CryptoCard's offering is another software-based enterprise offering for installation on a server.
You can use several different types of hardware tokens with the server software: a calculator-style token, a key fob-style token, a USB key-style token and a USB dongle-style token.
Crypto-Shield is widely used and easily integrates into popular firewalls and VPN products, and also offers a component that can be used for two-factor authentication of Outlook Web Access.
Installation was relatively easy. CryptoCard recommends that you install the software on a non-Active Directory domain controller to avoid port conflicts. The software installs a server component that provides the authentication functionality and a console component that is used for administration. The product uses Active Directory or its own internal database for lightweight directory access protocol (LDAP) for looking up user credentials.
The installation is fairly straightforward and only a little time is needed to understand the offering and learn how to move around in the logically laid-out configuration interface. The biggest challenge was getting the LDAP contexts correct for the configuration. It took us several tries, but once we did the install was smooth. The installation wrapper installed SQL MDSE on the system and required no additional configuration. The offering supports not just laptops but Windows CE and BlackBerry devices as well. The product uninstalled cleanly and easily, leaving no residual components behind.
The only documentation we needed for our testing was the quick-install guide. CryptoCard provides other documentation in the form of PDF files. It is easy to follow and the layout is logical.
CryptoCard offers phone, email and a web portal as the primary forms of technical support for this product, with both 9 to 5 and 24/7 support options available.
Pricing for the Crypto-Shield starts at £245 for five users, which is at the middle range of the spectrum. This would be a good solution for a larger enterprise, but not as good for smaller outfits.