USB Flash Drives, we’ve all got one, I’m sure you probably know exactly where your precious Flash Drive is right now… do you? really? you might want to go check if you brought it home with you..
If you have any doubts where your USB Flash Drive is I’ll give you a few seconds to go hunt for it…
*waiting, waiting*
Ok so now you’ve either found it and have it in your hands or you just freaked out and are racking your brain as to where you last saw it.
If your of the latter group, I suggest you stop reading now and go find it, but come back here once you have to find out how to stop worrying about it.
So you have found your USB Drive, great, how safe is it? Could you lose it today and not care about anyone getting hold of the data? Is the data important?
Most of us have crucial data on our USB Drives, I do, I know you do, and its life altering, deal breaking information.
Most common things on peoples USB Drives are also the easiest filetypes to open. This poses a problem if the drive falls into another person’s hands.
We’ve all read news stories and blog entries about companies and government agencies that have lost amazing amounts of data, usually client details or identity details about clients, on both laptops and USB devices.
Why does this keep happening? because people use industry standard tools like Microsoft Office products or have information saved in PDF’s that are easy to open.
I’ve just gone through this exact issue, although I did find my USB Drive (albeit after smashing a $1oo lamp in the process) and even though I’d backed up the information on the drive and had encrypted the most important information, I hadn’t done the same with my personal info (resume, recently gained certificates) and even the novel that I’m slowly writing!
It almost makes you insane and paranoid to think that someone else has your data and is copying it all down, stealing your identity and profiting off your creative ideas.
Securing your drive.
Security is key on a portable drive, no matter the intended purpose even if its just your home backup drive for a few files.
The most at risk device however is the one that you carry everyday.
You have it slung around your neck on a lanyard, hanging off your keys, in your work or laptop bag, the one that has all those cool applications on it that you depend on and all the important documents that you might need at a drop of a hat.
You know, the one that you plug into numerous pc’s over the course of a day and could easily forget if something distracts you for a second.
I’m sure that most USB Drive owners have felt the white-hot panic when you’ve left your device plugged into a PC and forgotten it.
I’ve done this more times than I could count.
Security Tip #1
IF YOU LEAVE A PC TAKE YOUR USB DRIVE!
Now this might sound like a no-brainer, but I’ve had to train myself to do it, the amount of times I’ve had to return to a PC after hours to retrieve my USB Drive almost borders on stupidity.
Security Tip #2
BUY A DRIVE WITH A DECENT LOOP HOLE!
Some of you might wonder what I’m talking about with this tip.
I’ve purchased a large number of drives over the years, and had the ability to experience both good and bad flash drive design. Let me show you what I mean.
This is probably the MOST important tip I can give, buy one with a decent loop hole. This way you can clip a sturdy key chain hook through it to secure it on your lanyard or keys.
If the drive has a hole that is too small then you are either at the whim of the manufacturer to use their small nylon cord to feed through the hole or worse if they don’t provide a cord then you scrounge to find something that is small enough to attach to the device. This is dangerous, and is most definitely the easiest way to lose your drive.
I actually have the good device shown above, its a Lexar Twist Turn 8gb drive, I chose it because of the large loop and the fact there is no cap to lose. Its an excellent drive but I had to wrap some electrical tape around the device to make it thick enough to keep the drive inside its sheath.
Security Tip #3
ENCRYPT YOUR DEVICE!
Now you need to take this with a grain of salt. Most people who think encryption think about creating special containers that are hidden from everyone using special tools and use 64 character passwords that contain capitals, symbols and non-sequential numbers.
As with most things there are many different opinions about how best to encrypt your data for portable devices.
So here’s my 2 cents about this topic. I live by a simple creed when it comes to encryption of data: Can I live with someone else having the data? Then don’t encrypt it – this may seem too simplistic but trust me its the easiest question to answer.
If you don’t care if someone has a copy of your unencrypted personal documents, or work documents or images of your cat, then don’t encrypt them.
If you do however care about the information, then encrypt it.
Simple as that.
Now as I said at the start of this tip you need to take encryption with a grain of salt not to go too overboard. Methods of encryption and their ease of use is almost always driven by the level of paranoia that would be induced if you lose the data.
Also make sure that you use a memorable yet hard to crack password, avoid the usual birth dates, family members names, names of pets and the usual things to avoid when choosing one.
I can recommend using a password with at least 1 capital, 1 number and a length of 10 characters. Why 10 characters? because it adds just that little bit extra protection.
