NERDS!
(Credit: Dong Ngo/CNET)I once saw a homeless teenager with piercings all over his face standing on a San Francisco corner, and I asked him about the meaning of those little pieces of metal. Misinterpreting my genuine curiosity, he barked, "To shock people!" and refused my dollar.
Well, while I personally don't believe in self-expression via extreme piercing, I trust these bracelets I got here are gonna scream to the world that you identify as a nerd. In a good way.
The USB wristbands come in many different colors.
(Credit: USB-Hub.net)They're the USB wristbands from USB-Hub. Basically, they're regular USB drives, up to 4GB in capacity, in the form of bracelets.
The band has a rubberized exterior and makes a complete circle when you put the USB head of the drive into the other end, which is also the lid that keeps the drive protected and holds the ring together. The retention is just strong enough to keep the band from falling off your wrist by itself while still allowing you to pull the USB head out fairly easily when need be.
This is actually kind of convenient and helpful, as you won't have to look in your wallet or fumble through keys and coins in your pocket to find the drive. Some of them are even sort of stylish.
And USB-Hub banks on this notion. The bands come in many different colors, and you can have a logo or text printed on them. One of the bands I got actually has the word "NERD" written on it, which is sort of redundant. However, if you don't want to wear the wristband, you can also securely hang it on another object, like the handle of your laptop bag.
The USB-Hub wrist drives are USB 2.0-compatible and work well with virtually any computer, be it a Mac, PC, or Linux machine. They're available in capacities ranging from 1GB to 4GB, with the latter version costing around $15.
As a bonus, I found out you can also put a few of them together to create a necklace, which will not only increase the amount of storage but also make you look even more nerdy, especially when you also wear two on your wrists.
(Credit:
Ennova)
With USB flash drive prices hitting rock bottom, the devices have become a cheap commodity item with little, if any, technological difference between brands. Ennova's new ION flash drive, however, stands out from the crowd with its integrated OLED (organic light-emitting diode) touch screen.
Though details are scant, Ennova said the display will allow users to select files and initiate to-be-announced functions. The OLED touch screen can also double as a biometric fingerprint sensor that changes color to indicate if the print is authorized. A hinged cover is designed to protect the screen and USB port.
The company expects the first retail units to hit stores in early 2010, with pricing and capacity details unavailable at this time.
(Source: Crave Asia)
USB thumb drives are convenient, popular and often free--and they're spreading viruses like sailors on shore leave.*
The US-CERT (Computer Emergency Response Team) issued a warning on Thursday that malicious code is increasingly propagating via USB flash drive devices.
Meanwhile, the U.S. Department of Defense has temporarily banned the use of thumb drives, CDs, and other removable storage devices because of the spread of the Agent.bzt virus, a variant of the SillyFDC worm, according to Wired.
We've seen this before with portable external storage devices. Floppy disks were the culprit in the early 1990s, followed by CDs. The fact that USB thumb drives are being used by so many people makes them an attractive target for virus writers.
"The bad guys are intentionally developing new flavors of malware designed to propagate through USB devices," said Gunter Ollmann, chief security strategist for IBM's ISS security division. "They are today's floppy drives."
(Credit:
CNET News/James Martin)
But USB drives are even handier. Their small size makes them easy to slip into a pocket or carry on a lanyard around your neck. A common swag item in the tech industry, they also are mainstream consumer storage devices. They literally litter my desk drawers.
There are a couple of ways USB thumb drives can be used to spread viruses and other malicious software.
... Read more
(Credit:
Super Talant Techonology)
Super Talent Technology is out with a new family of high-capacity USB drives that offer up to 64GB of space.
For now, the new drives are possibly the largest in the community of little drives. And they have style too.
Dubbed Luxio, the drives are housed in a sleek .8 inch by 3 inch by .4 inch UV-coated ABS/PC case with chrome-plated zinc trim. They come in black, silver, and wood grain colors and in three storage sizes: 16GB, 32GB, and 64GB.
All models in the Luxio family come with advanced AES-256 hardware encryption as a standard feature that allows for fast, convenient data security. The drives are packaged in a gift box with a custom-made black leather carrying case.
The Luxio models will begin shipping this week. The cost of the 64GB versions are expected to be around $149.
(Credit:
TrekStor)
USB thumb drives are going the Swiss Army way in their all-in-one multiple offerings, and this latest gives Victorinox a run for its tools. Who'd have thought a TrekStor can not only store digital files (up to 16GB), but also pop that beer bottle cap off anytime you fancy a tipple?
Bottoms up to a very nice combination for press launches or office retreats: data and drinking. What's more, this makes for a pretty nifty keychain add-on, with its solid brushed-aluminum finish and snazzy bottle opener at the end. TrekStor has slated this product for October at $12-$88, depending on the capacity.
(Via Crave Asia)
The new Pico D USB drive.
(Credit: Super Talent Technology)Super Talent Technology, a manufacturer of Flash storage and DRAM memory modules, on Wednesday announced the Pico D, the newest member of world's smallest USB thumbdrives.
