TechRadar.com - Deep into technology

The Eikon Protector Suite is a biometric security finger swiper that adds protection to your Mac beyond your standard user ID and password.

It's new to Macs, but has been available for PCs for a short while. In fact, it's so new to Macs that no installer comes in the box. Instead there's a little sticker on the packaging with a URL to visit to download the Mac driver, which is what we did.

Straightforward setup

The software, Upek's Protector Suite for Eikon Digital Privacy Manager, requires you to restart the Mac then walk through the setup process, which involves swiping your finger a few times along the biometric reader when the software prompts you.

The software is straightforward, and you get as many practise swipes as you like, just in case swiping your finger is something you find challenging. You can register any or all of your fingers.

Once swiped three times, three green ticks appear to tell you that all is well. You can set up multiple users to access the same Mac, but this is not obvious in the user guide; the software has a checkbox to click if you are a 'standard user', but with no other option available this confused us.

Who exactly isn't a standard user? Is there an admin level we haven't accessed?

Justifiable price

The software and reader are similar to that on LaCie's Safe biometric hard drive. The two are so similar, in fact, that it wouldn't surprise us if Upek is linked to LaCie in some way.

For only 40 quid, we like this. The price seems fair for the peace of mind you get back in return, and it's also small enough to slip into a bag with a laptop.

The hardware and software combo seems protective and it's also easy to configure. We had no problems with any part of the kit, but we would like a chance to rewrite the user guide!

If this is the kind of thing you're looking for, go for it. It works as advertised and you'll never have to remember your login password again.