We’ve scratched our heads and we’ve wracked our brains, but so far we cannot recall there ever being a security product quite like DeadMan’s Handle. The name of this software product is quite appropriate, as a Deadman’s Handle is a failsafe mechanism that you find in trains. The idea is that the train driver has to maintain pressure on the handle, so if he suffers a heart attack the train will slow to a halt, hence the name.

It’s easy to see that a real Deadman’s Handle is a simple device that offers insurance against a disaster, but while the description works for the software, it is rather subtler in operation than a set of brakes on a train. Indeed, DeadMan’s Handle can protect the data on a stolen laptop without the thief ever having any idea that the operation has taken place.

SECURING YOUR DATA

Most security measures are quite obvious, so you get physical devices, such as a lock on your desk drawer or a Kensington lock to tether your laptop to your desk. If your laptop is stolen, or you leave it on the train, you can have a fallback of software that uses a password to protect your log-on screen. If the thief is casual they may try to crack the password, but there’s a fair chance that your data will be safe. The more determined espionage agent will remove your hard drive and plug it into a workstation, and then nothing short of proper encryption will keep your files safe. The point is that your security is obvious like a bank vault, so it can either be cracked or not.

DeadMan’s Handle works more like camouflage, or one of those fake soup tins for stashing your cash away in. Installing the software is simple, and the set-up screen only has four tabs to deal with, but the options are rather unusual compared to, say antivirus software. The key to DeadMan’s Handle is the Challenge, which is the screen that you see when you start up Windows. The default screen offers an update for a fictitious piece of software called Zalgol, but this is actually a diversion for the real software.

Within the Bitmap picture of the Challenge screen there are tick boxes for letters and digits, and all you have to do is to select the appropriate boxes for your chosen security code. This code could be anything between one and sixteen digits long, or it could be a password, but it is far from obvious that you have to enter any code at all, which is the point of this software. If you fail to enter a code and instead click one of the two buttons, or you enter an incorrect code, then DeadMan’s Handle springs into action, but on the face of it nothing happens. After a short pause Windows will open as normal, but without any notification DeadMan’s Handle will have crunched the folder that you have told it to protect. After that the software uninstalls itself to leave no trace of its presence.

You select the folder that you wish to protect in the set-up screen, and also select the level of security from the five that are on offer. The most basic level is Minimal, which carries out the same actions as Windows Delete. Medium overwrites the files in the directory with random numbers and then deletes the files. Military Minus complies with a Department of Defence standard where all files are over-written three times before deletion, and Military verifies that the writes have been successful.

That leaves the fifth and final security level, Martian. Based on Gutmann’s procedure for the secure deletion of data, Martian carries out a total of 35 over-write passes which will completely destroy any data, although it takes some time to perform this operation.

When DeadMan’s Handle has finished running there is the unfortunate point that your laptop is in the hands of a thief, so you may be tempted to select the Windows folder as the one that gets crunched if the software gets called into action. It’s a persuasive argument, but you need to be careful as it is quite easy to invoke DeadMan’s Handle by mistake. We are quite used to being faced by an ‘Enter Password’ dialogue box and, by contrast, the Challenge is so discreet that you may well fi nd your data directory gets wiped out every so often. We strongly advise that you use this software to protect data that is safely backed up on the servers at the office, but other than that we found it to be innovative, effective and excellent value – we just hope that hackers don’t get wise to its presence.

RATING 9
PRICE £30/£35 SINGLE LICENSE* (EX/INC.VAT)
* PRICES OF LICENSES single: £30-35
10 licenses: £270/£317 per ten then
£27/£32 per extra license
100 licenses: £2400/£2820 per hundred then £24/£28 per extra license
KEY FEATURES Securely hides away your data from prying eyes
OS COMPATIBILITY Windows 95/98/Me/NT4 SP6/2000/XP
CONTACT 01403 275445
www.deadmanshandle.com