Thursday, May 26, 2011

Secure Usb Memory Sticks

Secure USB memory stick files.


USB memory sticks, widely known as flash drives, pen drives, jump drives and USB drives, are small and compact devices used to transport files. Because of its size, a USB drive can be misplaced easily, lost or stolen, making sensitive files available to anyone who finds the device. Avoid a disaster by securing your USB memory stick with a level of security appropriate for your files. Your portable files can be as secure as those that reside on your hard drive.


Instructions


Secure USB Memory Sticks


1. A lanyard or key chain keeps a USB drive handy.


Keep your USB memory stick on a keychain or lanyard as a first line of defense. Unattached and unattended memory sticks can disappear easily.


2. Purchase a flash drive with a write-protect tab. The write-protect tab is a small lever on the side of the USB memory stick that can slide open or closed to keep files in a write-protect mode. This will protect your memory stick from picking up viruses in unknown computers and preventing accidental deletion of files.


3. Purchase a USB memory stick with encryption pre-installed for stronger protection. Stick with reputable manufacturers like ScanDisk Cruzer, Kingston, Lexar and Corsair. Should your files fall into the wrong hands, the files will be inaccessible.


4. Install and use encryption software for drives you already own. USB encryption software creates a folder on your computer, into which files can easily be dragged.The encrypted folder is then copied to the flash drive. The files will not be able to be accessed without the password.


5. Find and download USB memory stick encryption software at trusted sites like download.cnet.com, tucows.com and pcworld.com/downloads/downloads.html.


Many programs on these sites are free, or free to try. Select programs that have been highly rated by editors and users for best results.







Tags: memory stick, encryption software, your memory, your memory stick, drives drives, files will