locking a usb stick

[st1mpy]

hi i have a question if anyone could suggest or help me on this one

i have an usb stick that i use for work and i do have some stuff that are confidential and i cant let my self lose it which would resoult in me being fired so there for i am wondering is there a way to lock an usb stick ? so when i plug it in new machine it asks for password ? ? ?


any help would be appriciated

[nihil]

Well, I am afraid I don't quite understand. Why are you using a drive with confidential information on it in such a promiscuous manner? Or, are you saying that you are afraid of physically losing the drive itself?

Basically you should look at the instructions for your drive which will either be on the drive itself or on the CD that came with it.

If your drive is not specifically a high security type (which I would have expected you to know) I would say that the answer is "no".

Even if there is "snake oil" that says it can do it, I assure you that I can circumvent it by dismantling the device. Even simpler would be to attach it to a linux OS PC. To add effective security that you envisage would entail accessing parts of the drive that only the manufacturer can see.

Your best bet, in my opinion is to encrypt the sensitive material, which I respectfully suggest you ought to be doing already.

Do you actually need this sensitive material for your day-to day use of this device?

If not, then just get another one for your non-sensitive work.

As for getting fired............... perhaps you should politely suggest that your organisation should invest in providing specialist high security drives?

[st1mpy]

well i work for coca cola so all my sales and day to day work is on that stick, which is also backedup on handhelld but it happens that handheld crashes sometime and data can be lost thats why we use that stick to backup stuff from it, i to tend to lose stuff and thats why i am asking if there is a way to password protect it i already talked to our IT guy he also suggested to encryipt but that wouldnt help me because i would require to have laptop on site


but i guess there is nothing that can do such thing

thx tho

[nihil]

Hi st1mpy,

Please do not give up yet my friend............... you have provided us with a very interesting question or "challenge".............. might I personally thank you for that, at least?

Now, I need to get a clearer understanding of your requirement. You use the memory stick as a backup, but are afraid of losing it?

Well, please do not think that I am making fun, but I would suggest:

1. A long lanyard (ribbon) attached to the device, and keep it around your neck at all times. I am thinking of the neck ribbon that is frequently used for ID/Access cards?

2. As you work for the great CC (it was way better when it contained real cocaine ) I am assuming that you have an automobile or truck???

Get a strong keyring and attach your memory stick to your automobile keys........... hey if that gets stolen you will be fired as well?........... might as well be for both as just the one? Just make sure that the link to the stick is flexible, as a solid loop on a stick drive often gets broken otherwise.

i already talked to our IT guy he also suggested to encryipt but that wouldnt help me because i would require to have laptop on site

Yeah, that's what we agreed to say when he telephoned me earlier..........you know us IT types........... allways lie from the same hymn sheet?.......... Hey, that was just a joke my friend

I am wondering if we might find some software that will let you use your handheld to do the encryption/decryption, or something on the stick drive itself.

Please tell me the make and model of your stick drive and of your handheld so I can research this a bit further.

[st1mpy]

http://www.gentec-intl.com/GentecInc.../OSDRDR/LR.jpg


that is the pic of the stick i am using its an optex stick which takes in sd cards, as for keychain an all that i did that but again i am not really confidant in that that all works but i still tend to lose things i dont know how but i manag to get them lost hehe so this would be na extra step for my own security


as for coke yes alot of older people say they dont like new taste haha which i say yes because there is no actual coke in it an just laugh away



btw http://www.mvoyager.com/ that is the only program that stimply puts the password on the stick without working the files over, i think i will have to invest into a liscense but i was wondering there have to be an free solution to this to simply add the pass to the stick


what i was thinking would there be a chance for a script to be writen so when stick is connected to pc to ask for password or something simple as that nothing more haha but it might be alot to ask eh

[nihil]

Hi st1mpy,

I am not sure at the moment, but I will have a look for you. The big issue is this (from your link):

only requirement is to have Windows Vista/XP/2000

So it all comes down to the operating system on your hand held device?

Otherwise you need to connect to a PC or device with similar Windows capabilities?

I am guessing that you need to use the stick with your hand held device; but is it write (save) only, or would you want to read on the hand held as well?

[d3m0nb0y]

I used to have this problem, so I used TrueCrypt. Its quite good!

[st1mpy]

yeah i know but i have to have that program instaled on computers where i use my usb that is only down side

[westin]

I could be mistaken, but I thought there was a portable version of truecrypt that you could use. You could install something like 'portable apps' on your drive, and create an encrypted volume on the drive as well. Then when you insert the drive, portable apps will pop up, and you can use truecrypt from that menu to access the encrypted volume on the drive.

[st1mpy]

westin thx for the post but i tried that with MigoSoft Portable Vault v2.0.5.2 and it takes alot of time if you have alot of files it takes up to 5 mins to decrypt the files, and when my handheld unloads its about 300 something files that he drops that needs to be transmited, which would take long time to do every time and plus if i have to make a change or edit an order wow the trouble hehe


i think there is no options except to glue the usb stick to my hand an it wont go nowhere