This blog is a random collection of information, partly in support of my quotations web site. Other topics include wine, military news, economics, history, libertarianism, and other random things which happen to strike my fancy. Backup site is at http://quotulatiousness.blogspot.com/ (if there are no posts showing, hit the backup blog for explanation). Comments have been turned off, as the spam was getting too much to handle. Comments can be emailed to me for posting.

August 25, 2006

USB = Used to be Secure, Buddy

Bruce Schneier points to a cute little piece of software which "silently copies the contents of an inserted USB drive onto the PC. The idea is that you install this piece of software on your computer, or on a public PC, and then you collect the files — some of them personal and confidential — from anyone who plugs their USB drive into that computer."

I've been quite casual about plugging my 1Gb USB drive into computers. Clearly, I need to be more careful from now on . . .

Posted by Nicholas at August 25, 2006 11:13 AM
Comments
There are plenty of programs out there that will encrypt the contents for you and require one or several passwords to access/decrypt the drive... but it's still wise to be mindful of where you plug and play. Posted by: Chris Taylor at August 25, 2006 11:43 AM
Very true. One of the major advantages of the USB drive is its security weakness: it's totally open once you plug it in. Posted by: Nicholas at August 25, 2006 01:10 PM


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