Betcha didn’t know that USB flash drives weren’t allowed in the US military. Or maybe you did — you know, considering that one with Japan-US troop deployment maps went missing in mid-2008. Oops. At any rate, the Department of Defense has reportedly lifted said ban, but as with anything related to The Man, gobs of red tape will be involved. For starters, they won’t be reintroduced “wholesale,” instead being reserved for “mission essential applications.” We’re also told that the drives themselves must contain specific security features, and administrators will be able to track the use of ‘em from the outset. For those unaware, the ban was originally put into place just over a year ago after virus-laden USB keys disrupted military networks, presumably flashing Blingee’d faces of Kim Jong-il onto CIA surveillance screens. Or not, but that’d be pretty hilarious.
DoD eases ban on thumb drive use for US military, our enemies rejoice originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 22 Feb 2010 00:57:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink 
Fark | 
DefenseNews | Email this | Comments
Popularity: 3% [?]
Our British readers will already be painfully familiar with the comical propensity that government officials (even spies!) have for losing sensitive data while on the move. It might be an idea, therefore, to give your forgetful local representative a break with one of these new Corsair USB drives. The Padlock 2 features OS-agnostic password protection via the keypad you see above plus 256-bit encryption of the data stored on the flash inside. So even if someone is tenacious enough to pry the case open, he’ll have a hard time getting anything useful out of it. Oh, and don’t worry about forgetting the passcode, there’s a procedure for wiping the drive clean and generating a new one. 8GB units are available immediately, and we’ve spotted them online priced at £46 in the UK and $59 in the good old US of A.
Corsair’s Padlock 2 offers 256-bit AES encryption inside a rugged body originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 19 Feb 2010 06:55:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink Hexus | Corsair | Email this | Comments
Popularity: 2% [?]
No matter how you slice it, having 256GB on your keychain is pretty rad. For those living in various regions of the world not named America, they’ve had access to the DataTraveler 300 for just under a year. Thankfully, the Kingston finally realized that Yanks love capaciousness as well, and the DataTraveler 310 is the solution that very sect has been longing for. Hailed as the first 256GB flash drive to ship in the States, the DT 310 is capable of holding up to 54 DVDs or 51,000 JPEGs of your undercover lover, and it’ll function just fine with Windows, Linux and OS X-based systems. We’re told that it’ll sport data transfer rates of 25MB/sec (read) and 12MB/sec (write), but chances are you’ll never get the opportunity to put those claims to the test. You know, given that astronomical $1,108 MSRP.
Kingston ships 256GB DataTraveler 310 USB flash drive to affluent Yanks originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 18 Feb 2010 14:03:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink | Hot Hardware | Email this | Comments
Popularity: 1% [?]
We’re a few precious breaths from 2010, and if there’s anything we’re looking forward to, it’s some wicked fast USB 3.0 storage —
Intel be damned. Set to hit shelves sometime in January, A-DATA’s N002 Combo Flash Drive sports both SATA II and a USB 3.0 connection. Using the latter, the drive boasts up to 200MB/sec read and 170 MB/sec write speeds. Or if you’re feeling retro, you can take advantage of that backwards-compatibility and connect via USB 2.0. Now, we don’t know how much this bad boy will cost, but it will be bundled with A-DATA UFD to GO software. Of course, this thing is not nearly as cute as the
Kissing Octopus USB drive, but we’re sure it’s not without its charms.
A-DATA’s USB 3.0 / SATA II flash drive announced for January originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 30 Dec 2009 23:17:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink | SlashGear | Email this | Comments
Popularity: unranked [?]
Hey, look! It’s a gimmicky USB drive that actually provides a somewhat useful service! Lockface, developed by Futen in Japan, uses your computer’s web cam to identify you before letting you access its data.
The flash drive holds 4GB of memory—though larger capacity models are planned—and employs 256-bit AES encryption. To use, you register several pictures of your face, which will then be checked against what your web cam sees to confirm that you’re the owner. The entire process takes about one second.
The drive is about 98% accurate, with a backup password authentication system for that other 2% of the time. Surprisingly enough, there’s also no need to download or install any additional software. Lockface also looks like it could double as a bottle opener, but it’s probably too small and expensive for that at 22×4×55mm and $110. Currently only available in Japan. [Excite News (translated) via Crunch Gear]
Popularity: unranked [?]