Plenty of software exists to encrypt your data, here are a few:
TrueCrypt – Open Source on-the-fly, strong, file and partition based encryption, ability to create an encrypted file container or whole partition both either visible or hidden, one caveat is that it requires Admin rights on the PC you are running the application on.
Rohos Mini Drive – Freeware partition based drive encryption, similar to TrueCrypt however this application does not require Admin rights to operate correctly, also includes a virtual keyboard to circumvent keylogging applications.
Compression tools – Most mature compression tools these days allow for strong encryption to be applied when compressing files, applications like 7zip, WinRARand Winzipall allow for advanced, secure encryption. Personally I prefer 7zip as it has better native compression (*.7z format) than RAR and zip formats, uses military grade encryption and best of all, its free.
Security Tip #4
ATTACH YOUR DRIVE TO SOMETHING MEANINGFUL!
One of the worst things you can do is leave the drive unattached to anything, if you do its in its most vulnerable state, easy to lose by itself.
It’s better to have your device attached to something important such as your keys or a lanyard around your neck, that is assuming that you aren’t prone to losing what you have attached it too.
If you are prone to losing EVERYTHING, then get yourself one of these:
Its a retractable key chain, attach one end to your belt / bag, and the USB Drive to the other, that way, if you leave a PC while its attached you’ll know about it almost instantly.
I like to use a Texan perspective about this, bigger is better if you lose things all the time.
If this doesn’t help, perhaps encasing the drive in a kilo block of resin is the best.
Security Tip #5
BACKUP THE CONTENTS OF YOUR DRIVE!
Periodically copy the ENTIRE contents of your drive over to another medium, burn it to a DVD, onto a secondary key or onto your PC.
This reduces the risk of you losing recent changes to documents, but more specifically, it helps you remember whats actually on the device if you have lost it.
Security Tip #6
BEWARE COMPUTERS BEARING GIFTS!
Yes some of you may have noticed my play on the old adage: “Beware of Greeks bearing gifts” in reference to the old Trojan Horse gag.
But many people just assume that the PC they are plugging their device into doesn’t contain a Virus, Trojan or RootKitthat will copy, maim or destroy your data.
You might be just plugging it in to copy over that one important file, but just a few seconds is all that is needed to infect a USB Drive and ruin your day.
I’d recommend doing a few checks before you plug in, does the PC have a recently updated anti-virus application? is it a good, well respected anti-virus? Does the PC have a strong Firewall? Has it been kept current?
If you answer no to any or all of these, then proceed with trepidation.
There is one more option, use a portable anti-virus app on your USB Drive like ClamWin Portablealthough keeping it current means downloading the latest updates manually, file scanning is also manual and there is no automatic protection from malware / spyware.
Security Tip #7
EVERYONE WANTS YOUR DATA, BE PARANOID!
Paranoia is usually a bad thing, but not so if you want to keep your data safe on your USB Drive.
A little paranoia will keep you sane about where the device is and who has access to it.
Security Tip #8
EVERY NOW AND THEN ERASE THE FREE SPACE!
What a lot of people don’t know, or even worse, don’t understand is that even if you encrypt your data on the device the unencrypted version may still be lurking in the background of your USB Drive.
These days there are strong tools designed to forensically recover data from devices.
Using an application that passes over the free space of the drive multiple times will destroy this hidden information or at least obfuscate it enough to make it unrecoverable.
But not all people are as honest as we’d like to believe. A good thing to do is to put a text file into the root directory of the USB Drive that’s called READ ME IF FOUND.txt or something similar.
If someone finds your USB Drive and is rummaging through the contents then they are bound to find this file. Inside the text file write something short, but don’t hesitate laying on the guilt a little or give an incentive to return, it might just be the difference between getting your drive back or not.
Something like:
Hi, looks like you’ve found my USB Drive, clearly I’ve left it in a PC you’ve been on. Yep I feel like an idiot.
But it would be really great if you could return this drive to me!
Here is my mobile / cell phone number – <insert number here> – please contact me on this number as soon as you can, please don’t bother copying any information off the device as its all encrypted anyhow.
If you do return this to me I’ll give you a reward for your troubles.
Thanks for finding it!
<insert your first name here>
Doing this humanizes the loss, it gives you a voice or medium to describe that your want to have the device back, most of all it gives the loss a consequence.
So you’ve lost your USB Drive, what now?
Ok, don’t panic – the world hasn’t ended, the sun will still rise tomorrow, you can breathe.
If you’ve encrypted the sensitive data on your drive then you can breathe a little easier for sure.
