Today, there are so many companies making USB thumb drives, many of these devices are faster, bigger and more compact, but are they a safe means to hold your companies important data?

Secure USB Thumb Drives

Flash memory manufacturer Corsair says it has solved the problem of non secured flash drives by forcing you to enter a unique PIN code to enter their USB thumb drive and access your data. It’s a great idea but will it really help?

This “Flash Padlock” USB thumb drive protects file records and data with a unique PIN that you enter on the built in touchpad on the actual USB flash drive shell. You then enter the device into your USB plug on your laptop or desktop and the device operates as extra external memory. Corsair said the device is much more resistant to brute force attacks or keystroke loggers.

You see keystroke loggers record any keystroke you make on your keyboard. In other words, when you type in your password on your keyboard to unlock a secured USB thumb drive, and if a hacker has gotten a program of theirs on your device it would record your password as you type them (all of them). Every so often these keyloger programs send these simple text files via a build in e-mail program to their own e-mail inbox. This is bad!

The new Corsair device would ask that you type in your password before you plug your storage device into your computer USB flash drive port (USB port). So in essence the keylogger hacker programs would never have a chance to record your computers keystrokes and there would be no way for them to access your data.

“Featuring auto-lock hardware security, Flash Padlock is the best way to secure your data while on the go. It prevents any unauthorized access or “Brute Force” attacks to the data on the Flash Padlock. Users can program in a PIN, much like they do for an ATM machine, to lock/unlock their data. An easy to use keypad in conjunction with lock/unlock indicator lights makes the Flash Padlock easy to use. The Flash Padlock is fully plug-and-play, and requires no software or drivers to work properly.”

The Flash Padlock will auto lock after 15 seconds if removed from the computer. This ensures your data stays locked-up, if you forget to lock the device this thing does it by itself (I love things that make sense). The Flash Padlock USB storage device will work with Linux, Mac OS X and Windows based computers.

At the moment the Flash Padlock is available in 1GB and 2GB capacities starting from $29.99. For more information on this specific device visit this URL:

http://www.corsair.com/products/padlock.aspx

As we are on the topic of Corsair let’s continue. Are you a flash survivor, corsair thinks it is. “Corsair Introduces Flash Survivor — Extremely Rugged USB 2.0 Flash Drive”

Rugged USB Thumb Drives

As the owner of eProvided, a digital image recovery company which also specializes in advanced USB data recovery, we know a good idea when we see one. What this all comes down to is feedback from users that have purchased this device. If we do not see these devices come in to our labs then there is a good chance either no-one is buying them or they are not having issues of damage. The most common type of USB memory stick damage is when the USB port is broken or breaks off from the USB drive itself.

A common cause of USB thumb drive damage is from users plugging these devices into their laptop or ground based desktops and bumping the device while it is plugged in. This causes the part of the USB thumb drive that plugs into the USB slot on their computer to break off. Most of these breaks are very serious as the internal circuits and parts inside the USB thumb drive are permanently damaged. “USB Device Not Recognized” error messages may appear after such an incident.

You may also have a windows error message such as “USB Unknown Device”. This is a sign that your device has suffered serious damage to the circuitry. At this point you will need a data recovery company to assist you. Consumers need to buy devices that are more rugged and are made by larger names in the storage industry. Flash Survivor™ is an exceptionally tough, water resistant, drop-tested flash USB memory stick storage device.

A design made ideally for transporting valuable data such as personal files, jpeg images and personal applications without having to be bothered by the chance for damage or loss of data due to various natural elements.

So use your noggin and buy strong devices and keep the contact information of those who may be able to help you in case of data loss on USB thumb drives. This story is brought to you at no charge (Smiling) so please bookmark our site (http://www.eprovided.com) and send this story to a friend right now.

If you talk to two persons – one who has never felt love, and other who is deeply in love, you will find them talking in a very different way. If you ask a person who has never loved about what he/she felt about the other’s talk, the answer will be- crazy!

