A method comprises performing an authentication of a user of a portable device, performing an authentication handshake between the portable device and a content server, wherein the portable device includes a USB plug that plugs directly into a USB port of a host computer and the host computer is communicatively coupled to the content server, and sending a first key sent from the portable device to the content server, wherein access to restricted content on the content server by the user is enabled if the user authentication, the authentication handshake, and an authentication using the first key are all successful. The process may also include encrypting restricted content received from the content server using a private key before storing the restricted content in a non-volatile memory of the portable device.