Yoggie pico personal security appliance

We’re used to running security software on our computers and having to compromise performance for safety. As soon as you install a firewall, anti-virus or anti-spyware software, it’s going to hog some of your computer’s resources in order to operate properly. The Yoggie Pico works in a different way. A tiny computer in its own right, it’s built into a USB device and loaded with tools to protect your PC, and because it does all its own processing, it has no impact on your PC’s performance.

Features
Despite its appearance, this is actually significantly more than a standard USB memory drive with a few bonus programs thrown in. Once it’s installed, all internet traffic on the PC has to pass through it, so if you remove it from the computer or switch on without it plugged in, you can’t access the internet. It covers all the usual security bases (see the full list in ‘What you get’ below), although it only offers real-time protection – you can’t, for example, scan your hard disk for viruses.

Performance
Because the Yoggie Pico operates on a separate mini-computer, those who already use security software to safeguard their PC, particularly those with some of the meatier suites from the likes of Symantec and McAfee, will see an immediate improvement in performance.

The USB computer runs a cut-down version of Linux. Since all threats have to go through this before getting to your Windows PC, it stands to reason that threats aimed at Windows should be stopped, though we’ve yet to see how it fares with attacks from third-party testers.

Ease of use
The device needed a certain level of power to work – it wouldn’t share an unpowered USB hub, for example, with our USB Wi-Fi adapter – so check you have plenty of space around a free port. There’s also the issue of remembering to plug it in – forget your Pico when you take your laptop out with you and you won’t be connecting to the internet until you get hold of it again. The software is easy to use but some people may find it too simple as it doesn’t let you dive in and fiddle with the settings.

Value for money
You’d expect this to cost a little more than your average security suite – it is, after all, a hardware device – but it’s a fair whack more expensive and anyone who runs free security software with a minimal impact on system resources may wonder what all the fuss is about.

The other drawback is that one device only protects one PC. Most commercial software now offers protection across a home network for the price of a single licence, so this seems even pricier.