Is it true? Does love drive one to madness? It may not be madness as understood by psychiatrists, but a madness of emotions. Is that right? Why does love do that? To understand this, we have to explore more about love or romance. Is it friendship? Is it physical attraction? Is it just liking for each other? What is love and what is this relationship all about? Love combines all these and goes much beyond in bonding. Lovers are bonded to each other emotionally and totally. A lover cannot imagine of a life without his/her beloved. A lover will suffer like a fish suffers without water, if he/she is separated from the beloved. Love becomes the whole life. Love gives life. Love becomes the reason of life. Life begins and ends with love. That is love. And that’s why people call love mad!

How and why a lover feels like this for one’s beloved is beyond any logical explanation. There is no arithmetic sum that can decide this. It is all emotional. And the emotions are so overwhelming that they engulf the whole personality. Why does a flower look lovely to all of us? Why are we attracted by the sight of a beautiful sunset? Why do we love to walk on the beach? Do we know? Can we answer these questions? Our only answer may be that- I feel happy doing it. A lover feels happy, rather so happy in love that it cannot be compared with any other happiness. One forgets one’s pains, one’s pleasures and one’s existence when in love.

Fall in love if you still haven’t and feel the madness. You will get a clue to why true lovers are called mad.

Send ecards to your beloved, to increase the love between you. Love is a beautiful emotion, and it impacts in a tremendous manner. Enjoy going crazy in love.

USB Port Explanation

Everyone that has used a PC or laptop will have used this ports without themselves knowing.

The history of the USB port goes back to the period of 1990s where several connection interface exist such as serial port, parallel port, ps2, etc. With so many interfaces, a typical user will need different cables for each separate connection.

USB(Universal Serial Bus) was created to standardize all the different interfaces, hence the word “universal”

With the standardization of different interface, the USB port has more tasks to complete – to increase their transfer rate between the host and devices connected to it.

USB started off on specification USB1.0 in 1994, followed by USB1.1, and finally USB2.0 in 2000

The various transfer speed of the specification is as follows

USB1.0 – 1.5Mbit/s

USB1.1 – 12Mbit/s

USB2.0 – 480Mbit/s

As of writing, USB3.0 Specification was in the midst of discussion and the transfer speed is rumored to be at 5000Mbit/s!!

The increase in transfer speed was mainly meant for transferring of data between devices. As USB hard disk expands in capacity, and users are demanding for better video quality, naturally, video file sizes are increased. Thus the birth of USB3.0

The first commercial product released for USB flash drives, commonly known as thumbdrive, in 2000. Back then, flash storage was at a measly 128mb. At time of writing, 2009, 1.5TB (1,500GB or 1,500,000MB) already exists!

If we were to transfer a single file of 5Gb on usb1.1 specs, on theory, we will need 3333s, which will take around 55min!! and 83s on a USB2.0 Specs.

Over the years, different companies develop different interface for USB devices as well, which somehow defeats the purpose of standardizing a common interface. However, the problem of different interface was not as serious as it was back in 1990s.

USB cable was able to carry power and to power up devices such as thumbdrive, webcams, external hard disk, usb speakers, etc. However, power is capped at 5v, 100mA.

USB cables suffer from a “useful” distance. Meaning, the maximum length of a usb cable is capped at 5m. Should the length be longer, the efficiency dropped and data may be corrupted.

For PCs with limited USB ports, a hub, typically with 4 additional USB ports, may be purchased. This will indirectly increase 3 more USB ports on your computer. However, take note that the bandwidth and power of each port on the USB hub will be reduced, as all its bandwidth and power are sourced from a USB port.

Common problems faced from using a USB hub, slower transfer rate and the inability to power up external 2.5” hard disk as they require more power as compared to a usb webcam or usb speaker.

That is all to wrap up for the topic and history for USB. I hope that the above computer guide will assist you in having a further understanding of USB history.

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