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(Credit: NetSecure Technologies)

One of the most dangerous things about shopping online is the fact that you have to enter your credit card information. This is when malicious software like Keylogger can steal your private data without you even knowing it.

Even if your computer is safe, entering all that info can be tedious. Luckily, there's now a way to eliminate the hassle of payment entry and ensure the safety of your computer, too.

The catch is, it costs $99.95.

The solution is SmartSwipe from NetSecure Technologies. SmartSwipe is a USB credit card reader that you connect to your computer via USB port. It allows you to actually swipe your credit card when an online retailer requires payment information, just the way you would at a store.

Apart from speeding up information entry, NetSecure claims SmartSwipe adds another layer of security to your online shopping. It does so by scrambling and encrypting the credit card data before transferring it to the computer. Traditional online security programs protect your sensitive information when it's on the way to the Internet, but not beforehand while it's sitting on your computer.

If the company's claims are true, it means that if you have SmartSwipe installed, your credit card data will be safe even if your computer is infected. This doesn't mean, however, that you can be negligent when online.

According to NetSecure, SmartSwipe features simple plug-and-play installation and is designed to work with nearly every major credit card and credit-debit card combination, including Visa, MasterCard, American Express, and Discover. The device works with Windows XP and Windows Vista, and Internet Explorer 6 or higher.

In case it doesn't work out for you, SmartSwipe comes with a 90-day, no-hassle, return policy. Now, hurry up and go make your last tedious online purchase that's potentially insecure. You won't ever have to again.

ioSafe says its Solo external hard drive can withstand extreme heat, so Crave writer Dong Ngo put it to the test at CES. Here the drive is engulfed in flames. Click on the photo above for more from the demo.

(Credit: Dong Ngo/CBS Interactive )

ioSafe claims its disaster-proof Solo external hard drive can survive both water submersion and intense heat. At CES Thursday, the company set out to prove the drive's hardiness by tossing it into a pool for several minutes and then setting it on fire at more than 1,600 degrees. Crave contributor Dong Ngo watched the demo, and reported back on the results. Click here for the full fiery gallery.

The Solo is designed to withstand water submersion down to 10 feet for up to 24 hours. Here it is at the bottom of a pool in Vegas. Click on the photo above for more from the demo.

(Credit: Dong Ngo/CBS Interactive)

The Photo Safe II can store thousands of high-resolution digital images.

(Credit: Digital Foci)

Do you think the 4GB SD card for your digital camera is large? Well, it is, especially compared with a few years ago when it was a big deal to have a 512MB card. How would you like 160GB of storage space for a camera? Now that's really large.

Today, Digital Foci introduced Photo Safe II, a portable photo storage device that can spare your laptop from a photo-shooting trip.

The device is essentially a battery-operated external hard drive that has a built-in card reader with an automated copy function. The Photo Safe II's card reader can handle all popular card formats, including CompactFlash (Extreme III, IV, UDMA), MMC, SD/HC Card, miniSD, Memory Stick, MS PRO, MS Duo, MS PRO Duo, and xD-Picture cards. You just need to stick a card into the proper slot and press the copy button, the entire contents of the card will be copied to the Photo Safe II's internal storage at speed a fairly good speed, it takes about 3.5 minutes to copy 1GB (so about 11 minutes for your 4GB card).

The Photo Safe II automatically organizes the contents of each card by creating sequential numbered folder names. It connects to a computer via USB 2.0 and, when plugged in, charges its replaceable lithium ion battery. It also acts as an external memory card reader for the computer.

The Photo Safe II is compatible with both Macs and PCs and comes in two versions, 80GB and 160GB that cost $139 and $189, respectively. The device ships with a rechargeable lithium ion battery, dual-plug USB cable, AC power adapter, and a one-year warranty.

The ioSafe 3.5 has the same form factor and functions like any other regular 3.5 SATA hard drive.

(Credit: Dong Ngo/CNET Networks)

ioSafe, a company specializing in disaster-proof storage devices, today launched the world's first internal hard drive with built-in disaster protection called ioSafe 3.5. On the outside, the new drive has the same form factor and functions just like any regular 3.5-inch desktop SATA hard drive. However, on the inside, it's definitely something I've never seen before.

