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My thought of the day - and this is every day - what can I have for dinner...
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Hi,
We have had a smallish problem. Company policy dictates secure drives, fine. Several of our devices use old USB drives (one has a maximum of 256MB!) Due to their function and approvals it is not possible to change/upgrade them. How can you get a 'secure' 128K memory stick today (or ever)...
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You'll be lucky ... that kind of size is well and truly out of date ...
In fact, you'll be hard pressed to find any USB1 sticks about, regardless of size.
I'd try contacting the last people you bought from, and seeing if they have "redundant stock" lying about the warehouse, or will give you their supplier details if you explain the situation. Buy all you can, and start the approvals procedure for a less restricted device!
Sent from my Amstrad PC 1640
Never throw anything away, Griff
Bad command or file name. Bad, bad command! Sit! Stay! Staaaay...
AntiTwitter: @DalekDave is now a follower!
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Well I am told the last time, we bought all the ones that people had hidden down the back of the virtual sofa... This encryption malarkey is just odd, I mean a drive formatted for Windriver is going to be of any use to anyone...
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I second this advice, but suggest that you contact all of your approved suppliers.
Freedom is the freedom to say that two plus two make four. If that is granted, all else follows.
-- 6079 Smith W.
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SSD?
Message Signature
(Click to edit ->)
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Possible, but size is the issue...
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Physical size, or available drive space size?
There are a couple of ways I can think of to reduce the amount of space available. As for physical size, there are several thumb drives available that are no longer than maybe 1/2-inch.
".45 ACP - because shooting twice is just silly" - JSOP, 2010 ----- You can never have too much ammo - unless you're swimming, or on fire. - JSOP, 2010 ----- When you pry the gun from my cold dead hands, be careful - the barrel will be very hot. - JSOP, 2013
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Will something like VeraCrypt work with these size drives?
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Don't know, but it looks interesting...
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That was my thought exactly. You could either create a file container matching the size of the USB stick (or slightly less), or format the USB stick itself with VeraCrypt.
I still haven't migrated from TrueCrypt (VeraCrypt is pretty much its replacement), but I've used both approaches and they work equally well. The benefit to having a file container (rather than having the entire USB stick encrypted) is that you can create a backup just by copying a single file.
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Company policy needs to change to better fit reality. (Write it up prettily enough and you may get a bonus.)
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From experience, company policy is written by those still using Dial up. I have got into an argument with one of the bosses because I used a personal Kingston to move test data from the server room to my desk. The test data contains no personal, commercial, or other data, just hardware test results. I explained that was no other way of doing it as the device did not have the ability to be networked...Like fighting a cloud...
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Having dealt with this a lot, the trick is to show the cost in dollars and cents. Then when you present your plan, always make sure that you show that your plan costs less.
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glennPattonWork wrote: We have had a smallish problem. Company policy dictates secure drives, fine. Several of our devices use old USB drives (one has a maximum of 256MB!) Due to their function and approvals it is not possible to change/upgrade them. How can you get a 'secure' 128K memory stick today (or ever)...
Could you just creat a 256MB partiton on the xxGB USB stick and have the hardware just see the 256MB?
Michael Martin
Australia
"I controlled my laughter and simple said "No,I am very busy,so I can't write any code for you". The moment they heard this all the smiling face turned into a sad looking face and one of them farted. So I had to leave the place as soon as possible."
- Mr.Prakash One Fine Saturday. 24/04/2004
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Well, that was what I tried to do. However the one I used was a USB2.0 it didn't like that!
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glennPattonWork wrote: Well, that was what I tried to do. However the one I used was a USB2.0 it didn't like that!
OK. Well I have sitting here on a shelf on my desk a 256MB USB 1.1 Stick with a Lock/Unlock slider that I bought back in 2003. My cousin was the International Purchasing Officer for a supplier at the time and I got the staff price of AUD$256.00. I mean a dollar a meg was awesome for something I could put in my pocket back then.
Michael Martin
Australia
"I controlled my laughter and simple said "No,I am very busy,so I can't write any code for you". The moment they heard this all the smiling face turned into a sad looking face and one of them farted. So I had to leave the place as soon as possible."
- Mr.Prakash One Fine Saturday. 24/04/2004
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If I look hard enough I have 128 MB floating around on the desk. It was bigger than a floppy!
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I still have a 128 MB USB 1.0 that I bought when my then "new" computer was delivered without a floppy drive. (The nerve!)
Since I only add a few kilobytes a week, it still is not full after 11 years!
No glitches yet. They don't build them like that anymore! To get the higher densities, they use "compression" techniques that have a greater likelihood of corruption.
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Making up rules does not increase security; worse, it gives a false feeling of security.
Simple solution; buy any USB stick, cover the plastic in chickenblood and claim the stick purified and secure.
Bastard Programmer from Hell
If you can't read my code, try converting it here[^]
"If you just follow the bacon Eddy, wherever it leads you, then you won't have to think about politics." -- Some Bell.
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Eddy Vluggen wrote: cover the plastic in chickenblood holy water and claim the stick purified and secure No need to hurt those poor chickens.
You and I know holy water is just regular water, but people who make up these kinds of rules are stupid enough to believe anything
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Water and electrics don't mix of course, and a coating of blood will form a protective layer around the USB. Never tried it with the blood of a red cabbage, might affect the voodoo a bit.
Bastard Programmer from Hell
If you can't read my code, try converting it here[^]
"If you just follow the bacon Eddy, wherever it leads you, then you won't have to think about politics." -- Some Bell.
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Blood is a better conductor than Water, it's the Iron content...
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That explains why the voodoo didn't work then
Bastard Programmer from Hell
If you can't read my code, try converting it here[^]
"If you just follow the bacon Eddy, wherever it leads you, then you won't have to think about politics." -- Some Bell.
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Sander Rossel wrote: holy water is just regular water
Actually, a recent study shows holy water to be worse than toilet water.
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