Apricorn Aegis Secure Key 3.0 Service Manual
Aegis Secure Key 3.0
User’s Manual
Remember to save your PIN in a safe place.
If PIN is lost or forgotten, there will be no
way to access data on the key.
Data Security at Your Fingertips
Table of Contents
About the Aegis Secure Key 3.0 4
PIN Requirements 4
Battery Note 4
First-Time Use 5
LED States and Their Meaning 5
Waking the Key 6
Locking the Key 6
Unlocking the Key 6
Admin Mode 6
Adding a New User PIN 7
Deleting the User PIN 7
Changing the User PIN 7
Changing the Admin PIN 8
Setting Read-Only or Read / Write Modes from Admin Mode 8
Setting Read-Only or Read / Write Modes from the User Mode 9
Setting the Unattended Auto-Lock Feature 10
Setting a Self-Destruct PIN 11
Aegis Secure Key Brute-Force Protection 12
Performing a Complete Reset 13
Hibernating or Logging Off from the Operating System 15
Aegis Secure Key Setup for Mac OS 15
Diagnostic Mode 16
Lock-Override Mode 17
Copyright © Apricorn, Inc 2017. All rights reserved.
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DOCUMENTATION IS PROVIDED AS IS AND ALL EXPRESS OR
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INCLUDING ANY IMPLIED WARRANTY OF MERCHANTABILITY,
FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE OR NON-INFRINGEMENT,
ARE DISCLAIMED, EXCEPT TO THE EXTENT THAT SUCH
DISCLAIMERS ARE HELD TO BE LEGALLY INVALID
(Rev 1.7) 05/08/2017
Troubleshooting 18
Technical Support 20
Warranty and RMA information 20
About the Aegis Secure Key 3.0
Important:
With its ash key size, the Aegis Secure Key also
has relatively small buttons. For greater ease and
better control of key commands, enter all PINs and
command codes onto the Secure Key’s keypad
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PRIOR to plugging the device into the USB port for
use. Failure to do so may damage the USB port and
cause the key to not function properly.
First-Time Use
Each Aegis Secure Key is shipped without a preset Personal Identication Number (PIN)
installed on the key. A 7 to 16-digit Admin PIN must be established before the key can be
used. This Admin PIN can be used to set any and all of the Admin Mode Features of the key,
as well as to access the key’s data.
To Set Up the Admin PIN:
1. Wake up the key by pressing the UNLOCK button. Both the BLUE and GREEN LEDs will
glow solidly.
2. Press UNLOCK + 9 at the same time. The BLUE LED will glow solidly and the GREEN
LED will be blinking.
3. Enter the series of numbers that you will use for the Admin PIN (See PIN requirements on p.
4) and press the UNLOCK button.*
4. Re-enter that same PIN and press the UNLOCK button again. The GREEN LED will
illuminate for one second followed by the BLUE LED glowing solidly by itself.
5. The key is now in Admin mode and other Admin features can be set (e.g., adding a User.)
6. To exit the Admin mode, press the LOCK button. The key will return to the locked standby
state. If no action is taken within 30 seconds, the key will return to its locked sleep state.
* GREEN LED will blink if the PIN is accepted; If the PIN is NOT accepted, the RED LED
will blink-- return to step 4 to resume the Admin PIN setup process.
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Note: It’s normal for this device to
be warm to the touch during use.
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PIN Requirements
PINs must be a minimum of seven
digits and a maximum of 16 digits.
Cannot contain all sequential
numbers (e.g., 01234567, 9876543)
and cannot contain all of the same
number (e.g., 1111111, 2222222.)
Note: Sequentially, 0 occurs before 1, not after 9.
Battery Note
The Aegis Secure Key has an internal
rechargeable battery with a smart-charging
circuit. For safety, each key ships with a partial
charge. Before initial use, we recommend
plugging the key into a powered USB port for
80 minutes to fully charge the battery. The
battery will automatically charge whenever it is
plugged into a powered USB port, regardless of
its operational mode. In standby mode, the RED
LED fades in and out slowly to indicate that it’s
charging and glows solid RED to indicate that
it’s fully charged. If the battery is completely
discharged, the key will go through a self-test
(indicated by a RED, GREEN, and BLUE LED
sequence) when plugged into a USB port.
LED States and Their Meaning
Slow Fading RED Battery charging (when plugged into USB port)
No LEDs Key locked and asleep
Blinking RED Error / incorrect key entry; Mode Not Available; User
PIN Change
Solid RED Locked / Standby state; Awaiting PIN entry
Blinking GREEN Key-entry accepted
Solid BLUE /
Blinking GREEN
Solid BLUE Admin Mode
Solid GREEN Key unlocked
Slow Blinking BLUE Key unlocked in Lock-Override Mode
Solid GREEN /
Slow Blinking RED
Alternating
RED / BLUE
One second of RED
followed by one
second of GREEN
followed by one
second of BLUE
Three Seconds of
Solid RED / GREEN
Waiting for New User or Admin PIN to be
established
Key unlocked in Read-Only Mode
Indicates a mode has been entered that can result
in the deletion of a User or the data on the key
(depending on the mode chosen.)
