Avert Dangers with Password protected Flash drives:

The highly efficient USB Flash Drives or USB Pen Drives so popular that mostly all the computer users are proud owners of these drives as such. The reason for their immense popularity can be attributed to the fact that they are so small and with such vast capacity that people just want to store all their data on these tiny little magical creations. Also the fact that they offer so much ease of operation without any bulk association attached with these, that everyone has at least one Flash Drive for sure.

But the bad things that gets associated with these is, that since they are so tiny that they can get lost very easily and that too without anybody’s knowledge. Now the loss of a USB Drive is not similar to that of a wallet lost case as such; whereby your identity can be traced by some credit or debit cards in the wallet or also your own visitor’s cards information. If someone happens to lose their data stick there is no way it can get its way back home, even if the finder intends to return it to you? The loss can be immense thereof. In addition to the physical loss of the stick there is a possibility that the data can be compromised in any manner if it is of sensitive nature.

It can lead to identity theft; or the confidential company information can be compromised by selling it to the highest bidder or your email or postal mails can be flooded by junk mail. That is why it makes sense to invest in password protected Flash drives whereby the data can be extremely safe even if the drive is physically stolen by anyone.

USB Flash Drives – Overview and Functionalities

USB Flash Memory Drives are the plug and play storage devices that facilitate the storage as well as easing out the burden on computer as such. The utility offered by these are such that they can be used in place of a CD Drive or a zip drive. This innovative form of removable drives are such that enhance the performance of the system by taking in the extra load from the PC and making it function in the most effective manner. The functionality offered by it is such that there is no rebooting required when one plugs on the drives, similarly there is no need for an external power supply or batteries to operate.

It works completely on an independent platform. Moreover the data stored in this remains stored in the drive even after it has been plugged off or it has been taken out from the computer. Therefore as against computer’s Random Access memory that simply wipes out all the data after the computer has been switched off, the USB Flash memory drives are capable of storing data for a long period of time. In fact they are so versatile that they can easily help in transferring the data from one place to another without having the bulk association of carrying external hard drives or a case of Floppy disks. Therefore it suggests an easy transfer of data from one place to another.

There is also no harm if the drive is left in the computer and is not taken out; it only suggests an easy transfer of data with the USB drive. The capacity of USB Pen Drives are such that they can be bought in accordance to your utility. You can get a USB Flash drive from 128MB and it can also go up to 4GB, 8GB and 16GB as well. The utility offered can be geared in accordance to the needs that you have, also since there are no moving parts therefore they can be the most reliable methods of storing the data as such.

USB Pen Drive Manufacturers: Producers of Storage Devices

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USB pen drive is a pen like device which provides data storage capacity varying from mere megabytes to several gigabytes. USB pen drives have bought about an innovatory change in the whole process of data storage and transferability from one computer to another. USB pen drives have been regarded as trendy and fashionable devices which are extremely portable and opportune to use and carry. The files can be dragged and dropped into the memory of the pen drive with instant accessibility.

The usage and popularity of these USB pen drives has further augmented the demand for the pen drives encouraging various USB pen drive manufacturers to create pen drives consisting of all modern and smart features. To further supplement the usage of pen drives various manufacturers, local or international, have added password protection features which offer data protection safety measures. This increase in the use of USB pen drives has eliminated the use of floppy disks or CDs as pen drives are simpler to use. These USB pen drives are equipped to offer more storage capacity where information can be accessed at any time and in any manner.

Pen Drive Benefits: Information on the go

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Pen drive refers to a USB portable device which is used for storing audio, video, movie and data files from one computer to another. Pen Drive is one of the accessories which compliments the use of computers in this supercomputer age. Technically, pen drive excels in reading, writing and expunges data from flash memory. Going in by the name these USB drives are small in size, frolicsome and offer qualities of reliable data storage. One end of the pen drive is intended to get the drive activated through the USB connector of the machine.

Pen drives are known by various names such as USB key drive, USB memory stick, thumb drive, USB flash drive, and many more. The storage capacity ranges from 64 MB to 64 GB to even 80GB competence. With the progression of know-how the high storage pen drives with a capacity of upto one million re-writes or erase cycle with a retention capacity of about ten years are available in the market. However, their high price makes them unpopular in the market. Do get a pen drive and get going with information right in your pockets.

How to Connect Two Computers with USB Cable

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Heard of USB Networking Cable ever? Almost all of us connect our computers with mobile phones, USB flash drives, digital cameras, printers, scanners and several other electronic devices just to transfer our desired data to and fro our PCs. Have you ever tried connecting 2 PCs with one USB cable for data transfer? Yes, it is again an interesting phenomenon to transfer files or building network or even sharing Internet connection. This is where a USB Networking Cable or Bridged USB Cable comes into play.

