Which of the following is a credit card-sized device used to securely store personal information
and used in conjunction with a PIN number to authenticate users?

A.
Proximity card

B.
Java card

C.
SD card

D.
Smart card

Explanation:

A smart card is a credit card-sized device used to securely store personal information such as
certificates, public and private keys, passwords, etc. It is used in conjunction with a PIN number to
authenticate users. In Windows, smart cards are used to enable certificate-based authentication.
To use smart cards, Extensible Authentication Protocol (EAP) must be configured in Windows.
Answer option B is incorrect. Java Card is a technology that allows Java-based applications to be
run securely on smart cards and small memory footprint devices. Java Card gives a user the
ability to program devices and make them application specific. It is widely used in SIM
cards and ATM cards. Java Card products are based on the Java Card Platform specifications
developed by Sun Microsystems, a supplementary of Oracle Corporation. Many Java card
products also rely on the global platform specifications for the secure management of applications
on the card. The main goals of the Java Card technology are portability and security.
Answer option A is incorrect. Proximity card (or Prox Card) is a generic name for contactless
integrated circuit devices used for security access or payment systems. It can refer to the older
125 kHz devices or the newer 13.56 MHz contactless RFID cards, most commonly known as
contactless smartcards.Modern proximity cards are covered by the ISO/IEC 14443 (Proximity
Card) standard. There is also a related ISO/IEC 15693 (Vicinity Card) standard. Proximity cards
are powered by resonant energy transfer and have a range of 0-3 inches in most instances. The
user will usually be able to leave the card inside a wallet or purse. The price of the cards is also
low, usually US$2-$5, allowing them to be used in applications such as identification cards,
keycards, payment cards and public transit fare cards.
Answer option C is incorrect. Secure Digital (SD) card is a non-volatile memory card format used
in portable devices such as mobile phones, digital cameras, and handheld computers. SD cards
are based on the older MultiMediaCard (MMC) format, but they are a little thicker than MMC cards.
Generally an SD card offers a write-protect switch on its side. SD cards generally measure 32 mm
x 24 mm x 2.1 mm, but they can be as thin as 1.4 mm. The devices that have SD card slots can
use the thinner MMC cards, but the standard SD cards will not fit into the thinner MMC slots.
Some SD cards are also available with a USB connector. SD card readers allow SD cards to be
accessed via many connectivity ports such as USB, FireWire, and the common parallel port.