The eToken software provided was the easiest to set up of all our test products. It provided strong security while not completely inhibiting the user. No additional hardware is needed and installation can be completed in under an hour.
All set-up procedures and instructions are nicely laid out and easy to understand even for a novice. Online help provides manuals for download and there is an email address for support.
User interface is a simple GUI with menus that allow the user to set options. Many of the options are set from either registry editing or through a file in which all modifications are listed in a manual available from the website. eToken provides no logs for viewing login actions. We are not excited about registry editing which, for the novice, can end in catastrophe.
Password access is optional with eToken. The user can also set the reaction of the computer if the token is removed, from nothing to forcing the computer to shut down. The safe mode bypass flaw is present and we found that the ability to allow login with the token only weakens the authentication, especially for laptops where the user is likely to carry the token with the computer.
The issuing of new tokens is easy. The user can either format the token if the password is lost or, if the token is damaged, discard and issue a new token. Formatting the token will restore settings with a default password, which we felt could compromise security.
Software tested was designed for a Windows environment. There are multiple form factors for tokens and the product supports network, computer, web and selected third- party (Aladdin partner) application authentication.
Software performance is outstanding and there is no delay in access to the system once credentials are met. eToken provides moderately strong authentication for both single computers and network-based users. However, eToken does a very good job of keeping honest people honest but will not keep out the determined, skilled intruder. We do not recommend its use on laptops, especially without full disk encryption.
