For late breaking up to the minute technology news you can count on.
3 ways to keep sensitive files encrypted on a flash drive or external hard drive
Get link
Facebook
Twitter
Pinterest
Email
Other Apps
John wants a way to encrypt files that are stored on a flash drive or external hard drive.
Flash drives are easy to lose. And anything lost can fall into the wrong
hands. So if you’re carrying around sensitive information in your
pocket, you need to make sure those files are encrypted.
Here are three possible solutions:
Buy an encrypted drive
You can buy a flash drive with built-in encryption, such as the DataTraveler Locker+ G3.
When you plug the Locker+ in, it comes up as a 13MB, read-only drive.
But once you launch the program file on that drive and enter the
password that you previously setup, another drive opens up with all the
storage space you paid for. That drive, of course, is inaccessible
without the password. The software runs off the drive, and it can be
used on multiple computers and operating systems.
But I strongly recommend against using this drive’s optional cloud
backup feature. It uses Dropbox, OneDrive, or whichever cloud service
you pick, which at first glance seems like a nice convenience. But this
feature uploads the files without its own encryption. That means you’re
trusting your sensitive files to the encryption capabilities of Dropbox
and similar services, and they aren’t all that secure. Find another way
to backup these files—preferably one where you can can control the
encryption.
The DataTraveler Locker+ G3 starts at about $15 for the 8GB drive, and we've looked at other encrypted USB drives as well.
Install specialized software on your drive
If you already have a drive you want to use, consider installing ENC Security Systems’ EncryptStick. You have to install EncryptStick onto your main PC, but it runs as a portable program on any other computer.
EncryptStick won’t let you access your encrypted files directly from
Windows/File Explorer here. You have to use the program to access your
files. From there, you can drag and drop files in and out of the
container, open files into their respective programs, edit, and delete
them.
One nice touch: The encrypted files take up only the space they need.
You can use the rest of the drive for files that don’t need protection.
After a two-week trial period, EncryptStick costs $14.
Use free software that’s not really all that portable
Regular readers know I’m a fan of VeraCrypt,
a free, open-source encryption tool. There are several ways to use
VeraCrypt, but I recommend creating an encrypted container (also called a
volume or a vault).
You can install VeraCrypt as a portable program. Plug in your external
drive, and launch the downloaded installation program. On the page
immediately after the EULA, select Extract.
This will put a portable version of VeraCrypt onto your external drive.
You can create a vault, of any size, on the external drive.
But there’s a problem. The portable version of VeraCrypt works only if
you’re using an administrator-level account or have the password for
one. Or, of course, if the non-portable version is installed on the
machine. This seriously limits with which computers you use the program.
The longer you run your computer, the more clutter it accumulates. This takes the form of programs you no longer need, bloatware you never wanted in the first place, and/or adware you didn't intend to install. The result: slow booting, slow operation, slow everything. To improve the situation, you can uninstall unwanted, unneeded programs. And if you're a little more tech-savvy, you can venture into msconfig to prevent system-dragging software from running at startup. Ah, but which programs are safe to uninstall and/or block? The last thing you want to do is remove some essential Windows element, which could do more harm than good. Should I Remove It? is a free utility that helps you answer exactly that question. The program analyzes everything installed on your computer, then helps you determine what's safe to remove. It does so by displaying both a rating for each program and a crowd-sourced removal percentage (i.e. how many "users and experts&
WhatsApp has announced that it will axe its $1 annual subscription fee starting today. The Facebook-owned messaging service is nearing a billion users, and will start exploring alternate business models. WhatsApp failed to monetize in emerging markets due to low debit and credit card penetration, which led to the service being offered for free. Today's announcement reflects a change of strategy that will see the platform acting as a facilitator between businesses and customers: Naturally, people might wonder how we plan to keep WhatsApp running without subscription fees and if today's announcement means we're introducing third-party ads. The answer is no. Starting this year, we will test tools that allow you to use WhatsApp to communicate with businesses and organizations that you want to hear from. That could mean communicating with your bank about whether a recent transaction was fraudulent, or with an airline about a delayed flight. We all get these messag
Two new Nexus phones aren’t the only items expected at Google’s press event on September 29. Google’s also gearing up to introduce a second-generation Chromecast, according to 9to5Google. The new streaming device is expected to come in a round shape loaded with improved Wi-Fi, a new feature called Fast Play, support for audio systems, and feed integration with the device’s main screen. That’s about where the details end, however, as specifics are in short supply. The current Chromecast uses 802.11 a/b/g/n Wi-Fi, so it sounds like the next version will support the newer 802.11 ac Wi-Fi, but that’s just speculation at this point. The Fast Play feature apparently means the next Chromecast will connect faster than the original version when you “cast” something from your mobile device. As for the feeds, there’s no word on what this is. 9to5Google figures it means you’ll be able to integrate social media feeds when the Chromecast flips to its idle backdrop mode. Backdrop
Comments
Post a Comment