The ioSafe 3.5 is actually a 2.5-inch SATA hard drive (found in laptops) covered by layers of protective materials. The materials, together with ioSafe's proprietary circuit board transform the drive into a 3.5-inch form factor drive that can withstand 15 minutes of intense heat up to 1,400 degree Fahrenheit and is waterproof down to a 5-foot depth. To put this in perspective, most fireplaces burn at only 700 to 800 degrees.

ioSafe came to CNET to show off its new product's ability to handle extreme heat and here are a few photos of its impressive and convincing demo:

The ioSafe 3.5 (left) and a regular 3.5-inch hard drive inside a burner, ready to be toasted.

(Credit: Dong Ngo/CNET Networks)

The chamber lights up...

(Credit: Dong Ngo/CNET Networks)

...and the two drives were immediately engulfed in intense fire. The temperature inside the chamber increased very quickly.

(Credit: Dong Ngo/CNET Networks)

After a few minutes, the thermometer registered 1,413.2 degrees. By the end of the demo, the temperature was more than 1,500 degrees.

(Credit: Dong Ngo/CNET Networks)

After about 10 minutes, the fire was extinguished and the drives were taken out of the chamber. The regular hard drive (left) was now completely destroyed, while the ioSafe 3.5 was also very hot and smoky.

(Credit: Dong Ngo/CNET Networks)

However, when the protective layers were peeled off, the hard drive inside the ioSafe 3.5 still seemed in good shape.

(Credit: Dong Ngo/CNET Networks)

It was indeed in a like-new state with the original data still intact.

(Credit: Dong Ngo/CNET Networks)

By the end of the demo, the hard drive survived with the original data stored on it still intact.

Based on a 2.5-inch hard drive, the ioSafe 3.5 comes in two flavors: the Pilot Series (5400rpm, up to 320GB) and Squadron Series (7200rpm, up to 200GB). Both series will offer more storage space as larger 2.5-inch laptop drives become available, and ioSafe also plans to make ioSafe 3.5 products based on solid-state hard drives in the near future.

While ioSafe 3.5 drives are not as fast as regular desktop hard drives that serve as a server's main hard drive, they are fast enough for most desktops and regular applications. They are definitely fast enough to be used as backup hard drives, and this is exactly what they are intended for.

The ioSafe 3.5's price varies from $330 to $450 depending on specs and sizes. ioSafe seems to be very sure about its new product and backs it up with a three-year warranty. It, by the way, is a very interesting kind of warranty that includes Digital Asset Recover Service. This means, during the warranty time, if disaster strikes, you can choose to recover the data by yourself, (which is a rather simple job that involves in peeling off the protective layers, hooking up the internal 2.5-inch hard drive into a computer, and copying data off of it). Or ioSafe will pay for you to ship the drive to them. Either way, you will get a brand-new replacement. In case the drive is damaged beyond the simple recovery mentioned above, ioSafe will pay up to $2,500 for a forensic-style data recover service.

All things considered, this is a very convenient solution to protect critical data from disaster, especially for home and small businesses. Before the ioSafe 3.5, the only alternative I could think of to keep your data safe from disasters was off-site backup, which is time-consuming and totally inconvenient.

(Credit: AvMap)

This is one of those items that, depending on how it's viewed, is either a testament to progressive use of safety technology or a frightening commentary on the prevalance of alcohol on the road. Or both.

AvMap, an Italian GPS equipment manufacturer, is the second company we've seen in recent months to combine a navigation device with a breathalyzer. This version is the product of a partnership with Peugeot, which has used AvMap technologies in its cars since 2005, according to GPS Business News. It follows a similar device mentioned on Crave a few months ago, from Portugal's NDrive, which reportedly has yet to come to market.

AvMap's model, called the "Geosat 6 Drive Safe," has a 4.8-inch touch screen and can make hands-free calls through its Bluetooth connection, handy when phoning for a designated driver. The breathalyzer is located in the upper right side, which might not seem obvious at first glance. But maybe that's the point: If you have a hard time finding it, the test might not even be necessary.

(Credit: Crave Asia)

Information security, or lack of, may have been actor Edison Chen's downfall when his bedroom antics hit the Internet circuit. But for companies dealing in data security tools, it's been one satisfying ride (pun intended) since it's exposed a vulnerable issue that strikes fear into the hearts of PC users, not to mention Edison's lower extremities.

In the worst-case scenario, failure to secure your personal or critical information on your computer can result in serious fallout not only for yourself, but involved parties, as we've witnessed in a very public way. While companies know it's plain good business to safeguard their sensitive data, the Average Joe is less primed against data theft or loss. So EasySafe has been, as its name implies, attempting to make it easy and safe for the home user. Its computer data security USB key has been upgraded with drivers to allow the user the option to duplicate file security onto a second key, since this sells in a dual set, or pass the other key to a trusted party.

