17. November 2008 by David Peterson.

Here is a silly word that my vendor uses – stackable. What it means is will more than one USB flash memory device fit into the ports available at the same time? In other words can you stack them on top of each other?

This subject always comes up because my customers are looking for new unique designs to give to their prospects. For around $200 to $500 you can have a custom mold built. You would own that mold and no one else would be able to create the exact same unit.  Your cost per unit will probably be a little higher as well do to PMS colors but it would be quite a unique drive.

You could build a unit shaped like an orange or a golf ball. How about unit shaped like a guitar or a flower? Just look to nature for your ideas.  

The problem is all of the USB ports are typically side by side. On the laptop I’m using right now I have three ports in the back, one port on the side right next to a firewire connection, and two more USB ports on a tower that I use for additional monitors. That is 7 ports that are very handy.

However if you try to cram a uniquely shaped device into one of the ports available then you might render the others useless since you only have so much space.

I certainly like the opportunity to give my customers the ability to create custom shapes. I do pass on the ‘stack ability” issues to them right away. I caution them that in the electronic ad specialty business the trick is to get the customers to use the USB flash memory every day so they will be reminded of your company every day.

If you have created such a design that will not fit into the USB port easily or worse into your pocket easily then the USB drive may just end up in the drawer. At around $10/each you really need these units to be used - not sitting idle in a drawer.

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14. November 2008 by David Peterson.

USB encryption methods are going to be a hot topic over the next few years. Today the most advanced encryption readily available is AES256. AES256 is the current standard of cryptographic algorithm used by the U.S. Government. This encryption can be applied to USB flash drives.

There are several companies currently offering some form of encryption for your USB flash memory device. These encryption methods can be quite complicated. Before deciding on purchasing one you have to ask… What will I be encrypting?

Here are some of the many choices:

• I want to encrypt the data that is on my USB device just in case I lose it.
• I don’t want people to know where I have been surfing.
• I don’t want my identity exposed.
• I don’t want my passwords stored on the device.
• I want my passwords encrypted.
• I don’t want to enter passwords every time.
• I need my email encrypted.
• I don’t want encryption I just want the drive password protected.
• I need simplicity.
• I need it to work every time it is plugged into the port.

You can see from the choices above that there is a lot to encrypting data. As an example if you have super sensitive information stored on the drive then do you really want your passwords stored on the same drive? If you lose it and the right person picks it up then they may be able to use “brute force” password guessing software to retrieve the data off the drive.

Here are two products that offer AES256 encryption. They do it in two totally different ways. One e-Capsule uses software that you load on the drive and the other IronKey uses the drive like a piece of hardware.

Software encryption:

e-Capsule™ Private Safe USB-U3 (Starts at around $35/unit)

Hardware encryption:

Ironkey.com (Starts at around $79/unit)

Which is best for you? It depends, you may want every security option available but in the end you may not have the expertise to make the device work efficiently for your tasks. Look at it this way - if the USB flash memory becomes a pain for your employees they will probably stop using it.

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