Hasta La Gadget!

Back in 2009, we might have been a little, well, acerbic in our reaction to the initial iTwin. Yet here we are in good ole 2013, and the plucky USB networking key is alive and well. In fact, it was CES when we saw its latest incarnation — iTwin Connect — arrive offering (somewhat more useful) private and public VPN services. At the time this was for Windows only, but that’s now changed. Mac users can get the same remote desktop, file access and aforementioned VPN functionality, that will also work between machines of both creeds. If you’re on the fence about that $199 price tag, remember that comes with access to iTwin’s own public VPN servers, and no subscription fee.

Filed under: Desktops, Laptops, Peripherals

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Source: iTwin

Security of your precious data is often one of the priorities to have right at the top of your computing list, and even more when it comes to giant corporations. Well, there are many ways to leak out data (unwillingly or otherwise), and here is a potential solution for those who want to enjoy private and restriction-free browsing – with the iTwin Connect. The iTwin Connect will also be able to offer the wonders of remote file access and access to the home/office network (i.e., functioning as a personal virtual private network or VPN), coming in a simple and highly portable device form factor.

Basically, the iTwin Connect will comprise of two identical halves. In order to install, all you need to do is plug the device into a USB port on the home/office PC, detach one half of the device which will then be designated as the iTwin Connect “key”, and carry that detached bit along. Whenever you are on the move, plug this key into a notebook and a secure VPN tunnel will magically be created to the home/office PC.

For the non-techies out there, there are some obvious benefits to reap from the iTwin Connect, where among them include ‘Teleport Me’, a feature that lets you browse privately and without being tied down to any restrictions. All Internet traffic will be directed via the secure VPN tunnel and the Internet is thus accessed via the home/office PC’s Internet connection.

Not only that, ‘Teleport Me’ will also provide private access to the Internet via iTwin’s dedicated network servers in US, Europe or Asia/Pacific. This bit comes across as useful should the home/office PC be in a position where it cannot be left on, and also should your browsing sessions require an IP locale that is different from that of the PC.

You can pick up the iTwin Connect for $129 a pop.

Press Release
[ iTwin Connect unveiled copyright by Coolest Gadgets ]

iTwin made some waves back in 2009 when it revealed its $99 namesake computer-connecting USB dongles at TC50, and the team has been working on ways to extend the thing’s functionality ever since. Now, the company is ready to show off the fruits of its labor with a new feature called SecureBox for the security conscious cloud storage fanatics in your life (everyone’s got a few of those, right?).

There’s no additional hardware required besides an existing iTwin dongle, but the differences become quickly apparent once you load up the SecureBox update and plug the device into a PC or Mac linked to your Dropbox account. Once that full dongle is in place, it links with Dropbox, generates a unique key that’s stored on both halves of the iTwin, and pops up a SecureBox window into which you can dump sensitive files. From there, the SecureBox automatically encrypts those files (you can set an additional password too, just to be safe) and stores them safely in Dropbox’s voluminous cloud.

It’s worth noting that the two halves of the iTwin only need to be connected during the initial setup process — after that, they’ll both be able to encrypt files and stow them in the associated Dropbox account. Of course, the ability to physical separate the dongles for each other does pose a bit of a security problem: ideally, only one of them will ever be around so as to mitigate the risk of someone being able to access and decrypt all your personal goodies. Suffice it to say, you should be really careful with the other half if you decide to take the plunge here.