You want to protect the data on your PC from prying eyes? And you want to prevent documents saved on your laptop  from falling into the wrong hands in case it gets lost or stolen?
Full disk encryption is now the most popular way to protect the data saved on your laptop or desktop computer from unauthorised access. There are numerous software solutions available on the market which password protect all data on the hard drive with "on the fly" encryption. The system can only be restarted by entering the correct password. It is the length and complexity of the password that determines the level of security the encryption provides against brute force attacks. It is recommended that passwords are alphanumeric, include special characters, a mixture of upper and lower case characters, and be between 20 to 64 characters in length. But who can remember such passwords offhand?

This is where the certgate PreBoot Authenticator comes in. With its cryptographic functions, the USB token based on the certgate SmartCard microSD is able to securely save long passwords and forward these to the encryption application via two-factor authentication (possession of the token and knowledge of the smartcard PIN). The whole process of booting and decrypting the retrieved files is completely automatic: you simply enter your smartcard PIN and get immediate access to your encrypted directories.

The advantages of the certgate PreBoot Authenticator are obvious:
For you as a user you no longer have to remember extremely complex passwords or accurately enter these every time you start your computer. The comparatively short smartcard PIN is easy to remember and therefore doesn’t have to be noted down or saved anywhere – which removes a decisive security risk. In comparison to traditional security tokens, the certgate PreBoot Authenticator is very compact and when docked in your computer almost completely disappears from view inside the USB port. This way it can neither snap in two nor be lost. The certgate PreBoot Authenticator functions reliably with the most popular full disk encryption programs. It supports popular open-source tools such as TrueCrypt as well as professional applications like SafeGuard Easy (from Sophos GmbH) on various operating systems (List of supported programs).

Your Advantages

• Higher security via two-factor authentication
• The strong encryption of the system (AES 256) is continued
• Long passwords are no longer necessary
• Simple and secure operation
• The smallest security token on the market

Characteristics and functions

• Supplements full disk encryption programs with secure two-factor authentication
• Replaces long passwords with the smartcard PIN
• Prevents encryption systems being compromised by inadequate passwords
• Saves the password with RSA 2048 bit encryption in the certificate store of the certgate SmartCard microSD
• Provides on-card generation of real random sequences for password encryption
• Can be used with numerous encryption programs
• Compatible with all Windows and Linux PC systems   
• Contains an additional flash memory drive with a current capacity of 1 GB (which the disk encryption program can be applied to)
• Extremely compact (15 x 2.5 x 17.5 mm)
• Can also be used for all other functions of the certgate SmartCard microSD for Windows: Windows smartcard Logon, internet security, email encryption etc.

Standards

• SD specification: 1.1 and microSD^TM Addendum 1.1
• Smartcard chip: NXP P5CC072 smartcard controller; Common Criteria EAL5+ certificated
• On-card secure random number generator; FIPS PUB 140-2 and BSI AIS 31 compliant
• On-card RSA 2048 bit security algorithms
• Enhanced 80C51 microcontroller (Secure_MX51/NXP)
• ISO7816 interface for APDU transfer between smartcard and SD controller
• Smartcard operating system: JCOP^TM 2.3.1 (Common Criteria EAL4+ certificated), JavaCard^TM 2.2.1 and GlobalPlatform^TM 2.1.1 compliant
• High resistance against SPA/DPA counter measure attacks; BSI DSZ CC 0227 compliant