By now just about everyone who stores files on their computer is aware that the USB stick or “flash drive” is a great tool for handling data in an external hard drive. All along though, the use of these convenient devices has carried with them some inherent security shortcomings.

New Security in the SafeStick

However; in recent times new developments have led to new security solutions being made available in the form of password protection, anti-virus features, as well as encryption that now brings a new level of peace of mind for users of the SafeStick and other similar external hard drives.

A New Level of Risk Management Is Achieved

For instance, with the new SafeStick users can now perform scans on outside systems and enjoy the benefits of complete security regardless if the outside system contains its own effective anti-virus protection or not. The end result is complete assurance that the SafeStick can’t be infected with any viruses as outside scans are being performed.

Just To Be On the Safe Side…

Even so, as a secondary form of anti-virus backup it is recommended that any flash drive be scanned as soon as it is plugged back into your computer, just to be on the safe side. In this way you can rest assure that any new virus that for some reason was able to bypass the encrypted flash drive will not infect your computer and damage its files.

Advice on Password Management

When it comes to passwords and the SafeStick or any other type of secure flash drive for that matter, it is highly advisable that you use password management software in the flash drive. Also it should also go without saying that any password manager should definitely be encrypted for basic security password security.

The Most Secure USB Sticks

Right now the most secure and overall safest USB sticks or flash drives on the market would be those such as the SafeStick that feature “advanced encryption standard”. It is at the present time universally recognized as the very latest technology in corporate grade standards and is often referred to as “AES”. Currently you can simply do no better than this.

The Added Cost Is No Deterrent to the Growing Popularity of the SafeStick

As with so many other new technologies such as that that is contained in the SafeStick, for the time being you will have to pay a bit more to acquire it. However; this added cost has done nothing to detract from the ever increasing popularity of the SafeStick, as more security conscious computer users are continuing to switch to them.

A Few Final Thoughts on Implementing the Use of the SafeStick

On a final note: You may want to consider updating your firms policies regarding security when you first begin to introduce the SafeStick to avoid any problems that can occur due to transition. Also being that the use of any encrypted flash drives will mean more passwords being introduced, some type of password management data base is highly advisable.

Where do computer virus myths come from? It’s hard to say. One minute you think you know how they work, and the next you’re being told you can get viruses from cookies, Javascript on Web pages, viewing GIF files, and so on. All nonsense of course, but it’s understandable to feel concerned. And it’s a lot healthier than completely assuming you’re safe from computer viruses, because unless you get rid of your PC that certainly isn’t true.DefinitionsA virus is a computer program that is designed to enter PCs without the user’s knowledge, then replicate itself throughout the system. Some viruses carry a ‘payload’ which activates eventually – this can be anything from displaying a silly message on the screen to wiping out all the files on your hard disk.An important step to protecting yourself is to realize when programs are running on your PC, because viruses can exploit them all. The first opportunity occurs when you switch on your computer. Both floppy disks and hard disks contain a little ‘boot sector’ program, which either displays a ‘you can’t boot from me’ message (on a normal floppy), or loads your operating system (on a hard disk). Boot sector viruses infect this program, so loading into memory every time you start your PC, then copying itself to every floppy disk you read.Other viruses target files containing program code; every time you run the infected program, it loads itself into memory, then might copy itself to other programs. Not just .exe files, either – .com, .dll, .ocx, .drv, .sys, and so on, are all at risk. After copying itself the original application continues to run and you never realize there’s a problem, until the payload hits you.Still, at least data files are safe, right? Wrong. Many Microsoft programs enable files such as Word documents and spreadsheets to contain program code (macros). This is great for automated office applications, but also presents another risk point. Just viewing a document carrying a macro virus can be enough to infect your whole system.Don’t PanicAlarmed? You should be, but there’s no need to panic. Modern antivirus software has some powerful features to prevent you getting infected. Two methods are particularly common.The first involves maintaining a table of virus signatures – sequences of bytes that occur in the virus program itself. Scan a downloaded file, and if you find that signature then you know the file might be infected. The signature approach is useful and quick, but can give false alarms if the signature occurs innocently somewhere. It’s no use on new viruses that aren’t in the signature file yet. And some viruses are polymorphic, meaning they change their own structure and just don’t have a consistent signature anyway.Fortunately the best antivirus software has another weapon in its arsenal – the heuristic approach. This involves looking for virus-like behavior – writing to an executable file, perhaps, or copying information to the boot sector. It’s a clever idea, and can even help detect completely new viruses.Protect YourselfInstalling good antivirus software is a great idea, but it’s only the first step. There are lots of other things you can do to help protect yourself. First you need to keep the software updated to cope with new threats. Some antivirus programs can update themselves automatically, but it’s still worth visiting the author’s web site every week to find out what’s going on. And don’t forget about the security settings on other software.There will always be some risk from viruses, but good antivirus software, combined with regular backups, should mean you can recover, if the worst happens.