| A USB flash drive is a compact USB flash | | | | be used with any operating system. |
| memory drive that acts like a portable hard drive, | | | | - These drives are quite small and a number of |
| letting you store and transport your computer | | | | these can fit easily in a man’s short pocket. |
| data. | | | | They are also very light in weight. |
| Flash drive or Thumb drive are plug and play | | | | - When you insert the USB drive into the |
| devices. It does not require additional installations. | | | | computer, you do not have to reboot the |
| Windows XP will auto detect and show the device | | | | machine for it to recognise the device. You can |
| in Windows Explorer after it is plugged into the | | | | start using it immediately. |
| USB port. | | | | - USB drives draw power from the computer |
| Of course, no one uses cassettes anymore. USB | | | | itself. They do not need batteries to run or |
| Flash drive media is great for delivering custom | | | | require an external power supply. |
| marketing presentations, promotional give-aways, | | | | - USB drives are very reliable and can last for a |
| catalogs, software distribution, and more. Thanks | | | | number of years. Unlike read-only optical disks, |
| to its reusable format, portability, and solid state | | | | data can be written and re-written on USB drives |
| design USB Flash drives are in circulation much | | | | thousands of times without any problem. |
| longer than discs and Disc Makers is your | | | | - USB drives, as the name suggests, use the |
| resource for blank or custom printed USB drives. | | | | Universal Serial Bus (USB) interface to |
| Why we name it as USB Flash Drives because | | | | communicate with the operating system. This |
| the storage technology behind it is called flash | | | | powerful interface allows these drives to transfer |
| memory. It’s a non-volatile memory that can | | | | data to the computer at speeds that are about |
| store little data chunks especially when | | | | 10 times higher than those offered by a hard disk. |
| there’s no power. When the chunks need to | | | | - Despite their small size and negligible weight, USB |
| be larger the specific flash kind is used. | | | | drives have phenomenal capacities. The commonly |
| USB flash drives come in all different shapes and | | | | available drives come in sizes of 1 GB to 8 GB. |
| sizes but are usually no bigger than a pack of | | | | There are drives manufactured by some |
| gum. Other terms you may have heard that are | | | | companies which have a staggering 65 GB |
| synonymous with this type of device are thumb | | | | capacity |
| drives, pen drives, pocket drives, etc. The small | | | | - A USB drive has no moving parts. It is made up |
| size of these devices should be of concern when | | | | of an integrated circuit and a flash memory card. |
| evaluating their use in your environment; especially | | | | There is hardly any wear and tear. Contrast this |
| from an information security perspective. They | | | | with a hard disk that has platters spinning at 7,200 |
| are easy to hide, can store a considerable amount | | | | RPM, with the read / write head hovering above. |
| of data, are simple to use, easily accessible and | | | | Because of the absence of any delicate or |
| very affordable. | | | | moving parts, a USB drive is immune to impact |
| If proper steps are not taken to secure your | | | | trauma to a large extent. It does not develop a |
| computing environment, a USB flash drive would | | | | malfunction if it is dropped to the ground. |
| be an ideal means of collecting valuable | | | | Because there are no moving parts inside, USB |
| information and literally pocketing it. So what | | | | drives have minimal power requirements. This |
| steps can be taken to secure your environment | | | | makes them ideal substitutes for hard disks inside |
| against these potentially sinister little devices? | | | | laptops. |
| A USB drive has many advantages: | | | | Hard drives store data on platters coated with |
| - The USB drives come encased within a tough | | | | magnetic paint. This makes them vulnerable to |
| plastic shell that protects them from dust and | | | | strong magnetic fields which can destroy their |
| other kinds of damage such as scratches, unlike | | | | digital data. USB drives have no magnetic parts. |
| optical disks whose data-recording surface | | | | Instead they store data in a memory card which |
| remains exposed to the elements. | | | | is totally immune to magnetic fields. |
| - USB drives do not need a separate drive to be | | | | As the capacity of USB drives increases with |
| installed in the computer. They are stand-alone, | | | | time and prices drop, they are definitely going to |
| independent devices that draw power from the | | | | pose a threat to the hard disk industry for |
| computer itself. | | | | becoming the prime data-storage devices used |
| - USB drives are not dependent on a particular | | | | inside computers and laptops. |
| platform. They are platform-independent and can | | | | |