It seems as if you have to come up with a new password with upper and
lower case, symbols and numbers every five seconds. So the idea of
having a secure external hard drive that needs no password seems rather
intriguing.
Freecom
came out with a relatively small external drive that uses a keycard
instead of a password to keep your data secure. Sure, you have to make
sure you don't lose the card, but at least you can't get locked out if
you keep typing in your Gmail password by accident.
Said Axel
Lucassen, Freecom's co-founder and executive senior VP of product line management
and marketing:
You hear about it almost every day –
somebody somewhere loses their hard drive and all kinds of confidential
information ends up out in the open for anyone to see. Whether at home
or in the office, the keycard system on the Hard Drive Secure keeps
your data completely safe and gives you instant access to your files
whenever you need to use them.

The aluminum "Hard Drive Secure" is controlled with a keycard using
radio frequency identification. Basically, like those security pads at
some workplaces where you wave a credit-card-sized keycard and it
unlocks the door. Same concept. If your drive is stolen, no one can get
into the data without the keycard. There are a few different models, ranging from 500GB (more than $160) to 2TB ($400-plus) storage capacity. Yes,
that said TB - a terabyte, which is
1,024GB. It hooks up to a computer via a USB 2.0 port.
"Optimal airflow management" prevents it from overheating, Freecom says, and it runs "almost silently."
Freecom
also came out with the Hard Drive Quattro, with the same amount of
storage space and aluminum enclosure, but it's optimized for AV users,
with four different interfaces so it is compatible with any type of
computer. Its FireWire 800 & 400 interfaces in particular are
compatible with Macs. And Freecom says when it's connectd to eSATA, it
transfers data six times faster than a standard USB 2.0 hard drive. Prices range from $200-plus to the vicinity of $500.