Usually, the PC is connected to mobile phones, ipods, digi cams or printers via A/B USB Cables. But being different from other USB Cables, the one used to connect two PCs is called A/A USB Cable. As far as data transfer speed is concerned, you can easily find a USB 1.1 or USB 2.0 cables in market. Usually the windows or operating systems are not compatible with this networking phenomenon. Therefore, you need to install the programme and drivers of the respective USB cable to both the computers. Remember to restart your computer after installing the drivers.

This phenomenon works in two different ways: the link mode and the Internet mode. Usually, when two different computers are attached with a Bridged cable via link mode, the data transfer speed is comparatively faster and the process is easier. But to get Internet/printer/scanner access in both the PCs, one needs to attach the same via network mode.

To get perfect access of Internet, please make sure that both the computers are configured to your desired IP address. This can be easily identified from the Network Connections menu in the Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) section. The process of transferring data or files is quite easy and similar to attaching the computer with a USB pen drive or mobile phone.

Troubleshooting Tips for USB Flash Drives

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Almost all of us require a USB drive to carry our valuable data with us all the time. Although these external memory devices come with a genuine warranty but it is recommended to check for its authenticity first. Moreover, these small devices are so delicate that you may face a number of problems while accessing your files. To serve the purpose, you should be aware of a few troubleshooting tips.

However advanced USB flash drives do not require any additional device drivers to be installed in your computer before accessing the same. But you can check the authenticity of your USB flash drive by just visiting the manufacturer’s website and feeding the manufacturing code of your pen drive there. This is helpful in checking the make and model of your flash drive. Most of the problems that arrive with USB drives can be easily resolved at home only.

The most common issue with USB pen drives is that your computer may deny identifying it. This is often found in computers running on the older versions of operating system. Windows 2000, XP, Vista, 7 and all the modern versions automatically detect the additional drives. But versions like Windows 98 or even older require additional driver to serve the purpose. To enable this device, you may visit the manufacturer’s web site to download the driver.

Some of you may face problems like that the same pen drive, which works in Windows XP, does not work in Windows Vista. For this problem, Vista offers a driver installation wizard in control panel that can be easily followed to update the drivers. Moreover, you may find that your USB drive works at home, but is not recognized on your office computer. This is because your office computer gets set up to override Windows’ drive lettering system. But you can repair this problem manually by just assigning a drive letter to your USB drive (through the Disk Management utility).

Sometimes while deleting or changing the data on your USB drive, you may get a message that the USB drive is write-protected. In such a case you need to unlock the drive by locating the write-protect switch on the side of the drive and sliding it to the unlocked position.

Because of a few operating systems like Vista, you may also get a message like “This device can perform faster”. This happens when a faster USB drive is inserted in a slower USB (Universal Serial Bus) port. Usually, you will find two USB standards—USB 2.0 and USB 1.1. Both of these vary in their data transfer speed (USB 2.0 can transfer data at up to 480 Mbps while USB 1.1 can only perform at up to 12 Mbps). So, whenever you connect USB 2.0 drive to a port that is compatible with USB 1.1, you get a message that the drive can perform faster.

All these problems are usually not major and can be repaired at home only. Therefore, it is recommended to buy a user manual for USB pen drives along with USB drive. This will certainly help you resolving the issues quickly.

USB Flash Drives: Upholding World in Your Pocket

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Here is one experience shared by an user:

That was an old USB flash drive, not in working condition, placed in a plastic case in my almirah. I released its seal and found that there was a small printed circuit board carrying the circuit elements and a USB (Universal Serial Bus) connector inside that small device. That small chip is basically a flash memory data storage device integrated with a USB 1.1 or USB 2.0 interface.

As I needed another one for my personal usage, I preferred going through a USB guide book before purchasing the same. These pen drives are great maintenance tools for your computer. Whether you have to analyze your disk usage analysis or install an operating system (OS), these mini sized devices are simply the best. Finally, I came to some interesting facts about USB flash drives:

• Pen drives can store a host of portable applications that can be directly used from drives without being installed on a computer.
• These are used for the same purposes as of floppy disks a few years back. But these are smaller, faster, more durable and have greater storage capacity. In 2010, you can find a USB drive even 250 GB memory.
• A simple, small pen drive lets you set up MP3 player, handle email between computers using Thunderbird, and access productivity applications including a full office suite.
• These are rewritable, and allow over 1 million write or erase cycles easily, with a 10-year data retention cycle.
• With a high data transfer rate than other optical disc drives, these USB drives can also be read by most other systems such as the PlayStation 3.

In the market, a few shopkeepers insisted me to buy a larger capacity Hard Disc instead of USB drive. Comparatively, flash drives use little power and are small & light. Most of these do not even include a write-protect mechanism (which makes a device suitable for repairing virus-contaminated host computers). But those beautiful USB flash drives, insulated electrically and protected inside a plastic, metal, or rubberized case, stole my heart. I purchased one that can be carried easily in a key chain or necklace. The future for these USB 2.0 drives is quite bright, as several value-added resellers are using a USB flash drive as part of small-business turnkey solutions.