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Advice
Thanks for the
memory
Peter Clark looks at
carrying data in our pockets
M
emory sticks, thumb drives, universal cheaper something becomes, the less care them, so what we have done is look at the
flash drives — call them what you the owner will take of it. This is fine if all you problem from a different angle. We say, 'fine,
want, the chances are you have have stored on your memory stick is the have an open door policy as far as allowing
bought, or been given, one of these in the last latest Norah Jones album and some holiday employees to own a flash drive, but also have
year or so. According to our survey on busi- snaps, but a different story entirely if you are software installed which will stop personally
nesstraveller.com, 86 per cent of you now use carrying around the details of a million pound owned devices connecting to your corporate
some sort of USB storage device to carry and contract in your pocket. network.'"
transfer data, and with worldwide sales set to
Protection
Centennial has developed "Devicewall",
top 100 million this year, not having a memory
stick will soon be akin to living in the dark ages. Matt Fisher, spokesman for Centennial
Over half of the European
Simple to use (but also simple to lose), Software, which provides software to protect
working population now has a re-
USB flash drives have revolutionised the way companies against loss or theft or information
we carry around information. A fraction of the on PCs and flash drives, says: "The problem
movable storage device
size of a floppy disk (remember them?), even is that when someone buys a laptop for
the smallest 32MB capacity drives will hold £1,000, they will happily pay another £200 to software which intercepts Windows' "plug
many times the data previously possible, and put software onto it to protect the data. In and play" service (the software which enables
with several companies set to launch 16GB contrast, when they buy a £20 memory stick your PC to recognise and run your MP3
drives — that's 16,000MB — later this year, it they view it as disposable, without any player or memory stick when you plug it in),
will soon be possible to hold pretty much consideration for the value of the data they and finds out whether the device has the
everything from your PC hard drive on a stick have stored on it." correct privileges to be allowed to connect
small enough to carry on a keychain. Centennial has carried out research with the PC. The latest version of the product
Compatability
revealing that over two thirds of people who can also force encryption onto a flash drive,
use a memory stick have also lost one, and of meaning that even if an authorised device
Compatibility isn't an issue either, with those drives lost, 60 per cent had critical gets lost or stolen it will be rendered useless.
most memory sticks working on both PCs business information on them. As few of This encryption can take the form of a global
and Macs, and while all new drives are made these sticks have software to encrypt the key, meaning that the data on the drive can
with USB 2.0 technology, they will still work data stored on them, that means an awful lot only be accessed by any PC within the
on older computers with USB 1.1 drives, of information out there that could potential company network, or a personal key,
albeit at a slower rate. fall into the wrong hands. meaning that the operator would also need to
The huge growth in popularity of flash "Over half of the European working know a password to operate the stick.
drives has led to prices plummeting by as population now has a removable storage Early adopters of this type of software
much as 50 per cent in the first half of this device, be it an iPod, flash drive, PDA or have included financial and banking centres,
year alone; a 1GB stick can now be picked smart phone," says Fisher. "Their use has government institutions such as the NHS
up for as little as £25. This has obvious become so prolific that there is very little where patient confidentiality is essential, and
advantages for the consumer, but the companies can do to stop employees owning smaller firms such as architects and
Business Matters issue 164 • 55
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