USB Flash Drive

What is a USB Flash Drive?

It may be knows as a Thumb (trademark name) drive, a flash drive, or a memory stick. As the name indicates it is about the size of the average thumb. It can be worn around the neck, clipped to a key chain, slipped into a pocket or coin purse. It consists of a USB (Universal Serial Bus) connection, a series of flash memory chips and a controller.¹ Unless the USB port is locked, a Thumb Drive can be inserted into any open USP port and files could then be transferred. The flash drive presents a security concern for both corporations and schools. Vast amounts of confidential data can be quickly copied and moved. Microsoft has published the instructions for locking a USP port in Windows XP SP2 (Service Pack 2).

Dangers:

The flash drive enables the sharing of material that may inappropriate or even illegal. The memory capacity and speed of the flash drive allow the sharing of large files which may contain illegal software, music files, porn images, or stolen testing materials. The drives are relatively inexpensive, small and easily hidden. As a result, they may be used, without detection, to copy data.