# Ever use an IronKey with Gentoo?

## seifn06

Has anyone ever used an IronKey memory stick with Gentoo (or in a mixed OS environment)?

https://www.ironkey.com/

I'm looking at buying some of these memory sticks for use with Gentoo and am looking for Gentoo users experience with these devices.

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## sugar

It looks pretty cool :)

however, from their faqs

 *Quote:*   

> What operating systems does the IronKey work on? Does it require driver or software installations?
> 
> Currently, the IronKey works on Windows XP and Windows Vista computers. Unlike many other smart flash drives, it does not require any driver or software installations, nor do you need to have Windows administrative privileges to use it.
> 
> We are already developing and testing IronKey components that allow you to use it on Mac and Linux systems.

 

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## RaceTM

Wow..I thought I read "Ever use a monkey with Gentoo?"...way too early in the morning....

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## seifn06

FYI: posts to IronKey's forums suggest IronKey is hard at work on updated firmware for their memory sticks to get the sticks working on Linux. Currently, though, I can't plug my IronKey into my Gentoo box, login and mount the drive...

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## xavjones

FYI

https://www.ironkey.com/pressrelease20080616

IronKey Announces Linux Support

Los Altos, Calif., June 17, 2008 - IronKey Inc., maker of the world's most secure flash drive, announced today that its devices now support Linux, enabling users to initiate and utilize IronKey flash drives on Linux operating systems based on kernel 2.6 and above. 

IronKey products support Linux distributions above Linux kernel 2.6 including Red Hat Enterprise 4, Kubuntu 7.1, Kubuntu 8.04, Hardy Heron, OpenSUSE 10.3, OpenSUSE 11, Fedora 8, Fedora 9, Sabayon 3.3, LinuxMint 4, Ubuntu 7.1, CentOS 5.1, and Gentoo 2007.

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## AngelKnight

Thread necromancy.  Feh...

FWIW, I have Basic Edition Ironkeys that work just fine in Gentoo Linux running on 2.6.38.  Been okay since at least kernel 2.6.36 and probably way before then.  Only "gotcha" is you need USB mass storage support; I don't think any of the IronKey devices exports a USB Attached SCSI profile

short version: usb-storage.ko, not uas.ko.

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## cach0rr0

maybe it's my own ignorance, but im reading about these, and having trouble understanding what this really gains you over snagging a $10 thumb drive and setting it up as an encrypted block device just as any other.

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## ToeiRei

it's about hardware encryption. If users mess around with it it us able to destroy itself in case of emergency.

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## AngelKnight

 *cach0rr0 wrote:*   

> maybe it's my own ignorance, but im reading about these, and having trouble understanding what this really gains you over snagging a $10 thumb drive and setting it up as an encrypted block device just as any other.

 

It doesn't automatically verify the posture of a machine to which the key is attached.  So if you're worried about a compromised point of access, the IronKey doesn't help.

However, it's convenient not to have to install extra software to encipher the key's contents.

I happen to think the rest of the stuff that's installed on the CD-ROM function (which is also where the unlock software for MacOSX, Windows and Linux are installed) isn't useful for my use cases.

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