11/8/2004

PCKey Provides IT Professionals Strongest Combination of Access Control and Data Protection for Business Notebooks

Kensington Technology Group, the leading maker of accessories that enhance the Digitally Active™ lifestyle, today announced the immediate availability of two new security products that address the access control and data protection needs of IT professionals and personal laptop computer owners. Both products, PCKey, which automatically secures all data on a computer's hard drive, and PCKey LE, which allows the user to select individual files to encrypt, will be showcased at Booth 517 at the Marriott Wardman Park in Washington, D.C. during the 31st Annual CSI Computer Security Conference & Exposition, November 8-10.

"At Kensington we are continually striving to advance the level of security available to protect laptop computers, whether they are managed by IT professionals at work or by individual laptop owners," comments, Janet Dulsky, Director Product Management. "By offering powerful encryption tools, such as PCKey and PCKey LE, we're closing the gateways to data that can leave company networks and personal laptop hard drives vulnerable to unauthorized access and theft."

PCKey
Targeted toward IT professionals, the Kensington PCKey secures the data on laptop computers with a unique combination of two-factor authentication and 128-bit AES hard drive encryption, making it the strongest total client protection solution of its kind. It works by securing all data on a laptop computer's hard drive until it is requested by an application. Users access their laptop's data by simply inserting PCKey into a USB port and entering a password. This patent-pending two-factor authentication process identifies and confirms that the person requesting access is in fact the person they claim to be. By requiring the use of a physical device in combination with a password -- similar to using an ATM card -- PCKey provides greater security than password access alone. Users ensure the dynamic, two-factor security by taking PCKey with them whenever they leave their computers.

Once authentication is confirmed, the secured data passes through the active PCKey filter and is opened on the fly to be stored in the computer's system memory for the application to use. Then, all data that is written to the hard drive is secured on the fly as it passes back through the PCKey filter. The data remains secured until it is requested again by the user and an application. All this happens in the background, making PCKey easy to use and transparent to the user.

PCKey utilizes 128-bit AES (advanced encryption standard) to secure laptop data - an encryption standard that creates 3.4 x 1038 possible "keys," making PCKey literally impossible to hack. In fact, if a computer were programmed to find one key among all the possible keys a 128-bit AES system can create, it would take 149 trillion years to crack.*

Available through resellers and at www.kensington.com, PCKey has an estimated street price of $69.99

PCKey LE
The Kensington PCKey LE USB Notebook Protection System provides simple yet powerful protection for personal files like school projects and financial records. Similar to the PCKey in operation, PCKey LE works just like an ATM card -- simply plug in the USB key and enter a selected password. Unlike PCKey, however, the entire hard drive isn't encrypted. Users can lock and unlock only the specific files they want protected using 128-bit AES encryption that makes hacking virtually impossible.

Available through resellers and at www.kensington.com, PCKey LE has an estimated street price of $49.99

As with all Kensington security products, both PCKey and PCKey LE are backed by The Kensington Promise(SM), which includes a one-year warranty and free technical support.

Notes to editors

About Kensington

Kensington is a leading provider of desktop and mobile device accessories, trusted by IT, educators, business and home office professionals around the world for more than 35 years. Kensington products empower people to dynamically interact with content, creating a better working experience for productive performance. In both office and mobile environments, Kensington’s extensive portfolio of award-winning products provides trusted security, desktop productivity innovations, and ergonomic well-being. Our core competencies in engineering, industrial design, product quality and responsive customer support make Kensington The Professionals’ Choice^™.

Headquartered in San Mateo, California, Kensington operates as the technology division of ACCO Brands (NYSE: ACCO), one of the world’s largest designers, marketers and manufacturers of branded business, academic and consumer products, sold in more than 100 countries across the globe.

Kensington is the inventor and worldwide leader in laptop security locks, the acknowledged leader of Trackball innovation and offers a broad range of premium-branded desktop productivity solutions.