Think about where you last saw it, then try to trace your steps from that point. Might sound like the usual things to do but the tried and trued methods sometimes are the best.
So you still haven’t found your device, you remember where you last saw the darn thing but it isn’t in the places you would expect, so try the last place you would expect.
Failing that ask around, has someone seen it? maybe they picked it up!
What’s the next step… Wait it out.
If you’ve followed the above steps and added the READ ME IF FOUND.txt file on your drive then you may be able to count on human decency and compassion to get the device back to you.
Ok, you’ve waited, no one has returned it and don’t expect to see it ever again, my advice?
Build a freakin’ bridge and get over it.
Its only data after all, if its in the hands of another person then there is nothing you can do about it. Just expect the unexpected, they have the device and the data and could act upon it at any minute, but don’t stress not all is lost, they probably won’t know what to do with what they have.
But what if its company information you’ve lost thats unencrypted?
Tell your boss immediately, mitigate the risk by being up front. Sure you might get fired depending on the nature of the info lost, but at least you have shown you are honest and still looking out for the company, hell it might work in your favor.
Mitigate the risks, work with your boss / colleges to be aware of the outcomes of someone using or releasing the information and the implications of what may happen.
Make sure that this can’t happen again, create better policy, enforce higher safeguards and most of all educate others on the risks.
The Conclusion…
Follow the above steps and you’ll be fine out there in the big wide world, you can rest assured that if you have done everything you can to lower the risk then you’ll either never lose you USB Drive, or if you do, no one will be able to retrieve anything useful from it in the first place.
If you have a similar experience or have ever lost a drive leave a note in the comments.
Google Nexus One, its almost a dirty phrase in the world of iPhone owners.
Of course the device was designed as a direct competitor to the iPhone 3G/3GS, given this its almost understandable that the Nexus One isn’t well received by the Apple fanboys and iPhone advocates alike.
And I would be one of those people if Apple hadn’t failed me so greatly.
If you haven’t already read my rant on why the iPhone 3G sucks then stop reading now and read it first.
For those who have read the aforementioned article, you’ll understand why I’m looking for an alternative.
I like the iPhone, its a great platform, robust OS, great selection of applications and huge development base, but the device is clearly rife with problems. I’m yet to meet a person who hasn’t tried to use the full breadth of their iPhone’s capabilities and has not had to do a full restore.
I’m also yet to meet a person who has followed the firmware upgrade path without needing to resort to the same action, even then as I found this isn’t without its dangers and can ruin your device.
Enter the Nexus One, designed to be open source, functional across multiple platforms, also built on a robust hardware solution and still a strong development community.
Googlehave been developing Android for some time now, infact the development life-cycle rivals that of the iPhone OS itself, opening it up for phone devices has been a rocky road however, but this can only be expected when manufacturers who wish to support the OS can’t agree on base hardware requirements.
This caveat can also be seen in the Nexus One, but the benefits out strip its shortcomings.
There are far too many people who have switched from the iPhone to the Nexus One to ignore, and far too many reports of people enjoying Google’s offering more than Apple’s device.
I can’t ignore this, and as an iPhone owner thats unhappy with the device (broken wifi after a firmware update) and support that has failed me twice, its time for me to look at alternatives.
The Nexus One isn’t the only phone I’m looking at, mainly because Google is still yet to announce a carrier or provide a release date for the phone in Australia.
Research in Motion’s recent Blackberry’s are very tempting, sure loss of screen space due to a physical keyboard (unless you look at the Storm… or not…) but its backed by a substantial amount of time in the marketplace for smart devices.
So I’m at a crossroads, on one hand the newest phone out of the block is an exciting addition to the smartphone, but I’ve been burnt by my iPhone experience with newer devices, so do I go for trust in a brand thats been around for longer than most?
If you have any suggestions or opinions please leave a comment!
Have you ever had the burning desire to have random strangers ask you questions about anything they can think of? No?
Well if you are someone more inclined to do so you can head over to Formspring.me and sign up, this allows you to have people anonymously ask you anything they like!
If you want to ask me anything you can head over HERE
OK so maybe the title is a little harsh. Let me tell you my story and you can decide…
Think back to October 2008, Haiti’s earthquake hadn’t happened, a terrorist hadn’t blown up his underwear in an airplane toilet, it was a simpler time… wait.. no it wasn’t…
Anyhow, the iPhone 3G had just hit the shores of Australia about one month before hand, it was the hot tomali of all tech at the time and I wanted one.