While this isn't the most elegant hardware encryption tool in the market, usage is almost idiot-proof. You install the software driver one time, insert the key into a USB port, and a a pop-up box will prompt you to create a virtual drive, how big a storage capacity you want, and where the drive will sit. The information stored in the drive is secured using a military-standard encryption algorithm (3DES, AES) and PIN protection built into the device.

Pulling out the key causes the virtual drive(s) to be hidden, although there's still a trail left behind if you happen to specify the PC as your destination. When we combed through our computer, we found the root file within the C drive. So while the virtual drive is inaccessible without the USB key, this won't stop the most determined hacker once he's clued in to the EasySafe.sdf file which is a dead giveaway.

For the truly paranoid, we'd suggest setting up the virtual drive on an external storage such as a USB thumb drive, portable HD, or flash media card. While it's more tedious managing your data from different sources, at least your sensitive data won't be residing on the laptop. Plus the EasySafe.sdf file now outside of the PC.

The water-resistant easySafe is now retailing in Europe, Malaysia and Singapore at S$99 ($71.40) a pair. We'd have liked the drivers (which come on an installation CD) to be pre-loaded on the drive for a more convenient setup, and Singapore developer Fast and Safe Technology is at least addressing the issue of a cap in a later edition.

EasySafe is compatible with only Windows 2000, XP, and Vista. So ironically, poor Edison's Mac laptop will still have to get its data security remedy elsewhere.

(Source: Crave Asia)

(Credit: Prestigio)

If ever there was a sign that geekdom had gone mainsteam, it would be the marketing of portable hard drives as fashion and designer items. And until now our personal favorite, for obvious reasons, was one that resembles a pocket flask.

But there's a new contender coming from Prestigio, whose motto is "The Art of Hi-Tech." Not only is the "Data Safe II" bound in leather, as others have been, but it also resembles a retro-styled cigarette case. Uber-Review notes that its specs are far from the fastest for this device, which comes in 80GB and 160GB capacities, but in this case that's apparently the sacrifice one must endure in the name of fashion.

There was only one product at CES 2008 that I couldn't wait to get--a new model of safe from the Sentry Safe company. I even tried to buy one from Sentry's website one evening while I was still in Las Vegas, but that turned out to be impossible; it has to be shipped by truck freight, so I had to place the order with Sentry over the phone to make those arrangements.

The Sentry QE5541 Fire-Safe offers commercial-grade protection for computer media at a price low enough for home computer users.

(Credit: Sentry Safe)

I ordered the safe when I got back home, and it arrived here last week--a good bit sooner than the company predicted. I've got it all set up and it's all working. I'm very happy with it.

I got the QE5541, the largest model in a new line of six fire- and water-resistant safes designed to protect CDs, DVDs, flash drives, iPods, etc. from fires lasting up to two hours at temperatures up to 1,850° F.

And the really cool thing is that it'll also protect a 2.5" USB hard drive...while the drive is operating and connected to a computer outside the safe via a USB passthrough in the safe door. So for the first time, your backups can be continuously protected, even if you're not around.

If you're like most people, you don't even make regular backups of your personal computer. Most people who lose digital family photos, electronic book manuscripts, and disk files containing critical financial records to house fires don't make backups, either. But the worst thing must be to have a full set of backups get burned up along with your computer.

It's never happened to me, but I try to learn from my own mistakes before I make them. During 2007, I nearly placed an order for the Phoenix Datacare 2025 Media Safe, which is available from the Keystone Safe Company and other Internet vendors. The 2025 is another fire- and water-resistant safe designed to protect computer media. It has an internal volume of 1.22 cubic feet and costs $1,579 from Keystone. Compared with other safes I considered, the Phoenix was a pretty good deal.

Sentry's QE5541, by comparison, has an internal volume of 2.0 cubic feet and costs $519.99. Freight costs for both safes are similar, around $75 for basic delivery. So the Sentry safe is a really great deal.

And then there's that USB connection. That's unique. It makes the Sentry safe useful in a way the Phoenix safe could never be. I can stick a USB-powered hard disk inside--there's a pocket for it on the door--and run my nightly backups, or Apple's Time Machine software, without having to remember to move the disk drive into the safe after the backup finishes.

