iTwin File-Sharing USB Dongle Review
It's time to take a look at the iTwin, a device that in just a few simple clicks, a web connection, and a push into your USB ports will connect two of your computers together for shared storage. Once you own an iTwin, you do not have to pay any additional cost to use it, it has no limits other than the storage space your computer(s) work with themselves, and though it is a two-piece device, its creators have a deal where you can purchase a replacement half for half the price of the original set – well played!
When you open your iTwin for the first time, you've only to plug it in once to each of the (Mac or PC) computers you want to connect and install the software that comes on the stick (which also works as a storage solution JUST for these files). Once the software is installed, you'll get a code that allows you to remotely shut down each individual stick if you lose it. Upon installation, you'll just stick one end of the stick in one computer, pull out the other end, head over to your second computer, and plug it in there.
With one piece of iTwin plugged into each of your two computers, you've got a wireless connection between the two in two folders. There's one folder which exists on one computer, and another folder which exists on the other. Both folders are visible by each computer. If you want to transfer a file from one computer to another, you can place that file in the Remote folder. If you want to allow one computer to see a set of files on the other computer, you've only to place those files in the Local folder.
These USB sticks connect via the internet connection that your computer is accessing, and can pair up no matter how far away from one another they are in the physical world – as it's a combination of the web connection and the key the USB stick has that allows a computer to use it. Security on the iTwin is fabulous, using this odd combination of elements to its advantage with its two halves generating a shared random 256-bit AES (Advanced Encryption Standard) key each time they are paired.
In addition to AES, you've also got a Smart Crypto key using HTTPS (RSA 1024-bit, 128-bit RC4) protocols as well as a password encrypting data flowing between the two halves of your iTwin. This device is able to self-configure its way around firewalls as well as Network Address Translators and utilizes Amazon EC2-based servers to relay all data. If your file cannot be transferred, it will not move – this is done instead of some services opting-in for buffering. If you're actively transferring a file from one computer to the other, you'll still be relying on the internet speed with which you're connected to the web – but the iTwin certainly wont be limiting you from there.
There's nothing so great in the world of technology as something that just works – and the iTwin just works. It does exactly as it says it will do, and it does it perfectly well. You can purchase an iTwin at iTwin.com's online shop for $99 USD, and you'll be able to pick up a whole iTwin or just a half (if you've lost the other half). For those of you wishing to connect multiple computers, the "iTwin Multi" software update will allow you do so with the same iTwin hardware you already own! Grab a bunch today!