I’d been using a Nokia 6300 for ever and a day but its software crapped out, so I got a nice $99 Samsung SGH-E250 to fill the gap till something better came out in about July. And something better had arrived, the iPhone 3G.
It was out of the gate and people were treating it as if each iPhone box was the glowing sphincter of Steve Jobs himself, pooping out the latest and greatest hot steaming device into our hands.
And I was one of those people…
Sure I was caught in the hype, I was the second person in my team to buy one and it was grand. 3G data, Wifi, beautiful interface, amazingly growing app store.. life was good. Little did I know that around the corner lurked an evil beast which would rend my phone from its podium of glory.
So I did the usual thing, hung on every piece of information about the next OS update, 2.2, 2.2.1 then came the shiny 3.0 and 3.0.1…This is where my tale turns for the worse, iPhone OS 3.1.2 firmware update… it broke my Wifi, and broke it good.
Symptoms were that my iPhone could detect Wifi access points, but not connect to them. And I’d constantly get the error below:
iPhone Wifi FAIL
Now I’d heard around the interwebz that there was a way to roll the iPhone OS back to 3.0.1 to fix most teething issues that 3.1.2 was having, and upon doing so this returned my Wifi back to its original state… FOR 1 MONTH
For some reason I downloaded a wifi enabled application from the iTunes App Store, and it broke my Wifi again but this time for good.
I’ve tried different router settings, different routers, public access wifi and more to get the Wifi to work again. The only way I can get a Wifi signal connection is to create an Ad-Hoc Wifi AP from my PC/Laptop, for some reason it will connect to an Ad-Hoc network just fine!
And here I am, I’ve been trying to contact and get some resolution from Apple ever since. Here are the problems I’m facing though…
It is out of warranty, yes the warranty is no more, I didn’t opt for Apple Care for my phone, in hindsight this ‘may’ have been something to get but who knows?
I’ve contacted Apple several times, even have spoken to techs in Apple Care and in an Apple store (both over the phone) to which they always book me an appointment with one of the geniuses at the closest store to myself. Here in lies the FAIL.
I live approx. 200kms from the nearest official Apple Store so getting to one is a little harder than people in metro locations. I was also quoted that it would cost $275.00 AUD to have my iPhone replaced with a ‘referb’ with no warranty or guarantee that it wouldn’t exhibit the same issue.
I’ve even explained to them that there are people that have had their iPhone’s replaced out of warranty due to this issue as it is a known phenomenon to occur with the 3.1.2 update. They do not accept or admit that this is a fault and still attempt to run myself around in circles.
Also, to add insult to injury, I’ve tried to contact Optus, in the store that I purchased the phone from, a secondary store and on the phone. They will only take the phone, even with a known issue, and send it to an approved Apple service center (aka a shop down the road) to have it assessed for damage.
Tonight I’ve updated my iPhone to OS 3.1.3, its only just out today and I thought that this may have addressed my phone problem, but no dice, it still sucks as much as it did an hour ago on the old 3.1.2 firmware.
Here’s the video to prove it:
So that is my story, my next step is to drive the 200-or-so kms to get to an Apple Store, speak to a genius and see if they will outright replace this phone.
It all may be in vain however, I’ve decided that when it comes to phones, I’d prefer an Android… But thats another story…
Recently I’ve purchased a Canon IXUS 80 IS- its an older camera, sure, but its still the best compact I’ve seen on the market for a long time.
I’ve had a few compacts, and looked at plenty more in the marketplace before settling on the powerhouse above, I’ve moved from a Kodak Easyshare C813 up to the Canon as I’m going on a trip to New Zealand (more on that later) and needed a camera with better features, more functions and most of all and improved image quality.
Now don’t get me wrong the Kodak was a good camera, for its price. Originally it retailed around the $150.00 AUD mark, that said you get what you pay for…
It is a snappy little cam, but the image quality leaves much to be desired, even from an 8.2 megapixel sensor. It feels plastic, looks plastic, and its lens although good still performs badly.
But this is something that most sub $200 cameras suffer.
Flickr: Muschel by Simon S.
The IXUS 80 IS on the other hand originally became available in Q4 2007 – Q1 2008, its a stable camera, lots of good features on board (although does lack manual shutter control) and overall gives an amazing photo with great colour balance, richness and sharpness that most in its price category struggle to achieve.
When it was released it was valued at $397.oo AUD – quite a lot for a compact camera in any ones book, and for the price at the time you could go to a fixed-lens SLR Digital for not too much more.
