Flash Drives | How Safe Are They?

Flash drives are like mini computers without a screen.  I was given one as a gift back in college. When I first began using it for assignments, I kicked myself for not having invested in one earlier. They are the most convenient pieces of technology out there, and you don’t even have to own a computer to benefit from one.  I took it with me from the internet café to the library, from school to my friend’s laptop, and boy did I get productive!  What I didn’t realize, however, was that while it was very easy to use, it was extremely easy to lose.  Which brings me to the topic in question: how safe are they?

First of all, it depends on what you use it for.    I would not be surprised if the average flash drive user is like me: adding unsorted files (essays, important websites, photographs, etc.) until there is no more room.   This offline data is vulnerable (especially if it references any online passwords in some obscure document that the user thought he or she could hide) if the right flash drive is not chosen.  Regular flash drives are not safe; they are encrypted very rarely and are usually not protected by security software.  My personal suggestion:

“Use one flash drive for your online identity, another flash drive for your offline identity, and keep them separate.”

You might be asking, “Why should I have two flash drives?”  and “Why must I keep them separate?”  Flash drives that protect internet passwords, like the ID Vault or Guard ID System, are important to have when protecting your online identity and should be kept separate from regular wear and tear.  You plug it into the main personal computer that you use and you’re done.  To answer the second question, all of your data is sensitive and if it gets dropped onto the street, anyone can plug it in and use it.  They can get personal pictures and your name, and little by little reconstruct who you are.  If the two flash drives are stuck together on a key chain, you might have a much bigger problem, than if they just found your personal data alone.

Now that the flash drive that protects your online passwords is the one you leave at home, what about the one that you take with you?  You still have a problem if someone finds your personal data on this one, right?  Not if you invest in a biometric flash drive (BFD).  A BFD basically requires your fingerprint to open files on the drive.  BFD’s incorporate a fingerprint scanner that acts as a passcode.  If you lose it, your files are protected.  If you use it, you will also have the added protection for logging onto websites.

BFDs can be used by more than one finger, but you must make sure that if it’s from someone else’s hand, they are a very trustworthy person.  Two BFD examples are the Kanguru Bio Drive and JumpDrive TouchGuard.  The BFD of your choice will be backed by the first flash drive (either the ID Vault or the Guard ID System), and you will be killing feeding one bird with two stones slices of bread (I am against violence, but you get the point).  Just to be clear, your identity is the bird that needs two forms of help!  If you’re not convinced about how unsafe a regular flash drive is,  go ahead and read this BBC News article.