Question:
Do you use flash drives to carry important, and perhaps at times sensitive and confidential documents & files?
What would you do if someone got access to it? Or worse, you lost the drive and it came into the "wrong" hands?
I would like to know what users of flash drives think. I'd like to hear of your experiences or if this has actually happened to you!
Faiz
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i use kingston pens which come with security software which can secure the data and you can get lots of utilities which do the same sort of thing.
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on mythbusters a while back they proved that you could bypass some of the most expensive Fingerprint ident machines so thats a no and why with so small pens isnt 4 or 8 the standard now.
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Well, I've yet to see ANYONE breaking into the AES-256 Encryption which the Biometric Fingerprint Scanner has on the drive - which is military grade security!
Faiz
on mythbusters a while back they proved that you could bypass some of the most expensive Fingerprint ident machines so thats a no and why with so small pens isnt 4 or 8 the standard now.
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in this case it doesnt matter if they are trying to sell something they are a few years late with that product. to many people on here can pick holes in it anyway.
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The only way I'd buy a flash drive with biometric security is if it cost the same or less than other drives. As the above poster pointed out, if you're worried about security there are several (free) ways to go about protecting your data.
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I love a good debate - it gives everyone a chance to learn something new, as well as develop new ideas and view points - ESPECIALLY in the field of Security!
Faiz
in this case it doesnt matter if they are trying to sell something they are a few years late with that product. to many people on here can pick holes in it anyway.
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I use a 1 GB flash drive - passworded.
I transfer docs between stations at work and back to home.
Only use the password protection.
If it research you are doing I would happily carry some out for you.....
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Hi MiddleMan,
I'd greatly appreciate that!!
I'd like to hear any information you have ...
I was actually talking to a software guy yesterday - he has an online office solution thing ... and we got talking about flash drives and mobile data .. and basically he's argument was - "Everyone has internet connection, why would they NEED to carry a flash drive when they can access their "online" office using the software via the internet?"
So, WHY do people carry flash drives?? (that's another question which comes up)
Faiz
I use a 1 GB flash drive - passworded.
I transfer docs between stations at work and back to home.
Only use the password protection.
If it research you are doing I would happily carry some out for you.....
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I use an FTP server to access my files at home. For transferring large amounts of data I'll use my MP3 player (30GB hard drive).
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I think the fact of the matter is nothing is 100% safe and if someone wants the information that bad will find a way around it. I have Loads flash drives and I don't have any security. I think the best security is yourself and not losing it in the first place.
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I think the best security is yourself and not losing it in the first place.
No, no, no. Never rely on yourself. You may not lose the data, but some may still try and get at it.
Flash drives are very handy. I don't carry much on mine, but it's useful when I can't access my files at home. I use a Shuffle as my flash drive so it performs two purposes.
For security, TrueCrypt is a great portable app. It sets up an encrypted volume within my flash drive. I've gone a bit overkill on mine. The chances of the encryption being broken are bordering impossible. The easiest way would be for someone to find out my 28 character alpha-numeric password.
Within my TrueCrypt volume I keep Firefox (and my Firefox profile) a few useful documents, any work, code example etc...
With regards to accessing my files at home. I try not to use straight ftp, as this is an insecure protocol. I'll either try to use sftp, or even better connect via SSH and then ftp in.
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Hi Wolfman,
Spoken like a true security expert ..
So, what are your views on biometric (fingerprint ID) flash drives? I've got one comment on here saying that they can be broken into - (considering it's AES-256 bit encryption ...
Faiz
No, no, no. Never rely on yourself. You may not lose the data, but some may still try and get at it.
Flash drives are very handy. I don't carry much on mine, but it's useful when I can't access my files at home. I use a Shuffle as my flash drive so it performs two purposes.
For security, TrueCrypt is a great portable app. It sets up an encrypted volume within my flash drive. I've gone a bit overkill on mine. The chances of the encryption being broken are bordering impossible. The easiest way would be for someone to find out my 28 character alpha-numeric password.
Within my TrueCrypt volume I keep Firefox (and my Firefox profile) a few useful documents, any work, code example etc...
With regards to accessing my files at home. I try not to use straight ftp, as this is an insecure protocol. I'll either try to use sftp, or even better connect via SSH and then ftp in.
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Our company has securewave software installed and they can monitor what you copy to and from your memory stick as well as what you are accessing from the device.
See link:
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Hmm I've not had a huge amount of experience with them so can't really say.
I did study the technology at university, but my only experience was using my old IMB laptop which had a biometric scanner for logging in. To be honest I found it more of a convenience than additional security. Actually I say convenience loosely as it didn't always work first (or by the third) time.
I'm very much into technology though so remembering long password doesn't bother me too much. For the average joe, they usually set weak passwords and never change them. In such a case a biometric scanner may be preferable. As I mentioned though I don't have a huge amount of experience with them, especially in terms of them being secure/unbreakable.
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Yes, I carry important documents around but I make sure they are encrypted in case I loose the device.
I also carry around a password carrier with me, but that too is encrypted using AES and Twofish.
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Yes, I carry important documents around but I make sure they are encrypted in case I loose the device.
I also carry around a password carrier with me, but that too is encrypted using AES and Twofish.
Don't you find the Twofish begin to smell after a while?
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No I don't.
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I hope you arent advertising your own services/goods. Have you read the forum rules
'This site is free from advertising. Posts on any board considered to be advertising goods, services and/or companies will be removed. We also do not allow advertising via PM
Examples of this can include anything from a specific sales post or a link to your own website in which you attempt to sell something to someone offering their holiday home to forum members. Unfortunately we cannot allow any advertising of any description no matter how honourable the intention.'
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Sorry,
Not mean't for any advertising - but actually collecting view of users of such hardware devices and getting people to talk about their experiences.
Faiz
I hope you arent advertising your own services/goods. Have you read the forum rules
'This site is free from advertising. Posts on any board considered to be advertising goods, services and/or companies will be removed. We also do not allow advertising via PM
Examples of this can include anything from a specific sales post or a link to your own website in which you attempt to sell something to someone offering their holiday home to forum members. Unfortunately we cannot allow any advertising of any description no matter how honourable the intention.'