Thankfully, as Moore’s Lawdictates, this camera has dropped in price significantly. (I got mine for $204.00 AUD)
Specifications
When it comes to the specs this camera is crammed full of them, lots of great options and features as well, although it does lack some features (like manual shutter control) remember that it is compact after all, and not to expect features like a digital SLR.
While I could list all the specs for the camera, I won’t if you want to see them click the below link:
What I will do however is talk about some of its best features.
Portability, of course this is a no brainer as its a compact after all, but I mean in respect to its feature set, cameras that have similar features have traditionally been bigger, and bulkier that the IXUS 80 IS.
Image Quality, awesome image quality for a camera in its price range, while you can get better shots from something more expensive (check the Canon Rebel series) this camera makes most compacts look like a pin-hole shoebox camera.
Flickr: Winkworth Chestnut by natokie
Speed, its fast, even on multiple exposures its a fast camera – yes some people will tell you that the flash recycle rate is appalling, in normal sunlight or in a well lit location it takes a shot every 0.6 of a second (as far as I could time without expensive speed metering equipment), menu response times are great, you’ll never have to wait for a function to finish or for it to load its menu.
Looks, may not be a big thing for most people, but the IXUS range of camera look far from shabby. They are sleek and sexy for sure.
User Interface, and I’m not just talking about software here, both the software internal menu and the external controls are well placed, easy to use and intuitive enough for even the most ham-fisted person to deal with. The one gripe I could see though is that the W – T rotator (read: zoom in and out) is a little fiddly. If you have mammoth sausage fingers then you might need to play with it a bit before you are comfortable.
Image Size / Format Control, big tick in this area, everything from 3264 x 2448 down to 640 x 480, lots of options for changing quality, 3 options for resampled smoothing is a small point be wary of, but most of the time even on the medium smooth setting its wonderful.
Hackability
No, I’m not talking about installing Linux on the device, or turning it into an internet streaming camera (although both could probably be done), I’m talking about opening up some of the more undocumented and unavailable features.
Canon Hack Dev Kit;
CHDKis a community based firmware mod that supports “most” canon powershot and later cameras.
CHDK stands for: Canon Hack Development Kit
Its not a permanent mod for your camera and can be totally reversed, all the new software lives on your SD card that is inserted into the unit. If you don’t like it, just remove the data of the memory card.
Best of all, its completely free to use.
Now that said it comes with one of these…
WARNING
CHDK IS ONLY EXPERIMENTAL, IT OPENS UP MORE FUNCTIONS THAN ORIGINALLY AVAILABLE THROUGH YOUR CAMERAS SOFTWARE, IT MAY CAUSE DAMAGE TO YOUR CAMERA.
DUE TO ITS EXPERIMENTAL NATURE, NO WARRANTY IS GIVEN WITH THIS SOFTWARE.
But then when has that ever stopped anyone from hacking a device before?
All over the CHDK site you’ll find reference to this time and time again, but they also mention that to date they are completely unaware of a single camera that has been damaged, bricked, or unusable after the software has been applied.
Just remember that its your device, do what you like with it, but be careful…
All in all, features considered, judged and weighed against other cameras in its class, and even considering its age (almost 3 years now!), its features still stand up and get counted.
You’d be hard pressed to find a more well rounded camera at its current price (approx. $200.00 AUD)
I would totally recommend the Canon IXUS 80 IS to anyone, even if they were a photography nut, but for the most part you’ll be surprised how much this camera packs into its small chassis.
I was wandering through my local supermarket shopping for some goodies to eat and I stumbled upon one of the most ridiculous things I’ve ever seen.
An 8gb USB Drive, packed in an interesting way…
WARNING: EXTREME PACKAGING FAIL
Extreme Packaging Fail
Seriously this is stupid, I understand that its for security so people don’t just walk off with these but COME ON, the packaging probably costs more than the device itself!
If the supermarket was smart they’d have a smaller packed device that is advertised as being available but only be able to purchase from checkout or from a secure area.
USB Flash Drives, we’ve all got one, I’m sure you probably know exactly where your precious Flash Drive is right now… do you? really? you might want to go check if you brought it home with you..
Security is key on a portable drive, no matter the intended purpose even if its just your home backup drive for a few files.
Its a retractable key chain, attach one end to your belt / bag, and the USB Drive to the other, that way, if you leave a PC while its attached you’ll know about it almost instantly.
OK so maybe the title is a little harsh. Let me tell you my story and you can decide…
