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#USB SECURE FLASH DRIVES SOFTWARE#
You should disable the Autorun feature on your computer to prevent it from opening any USB drives – especially those that may possibly contain any form of malicious threat.Īnd never underestimate the value of a reputable endpoint solution, which can go a long way in protecting you against various threats including infested USB drives.Īlso, don’t forget to keep all your devices patched and your software updated to the latest versions. We mentioned the following advice in our recent article about USB flash drives, but repetition is the mother of wisdom. Some of the manufacturers even offer multiple levels of protection such as adding additional encryption and dividing your drive into private and public partitions.
#USB SECURE FLASH DRIVES CODE#
To kick it up a notch, you can also purchase a flash drive that has additional security features, like a hardware security solution in the form of a PIN code or a biometric scanner, as well as built-in encryption.

So, even if it is ever lost or stolen, no one can access the data and the drive essentially becomes nothing more than a fancy paperweight. You should also avoid storing personal data on your work flash drive and vice versa.Īnother thing you might want to do is encrypt all your sensitive data that you want to load onto your flash drive.

Right off the bat, you should draw a clear distinction between your work and personal flash drives, so if either of them gets compromised, you don’t cross-contaminate your devices. The above-listed examples are just some of the reasons why some companies, such as IBM, opted to ban removable storage devices altogether. If that happens: at best, the only loss you incur is the flash drive with some useless data at worst, it may contain data that can be exploited by whoever found it or stole it. Although you may consider it highly unlikely, there is always a chance that you may misplace it, or it may be stolen. This is known as cross-contamination and is a common way for malicious code to spread.Īnother thing you have to watch out for is what data you store on your drives. When you plug your USB stick into your own computer, then the malware will probably spread to it too. If any of those devices has been infested with malware, it’s highly possible that your drive is now infested as well, or your files copied from it for nefarious purposes. Since you can’t tell how either the print shop or your friends manage their devices, or what their approach to cybersecurity is, you can’t be sure about anything. And these practices aren’t just limited to students. They also tend to allow their classmates to borrow them or pass them around. For example, students tend to use flash drives to print out their study materials and other documents at print shops or libraries. Unfortunately, if you’re like most people, you may not always use only trustworthy devices. So, if you only plug the flash drive into machines you trust, most of the time you should be safe. Alternatively, you may like to carry your work with you so you can dive into it at a moment’s notice. Most of you probably own at least one USB thumb drive, which you typically use either to transfer data or as a backup for sensitive documents. What are some of the key security risks to be aware of when using USB flash drives and how can you mitigate the threats?
