USB Drive Review: Stay Data-safe, protection is key …
Posted on July 13, 2008
Filed Under Gadgets, Latest Reviews
USB drives are becoming more of a necessity nowadays. PCMag recently listed helpful tips on how to care for them. Protection is key since USB drives carry important data you don’t want to lose. Overall, if you carry important data with you or connect to the Internet via an unprotected computer, you may fall prey to brigands. What you need is a USB-based security talisman to carry for protection. Yes, there are plenty, and the types of protection they offer vary widely.
Encrypt Mobile
Don’t dare let the data fall into the wrong hands, so you absolutely must protect the files with strong encryption. Offering two effective solutions to this problem are the IronKey Personal ($299 for 8GB) and MXI Security’s Stealth MXP ($389 for 8GB).Both thoroughly hide your data behind government-approved AES encryption, and both have the option to self-destruct if a malefactor fails to authenticate more than a specified number of times. IronKey literally destroys its own electronics and renders itself useless in that event. Stealth MXP merely makes the data permanently inaccessible, so you can reformat and reuse the device.
Protect Private Passwords
It’s important to use strong, difficult-to-guess passwords, and you shouldn’t use the same password for different Web sites.IronKey includes built-in software that automatically saves username/password pairs, retains them in encrypted storage, and fills them in as needed when you revisit the secure site. Protecteer’s 1-Click SignupShield Suite ($34.95) does the same in its U3-compatible USB mode and manages to handle modern multipage sign-up schemes that IronKey can’t.Both products can also automate the process of filling in Web forms if you preload your personal information.
Destroy Lurking Malware
Before you use a computer that’s not your own, you should be sure there’s no malware on it. Installing a malware scanner would take time, though, and you might not have the necessary permissions.
Top 4 USB Drives that are safe to use:
a-squared Emergency USB Stick
The idea is great: You plug the USB stick into a computer and clean up the malware problem with no installation required. But it’s just not effective. In fact, in my testing, Trojan horses infected the stick, turning it into a malware delivery device! You’d be better off carrying a USB key with installers for the better free anti-malware products.
IronKey Personal
This super-secure USB flash drive meets military specifications physically and cryptographically, and it includes handy applications for secure browsing and password management.
1-Click SignupShield Suite 5
1-Click SignupShield Suite 5 is everything you could want in a password manager and form-filler tool. While the user interface has some rough spots, the app handles log-in schemes that the competition can’t, and it generates disposable e-mail addresses for automatic sign-up.
Stealth MXP
The Stealth MXP secure USB drive doesn’t have the incredible physical resistance of IronKey, but built-in fingerprint scanning permits two-factor authentication (three if you count possession of the device itself). That’s a significant benefit and may even be required by company or government policy.
Read full review over at PCMAG.
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