Though tiny in size, measuring only 1.4-inch in length and weighing less than 0.2 ounces, the new Pico D series are shock- and water-resistant.
According to STT, these drives can transfer data at speeds up to 30 megabytes per second. Like the Cosair Flash Voyager Mini, the Pico D achieves the miniature size by using chip-on-board technology. However, the Pico D series offers storage capacity up to 8GB, twice that of the Flash Voyager Mini.
Like all other USB devices from STT, the Pico D series is backed with lifetime warranty. The series will be available for purchase sometime this week for about $40.
I've accidentally left my thumdrives in the pocket and let them go through the laundry treatment multiple times. Some times they survived, other times I had to buy a new one. Either way, I had to deal with this familiar lingering bad feeling after finding the little device inside the dryer. It's like "Gosh, I couldn't believe it happened, again!" And yet, I just can't guarantee that it won't. This is why I've been very happy with Cosair's Flash Voyager series that features a water resistance and shockproof housing.
And today, the device got a new form factor. It's now has is ultra compact with a size that's about one third of the original Flash Voyager. The all-new Flash Voyager Mini offers 4GB of storage and weight just 0.2 ounces (about as heavy as a piece of gum). Like other Flash Voyager flash drives, the Mini is covered in rubber and is water and shock resistant.
The Flash Voyager Mini features a cap-less retractable connector plug, which easily opens with the flick of the thumb (and protects the chip inside while closed). It utilizes the latest chip-on-board technology, which allows the entire USB connector to be easily retracted into the drive. The new design makes the drive smaller and also helps prevent it from damage caused by daily life mishaps.
You can buy the new drive right now for about $25, which is rather expensive considering the relatively small amount of storage space. I believe the price will go down in the near future. Nonetheless, Corsair backs it up with 10 year limited warranty. I think it's worth the current price, if you want something really tiny and--more importantly--negligence-proof. Speaking of which, I know I am going to get myself one.
(Credit:
Crave Asia)
Information security, or lack of, may have been actor Edison Chen's downfall when his bedroom antics hit the Internet circuit. But for companies dealing in data security tools, it's been one satisfying ride (pun intended) since it's exposed a vulnerable issue that strikes fear into the hearts of PC users, not to mention Edison's lower extremities.
In the worst-case scenario, failure to secure your personal or critical information on your computer can result in serious fallout not only for yourself, but involved parties, as we've witnessed in a very public way. While companies know it's plain good business to safeguard their sensitive data, the Average Joe is less primed against data theft or loss. So EasySafe has been, as its name implies, attempting to make it easy and safe for the home user. Its computer data security USB key has been upgraded with drivers to allow the user the option to duplicate file security onto a second key, since this sells in a dual set, or pass the other key to a trusted party.
<--more-->While this isn't the most elegant hardware encryption tool in the market, usage is almost idiot-proof. You install the software driver one time, insert the key into a USB port, and a a pop-up box will prompt you to create a virtual drive, how big a storage capacity you want, and where the drive will sit. The information stored in the drive is secured using a military-standard encryption algorithm (3DES, AES) and PIN protection built into the device.
Pulling out the key causes the virtual drive(s) to be hidden, although there's still a trail left behind if you happen to specify the PC as your destination. When we combed through our computer, we found the root file within the C drive. So while the virtual drive is inaccessible without the USB key, this won't stop the most determined hacker once he's clued in to the EasySafe.sdf file which is a dead giveaway.
For the truly paranoid, we'd suggest setting up the virtual drive on an external storage such as a USB thumb drive, portable HD, or flash media card. While it's more tedious managing your data from different sources, at least your sensitive data won't be residing on the laptop. Plus the EasySafe.sdf file now outside of the PC.
The water-resistant easySafe is now retailing in Europe, Malaysia and Singapore at S$99 ($71.40) a pair. We'd have liked the drivers (which come on an installation CD) to be pre-loaded on the drive for a more convenient setup, and Singapore developer Fast and Safe Technology is at least addressing the issue of a cap in a later edition.
EasySafe is compatible with only Windows 2000, XP, and Vista. So ironically, poor Edison's Mac laptop will still have to get its data security remedy elsewhere.
(Source: Crave Asia)
(Credit:
Lexar)
When you hear Los Alamos National Laboratory is disabling its computers' USB ports to prevent people from toting away flash memory drives filled with classified nuclear weapons information, it's not a stretch to imagine that there might be a market for thumb drives with a bit of security.
Enter Lexar's SAFE PSD S1100, a product line announced Monday geared for use at corporate or government customer sites where there's a need to keep the lid on sensitive data.
The drives offer built-in 256-bit file encryption and a mandatory password to gain access to the data. The encryption governs the password as well as the devices' encryption keys and operating firmware, Lexar said. In addition, each system has a unique identifier and can be managed by central servers that govern device and data policies and audit usage.
Lexar, a Micron subsidiary, announced models with 1GB and 2GB capacities. The product is sold through value-added resellers.
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