Monday, April 25, 2011

How To Make Your USB Drive Secure With Software


Data on your USB drive is probably less secure than anything else connected with your computer. USB drives are small, which is great news until you put one down somewhere safe and then try to find it again. Anyone could have picked up your flash drive, so using USB drive secure software should be high up on your list. Before disaster strikes!
There are lots of different USB drive secure software programs available. So knowing where to start is essential otherwise you'll be forever choosing rather than just dithering and ending up doing nothing. With the result that when (not if) your USB drive gets lost, your data is available to all and sundry.
There are a number of free USB security programs available but several of these were written a while ago and don't necessarily cope with modern USB drive sizes. The size of flash drives has grown exponentially over recent years and is sufficiently big that older software hadn't even dreamed of the storage capabilities and just gives up rather than protects your pen drive. Not exactly what you need to happen.
Your checklist for the software you choose to make your USB drive secure should include the following:
  • Easy to use - you don't want to learn how to use the software every time
  • Unlimited licence - some software manufacturers can restrict the number of machines you install the software on, make sure this doesn't happen to you
  • Good support - in the unlikely event that you have to contact someone, you want them to get back to you with a helpful answer, fast
  • Military grade encryption - the encryption needs to be good so that your data is safe if your USB drive gets stolen
Once you've checked that the software to make your USB drive secure meets those requirements, it's time to make the purchase.
And - even more important - to actually install the software!
I know you're more organized than most people otherwise you wouldn't be investigating how to make your USB drive secure but it's still important to run the USB protection software so that your drives are protected.
Whilst instant downloads are convenient, it's easy to forget that you've downloaded a file and leave it sitting neglected on your hard drive.
So make it a habit to run the program on every new flash drive as soon as you take it out of the packaging. That way you'll be safe in the knowledge that your USB drive is secure.

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