REVIEW: Yoggie Firestick Pico
Taking a page from its own miniaturisation playbook, Yoggie Security Systems has launched another ultra-portable USB key-sized hardware-based firewall solution. Just like the others in the range, it helps protect your laptop from malicious attacks.
Targeted at road warriors with wireless security at the top of their agenda, the Firestick Pico (around £60) places a physical barrier between your Windows-based computer and the Internet to help ensure that threats never reach your PC. Unlike software firewalls, the Firestick Pico is actually a Linux-powered mini-computer specifically designed to protect PCs from menaces including denial of service (DoS), buffer overflow and a broad range of malicious attacks.
Similar in size and appearance to a regular USB flash memory drive, the orange-coloured Firestick Pico is a ‘complete’ Linux-based 300MHz computer with a dual flash memory mechanism that constitutes an ‘untouchable operating system’ running an independent firewall application. In addition, the Firestick Pico comes with a complimentary Kaspersky security software suite. To make the Firestick Pico a little more robust in case itself comes under attack, the OS is actually stored in ROM, and copied to flash memory when it is installed, meaning that no permanent damage can ever be done to the device.
Unlike the company’s Pico Pro and Gatekeeper Pro, which offload all security applications from a PC, the Firestick Pico offloads just the firewall functionality at a much lower cost. This allows different levels of security and a range of price points for technical buyers. One of the most appealing features provided by the Firestick Pico driver and software is Firestick Pico ‘Enforcement’. This feature prevents or disables connection to a network when the Firestick Pico is not connected to your laptop, useful for IT staff managing systems that leave corporate HQ.
A firewall is a system designed to prevent unauthorised access to or from a private network (or computer). Firewalls can be implemented in hardware, in software, or in a combination of both. All Internet messages entering or leaving the intranet pass through the firewall, which examines each message and blocks those that do not meet the specified security criteria. Firewalls are considered a first line of defence in protecting private information.
Firewall-protection mechanisms like the Firestick Pico include essential tools like Stateful Inspection packet filtering, DoS/DDos attack detection and prevention, Syn Flood attack detection and prevention, Port Scan and ICMP attack detection and prevention (Smurf and Fraggle Attacks) Layer 2 attack prevention (ARP spoofing and poisoning).
How does the Firestick Pico actually work? Before any data is accepted for processing by your laptop’s operating system, a low-level driver redirects it to the Firestick Pico where a full security check is performed. Security breach attempts are identified and thwarted, and only safe, secure data is passed back to the laptop. An easy-to-use Web-based management console provides status information, security logs, and reports, and is used to configure security policy and other settings. While security policies are set by you, security updates are transparently downloaded from Yoggie.
Operating the Firewall Pico on a day to day basis is a snap. However, you do need to install driver software, set a username and password, and delve into the management console. Protection status indicators on the unit itself provide instant feedback - green when protection is enabled and red when protection is disabled - and notification balloons from the icon tray on your laptop contain information on status and events. There’s a separate display on the unit which blinks when updates are being downloaded, and the dedicated power indicator provides reassurance that the device is actually on and working.
The management console lets you monitor security activity by viewing the current security status, view and print security reports and logs, view and configure security, system and user settings, and view and print a firewall activity report based on a 3D chart. The status page of the console enables you to view your current risk level (a rating based on current activity) and security events. This includes gauges and event counters that indicate the number of security breach attempts thwarted by your Firestick Pico during the last 15 minutes during which the device was connected and working.
Worrying about security can be quite a daunting task these days. You have to worry about data loss/theft, malware, DoS attacks, and much more. Software solutions seek to circumvent these security risks but they can’t actually do that until after the threat has already reached the PC, thus making them somewhat vulnerable and susceptible to attack themselves. Hardware solutions on the other hand are usually much more robust and difficult to get around.
Yoggie’s Firewall Pico does a good job of securing a laptop from outside threats, but it’s an entry-level and less powerful solution compared to the company’s more powerful Pico Pro and Gatekeeper Pro products. If you’re nervous about your laptop security and don’t entirely trust a software-only solution, Yoggie definitely has a product to suit. [6.5]