Also used when setting Auto-lock feature
Self-test mode to ensure all components are ready
and working properly
During Reset Process, indicates successful
resetting of cryptographic security parameters
4
5
Waking the Key
When the key is not in use, it will enter a sleep state. While in this state, the key is locked and
cannot be accessed.
To wake the key so it can accept keypad inputs, press the UNLOCK button once. The RED
LED will glow solidly (standby state.)
Note: If the key has never been used, the BLUE and GREEN LEDs will glow solidly indicating
that the Admin PIN must rst be established before the key can be used.
Unlocking the Key
1. Press the UNLOCK button to wake the key from sleep (as described above.)
The RED LED will glow solidly.
2. Enter either a User PIN or Admin PIN and press the UNLOCK button. If the PIN is
accepted, the GREEN LED will rapidly blink three times, then will slow down to one blink
per second until it’s plugged into a USB port, at which time will glow solidly.
(If the PIN is incorrect, the RED LED will blink.)
3. A blinking GREEN LED indicates that the key is unlocked and ready for use. The key is
now ready to plug into a USB port and will function as an external drive. If it’s not plugged
into a USB port within 30 seconds, the key will lock itself and return to its sleep state.
Locking the Key
Press the LOCK button. When successfully locked, The RED LED will glow solidly, indicating
that it’s in its standby state.
The Aegis Secure Key will not be recognized by the operating system while in its standby state.
Note: If data is still being written to the key, the Secure Key will wait until that operation is
completed and then it will lock automatically.
Admin Mode
To set up any of the key’s Admin functions, the Admin mode must rst be entered. Once in the
Admin mode, each of the key’s functions can be addressed with the appropriate button commands. While in the Admin mode, the data on the key will not be accessible.
Prior to your rst use of the Aegis Secure Key, you must rst set an Admin PIN. Immediately
after setting up your Admin PIN, you may then continue setting up other functions. If you do
nothing for a period of 30 seconds, the key will revert to its standby state.
To re-enter the Admin mode, perform the following steps below.
1. Press and hold UNLOCK + 0 for ve seconds until the RED LED blinks.
(This indicates that you can enter the Admin PIN.)
2. Enter the Admin PIN and press the UNLOCK button.
3. Admin Mode is indicated by a solid BLUE LED.
4. To exit the Admin Mode, either allow 30 seconds of inactivity or press the LOCK button.
6
Adding a User PIN
The Aegis Secure Key can have one Admin and one User, making a total of two working PINs.
Adding a User is a perfect way to securely share the key or deploy it for use where the User does
not require access to the Admin features. While the User has limited functionality and no Admin
rights to the key, they can still access the key’s data, change their PIN, and set the key to Read
Only or Read / Write mode. Note: adding a User PIN can only be done within the Admin mode.
If no additional User beyond the Admin will be added to access the key’s data, disregard this
page’s contents as it relates only to the “User” PIN.
1. Enter the Admin Mode by holding UNLOCK + 0 for ve seconds; With RED LED blinking,
enter the Admin PIN and press the UNLOCK button. The BLUE LED will glow solidly.
2. Press and hold UNLOCK + 1 until the BLUE LED glows solidly and the GREEN LED
starts blinking.
3. Enter the User PIN and press UNLOCK. The GREEN LED will blink three times, then
the BLUE LED will glow solidly and the GREEN LED will continue blinking.
4. Re-enter the same User PIN and press UNLOCK. To verify that the User PIN was successfully added, the GREEN LED will glow solidly for three seconds and then will be
replaced by the BLUE LED glowing solidly, indicating that the key has returned to the
Admin mode.
Deleting the User PIN
You can delete the User PIN by doing the following:
1. Enter the Admin mode. (Hold UNLOCK + 0 for ve seconds. With the RED LED blinking,
enter the Admin PIN and press the UNLOCK button.) The BLUE LED will now glow solidly.
2. Press and hold the 7 + 8 buttons for ve seconds. The GREEN LED will blink three times and
then will be followed by the RED and BLUE LEDs blinking alternately.
3. Press and hold the 7 + 8 buttons again for ve seconds. The GREEN LED will glow
solidly for two seconds.
4. The key will return to Admin mode indicated by the BLUE LED glowing solidly.
* NOTE: Deleting the User PIN will also delete the Self-Destruct PIN (if it has been set..)
Changing the User PIN
The User PIN can be changed within the User mode (key unlocked, GREEN LED blinking)
*Note: The Admin PIN cannot be changed while in the User mode. The Admin PIN can only
be changed from within the Admin mode.
You can change the User PIN by doing the following:
1. Unlock the Aegis Secure Key with the User PIN. (the GREEN LED will blink)
2. Press and hold UNLOCK + 1 for ve seconds (the RED LED will blink)
3. Enter the current User PIN and press the UNLOCK button. (the BLUE LED will glow
solidly and the GREEN LED will blink.)
4. Enter the new User PIN and press the UNLOCK button (the GREEN LED will blink
three times, followed by the BLUE LED glowing solidly and the GREEN LED blinking.)
5. Re-enter the new User PIN and press the UNLOCK button (the GREEN LED will glow
solidly for two seconds, then will return to the User mode, indicated by the GREEN
LED blinking.)
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