New SecurLock PC Access System Features Shredding Ability.

SecurSoftware's SecurLock 1.3 for PCs, the physical access control system for PCs that employs the SecurCard key for the USB port, adds the ability to shred electronic documents so that they can never be recovered.

"It disposes of the file completely," whereas merely deleting a file allows it to be recovered, says Henri Helou, CEO of SecurSoftware, based in Miami.

SecurLock requires the user's identity to be verified with the key and a corresponding personal identification number. The required data is encrypted and saved on the USB token.

Once authenticated, the user gains access to all areas of the PC's hard drive specifically assigned to that user. This enables the user to encrypt file, folders and email attachments using the Blowfish algorithm or the faster RC4 algorithm. The encryption/decryption process can only be achieved with the presence of the USB token and its corresponding PIN.

The product's software also enables the authorized user to store and manage profiles of user name and password combinations in an organized list. The profiles can be dragged onto the single sign-on windows onto the respective application or Web site. The secure information is stored on the USB token itself and not anywhere on the PC.

SecurLock is priced at $125 per key at retail. Corporate users who buy 50 or more licenses ay $75 per key. The company has plans for a network version appropriate for the enterprise; that version is still being tested.

If the user loses the key, but remembers the password phrase, a new key can be programmed by the system, says Helou. He differentiated the product from competition based on its ease of use and ability to support encryption and single signon.