Get ready for the future with the IOGEAR USB Smart Card Reader. Smart Card readers are used as a communications medium between the smart card and a host (e.g. a computer, a point-of-sale terminal). A Smart Card is a small portable credit-card shaped pocket-sized card with embedded integrated circuits or IC chips which can process data. The combination of the small size and IC make them a valuable tool for security, data storage, and other special applications. The use of Smart Cards can improve user security by combining something a user has (the smart card) with something only the user should know (a PIN), this provides two factor security that is more secure than passwords alone.