I’ve always admired all those folks who can live & work off of a flash drive. First, it just seems so … *lightweight*! (Duh! :-) ) I’ll be there in the Internet cafe in some Middle-Eastern city, having toted in my 5-pound laptop. In will walk this smart-looking westerner with a flash drive not much bigger than a pack of gum. He uses one of the provided computers in the shop… but does so *safely* by inserting his flash drive and booting all his programs off of *it*, instead of off a laptop. Seems secure enough. Can you work like that? Does it satisfy your needs? If so, what’s the best unit (“stick of gum”) that you’ve found? … and how easy was/is it? I’ve heard great things about the Iron Key unit. See the Youtube video at:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2MMGDXu-oms
or visit the company’s website at:
Our VP of Equipping, Eric, recently came back from a training session out East and he said they were all the rage there. (Thanks Eric!) Supposedly safe enough for military customers. Should be ok for us, right?
Hushmail has another version at:
https://www.hushmail.com/login-stealthsurfer
That one even comes with a Hushmail premium account.
See Sandisk’s version at:
http://www.sandisk.com/OEM/ProductCatalog.aspx?CatID=1341
My trouble is — I’m so spoiled, having carried my Thinkpads halfway around the world again and again. I love the keyboard. I’m *used* to it… and if I want to work on a report in my room ’til 2am, I *can*. So as much as I’d like to get excited about these flashdrive deals, I just can’t seem to generate it. How ’bout you?
Please click “Comment” below and give your testimony. Maybe this is more of a personal thing… because so far, working off of a flash drives doesn’t seem all that flashy to me.
Doug
Question: Keystroke logger programs record all of the keystokes one makes with a keyboard. This kind of problem may be an issue in Internet cafes in both sensitive countries as well as in places where personal information is being sought for fraudulent purposes. So the question is, can a bootable USB drive with all of one’s own programs and data encrypted on the USB drive avoid the problems of keystroke logger programs?
Yes, keystroke logger programs are a major concern, and there is no way to stop them. Also, there is the issue of screenshot capture software. This software can be installed like keylogging software that does not show as installed. With this software, screens can be read remotely and pictures taken. These pictures can also be scheduled. This means that every x minutes/seconds/hours the software stores a screenshot. I’d carry the laptop and use the Ironkey in emergencies.
According to IronKey’s promotional video, the password manager allows you to store passwords for websites so that you don’t have to enter them every time you visit secure sites. This is supposed to avoid the problem of the key logger.
http://portableapps.com/ offers a nice way to run your software from the USB flash drive.