There are some limitations. The disk drive has to be a 2.5" USB-powered model because there's no separate power pass-through on the safe, just the USB connection. In my testing, a new Western Digital Passport 320GB drive worked fine but some older USB-powered drives didn't. Even the Passport didn't work unless I hooked up the second power connector on the USB cable Sentry provides to hook up the safe to a computer.

The problem is that USB ports provide +5V DC power and USB-powered hard drives require +5V DC power. That may sound more like a solution than a problem, but the USB specification also requires that power-hungry USB peripherals such as hard drives be connected to a USB port through just one cable. On the Sentry safe, there are effectively three cables: one outside the safe, one inside the safe, and one buried in the door of the safe to bring the USB connection through.

The resistance of all that extra wire and the extra connectors causes a voltage drop that could interfere with proper operation of the hard drive. I tested the power inside the safe with the hard drive running using a special USB cable I built for testing purposes some years ago. The final voltage was only barely in spec with the Passport and significantly lower with those older drives. But Sentry provides high-quality cables and connectors, and I think it should be reliable as long as you're using the provided cables and a good hard drive.

There's another consequence of this issue: there isn't enough power coming into the safe to run more than one hard drive. You'd need a hub in the safe, but bus-powered USB hubs don't provide enough power for USB hard drives anyway. I was able to use a bus-powered hub to hook up several flash drives just for testing purposes, but there's little practical value to that. I'd like to see Sentry offer a model that can support one or more full-size (3.5") drives, but in that situation, heating could be a problem; a fire safe has to be well-insulated, so even the ten watts or so produced by a 3.5" hard drive might be too much.

(I have my own solution to that problem, which I hope to discuss with Sentry at some point.)

I said earlier that the QE5541 is one of six new safes from Sentry, but that's an oversimplification. Two of these models, the QA0002 and QA0004, are actually just hard drives permanently sealed in a protective safe-like case. They're like big, heavy, virtually indestructible external USB-powered hard drives. Unfortunately, they're also just 80GB and 160GB drives based on Maxtor mechanisms, well behind today's state of the art in USB-powered drives. And at $339.99 for the 160GB model, they're expensive, too.

Sentry provides an interesting service for these two models. From the Web page: "If your Sentry Safe hard drive experiences fire or water damage, we will attempt to recover your data free of charge and send you a new unit." That's a good deal.

Sentry's $99.99 QA0110 is designed to protect up to 100 CDs or DVDs, but doesn't have a USB pass-through, so I don't find this model particularly attractive.

The QE5541 I bought has a smaller sibling, the QE4531, with 1.2 cubic feet of interior space plus the USB passthrough. If I bought the Papa Bear model, the QE4531 is for Mama Bear.

The remaining model, then, would be Baby Bear's--the QA0121, which can hold 60 optical disks plus a standard 2.5" USB-powered hard drive like the Passport. I think this one will be "just right" for most people, and at a price of $169.99, it's a lot more affordable than the big models. The one downside to the QA0121 is that the fire protection is only good for 30 minutes at 1,550° F. That's probably adequate for most residential fires, but you should think about how long it's likely to take for your local fire department to respond, how soon they can get to your home office, and what the construction of your house is like.

I wanted the extra protection and security of the QE5541, however, so that's what I bought. Sentry said it would take 3 to 5 weeks to arrive, but it got here in just ten days. It was delivered to my driveway in a big cardboard box with a small forklift-type wood pallet on the bottom; it was up to me to get it up the front steps and into the house. I was prepared for that, but if you need inside delivery, be sure to ask for it. (Sentry didn't mention that service when I placed my order, but it's a routine add-on from most shipping companies.)

Once I had the safe inside and located where I wanted it, I drilled a couple of holes through the bottom of the safe as directed in Sentry's documentation so I could use the provided lag screws to secure the safe to the floor. This procedure is easy enough, but if you want to do the same you'll need a drill with the right bit, plus a suitable tool for driving in the lag screws.

Then it was just a matter of installing the batteries for the electronic lock, testing the combination a few times (the safe comes with one predefined combination; you can set more), and hooking up the hard drive.

I've moved in all my backup media, some old external hard drives I'm not using, original install disks for my commercial software, and three complete older laptops. (The product page mentions "protects up to 72 CDs and DVDs" but this refers only to the capacity of a removable shelf provided with the safe. The safe will actually hold hundreds of DVDs on spindles or in the Maxell Double Slimline jewel cases I use.) I feel a lot better knowing that these items are now much more likely to survive a house fire.

If I have a fire, I'll post here about how well the safe works. But I hope I never have to make good on that promise!