PCMCIA-COMPLIANT SMART CARD SECURED MEMORY ASSEMBLY FOR PORTING USER PROFILES AND DOCUMENTS

摘要

A portable profile carrier (54) stores and securely transports a user's profile and data files from one computer (52) to the next. The profile carrier (54) is a two-component assembly comprising a smart card (62) and a PCMCIA smart card reader (60). The reader (60) is physically constructed in a form factor of a PCMCIA card and has a slot to receive the smart card (62). The reader (60) has a smart card interface and controller to facilitate data communication with the smart card (62). The reader (60) is equipped with data memory (e.g., flash memory) to store the user profile and data files. Access to the data memory is protected by the smart card (62). The composite profile carrier (54) enables access to the user profile on the flash memory when the smart card (62) is present and the user is authenticated, and disables access when the smart card (62) is removed or the user is not authenticated.