IronKey has never been one to shy away from sensational claims, but for whatever reason, it’s announcing its newest secure drive in a rather low-key fashion. Or, somewhat so. The D200 range of USB flash drives are said to be more manageable and secure than ever, offering up the peace of mind necessary in government and enterprise scenarios. The new devices include policy enforcement, usability and field-maintenance capabilities, a dual-channel architecture for rapid transfers, the ability to double as an authentication token and a self-defense mechanism designed to resist “physical, malware and password attacks.” It’s available in 1/2/4/8/16GB capacities and should withstand most encounters with water and shock, though it’s on you to dig up the presumably lofty MSRPs.
Filed under: Storage
IronKey ships uber-secure D200 USB flash drives originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 04 Nov 2009 04:22:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
Popularity: unranked [?]
You know what’s kind of like online digital distribution, and yet not at all like that? Selling the entire re-mastered Beatles catalog on a USB drive that slots into a fake apple. The fine folks at Apple Corps Ltd. and EMI Music have teamed up to build a limited edition run of 30,000 USB apples to be sold on December 7 in the UK and December 8 in freedom-loving America. Included on the 16GB drive are the 14 stereo titles in FLAC 44.1 Khz 24-bit, in addition to 320 Kbps MP3s and a whole digital stack of special materials like liner notes and mini-documentary films, all for the low, low price of $279.99. The drive is up for pre-order as of now, which means you could be a mere month away from plugging this drive into your computer, dragging the files into your iTunes library and then pretending that you bought them online in some sort of forward-looking content distribution model.
Filed under: Portable Audio
The Beatles catalog being released on limited edition USB stick originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 03 Nov 2009 22:32:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
Popularity: unranked [?]
Movies delivered on memory cards isn’t an entirely new development (Sony did it back in the early days of the PSP), but it looks like Paramount and Kingston think the idea is prime for a comeback, and have today announced a partnership that’ll see some of the studio’s movies delivered on SD cards and USB drives. That gets started with Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen on a (presumably reusable) 4GB Kingston DataTraveler I USB drive that’s available right now for $29.99, and will apparently continue with additional movies offered across Kingston’s full line of memory cards and USB drives, although both parties are staying mum on any further specifics. There’s also no word from any other studios or memory companies just yet, but we can only presume this means slotMovies are right around the corner.
[Via HotHardware]
Filed under: Home Entertainment, Storage
Paramount and Kingston team up for movies on flash memory originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 02 Nov 2009 18:43:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
Popularity: unranked [?]
The concept here is far from new, but that doesn’t mean that the latest iteration isn’t way more frustrating. For kids just looking to “discover themselves” somewhere on the world wide web, the Kids Online Guard USB Stick is a nightmare of the worst kind. Designed to keep your offspring away from files, websites and folders that you deem inappropriate, it seems to work by triggering limits when plugged in, and when unplugged, the whole PC likely locks everyone out. Of course, we’re guessing that this is just the thing to train your kid to become the planet’s next great circumventer / hacker, so if viewing this as a “training tool” makes you sleep easier, you can get one headed your way for $21.69.
[Thanks, Frank]
Filed under: Peripherals, Internet
Kids Guard USB stick is guaranteed to frustrate, encourage circumvention originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 26 Oct 2009 15:19:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
Popularity: unranked [?]
Oh, brother. As we all know so well, the office can be a draining place. But devices such as these could make even the most burnt-out middle manager excited to clock in. The USB PC Prankster looks like a stock flash drive, but as you can clearly see above, a few toggle switches enable it to become quite the headache. Once plugged in, the unlucky PC that it’s attached to will have its Caps Lock enabled and disabled at random, see garbled text splattered about quarterly reports and be victim to uncontrollable, erratic cursor movements. Thankfully, the drive will never activate the Enter key nor close or save documents, so you can rest assured that it’s all in good fun. Turning your office up on its head costs just £19.99 ($33), but you’ll have to wait a tick ’til it comes back in stock.
[Via Switched]
Filed under: Peripherals
USB PC Prankster: guaranteed to freak out, enrage your cubicle mates originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 18 Oct 2009 15:33:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
Popularity: unranked [?]
