Kingston Technology First to Market with 128GB USB Flash Drive
Large Capacity, Password Protection… and questions I would like to ask…

Kingston announced the Data Traveler 200. Let’s see what is behind the announcement.
1. My first concern is about the price.
DT200/128GB   DataTraveler 200 128GB Black   - $ 546.00
Will you dare paying a price of full-scale laptop for a pen drive? I will not. But let’s assume that I am crazy geek and I want to have this extra memory. What will I get besides these 128GB of space?

2. Here comes my second concern – the security. What can be your worst nightmare when you carry all your data with you? Right, you are scared to death to lose this device. And your fear is not because you paid so much for the piece of memory, but because you cannot afford that your files are gone. Even worse! The cold sweat trickles down between your shoulder blades when you imagine that your information falls in the dirty hands of your competitor.
What does Kingston offer?
They say it is “…Safeguarded: includes Password Traveler security software for Windows”. But when I hear “you do not need to worry about it…” I start to be really anxious.  What does it mean “password security software”? Since there is no single word about encryption I assume that it is a simple switching of partitions. (Frankly speaking I do not want to spend a fortune for this device and to test it in my lab).

3. My concern #3 is based on the impolite statement. The “capless design to protect the USB connector” was offered by our company with or devices and it was loooong ago. Yes, it’s true that Data Traveler has sliding cover. But please, do not emphasize it as a designing breakthrough… It is just indelicate.

What is the bottom line?
If I need to buy a large thumb drive, I would rather get a one with hardware encryption.
And if I need a carrier for movies and music – I’d rather buy few smaller flash drives than one Data Traveler.
And if for some unpredictable reason I buy Data Traveler I expect it to be equipped with some useful software tools and apps. It could be  nice to have TrueCrypt, RoboForm, CodySafe, and more.

Your colleague may watch you

Cyber-Ark’s security survey proved again that “Over a third of IT staff admit to abusing admin rights to snoop at confidential information”

They questioned over 400 IT staff in the US and the UK for its third annual ‘Trust, Security and Passwords’ survey.

What is really amazing: there is “six-fold increase on last year in the number of survey respondents who said, if fired, they would capture information critical to retaining corporate advantage and security”

Read full article here

IT Lao Shit is an IT guru. He is so old that the First Computer remembers him. He saw the birth of the first computer virus and watched the growth of the internet. He knows all about data protection. He gives free advice and teaches young admins. He invented his way, the IT Dao, the way of virus-free computers, strong passwords and secured information. Here are some of his life stories.

***

Once a Purchase Manager asked Lao Shit:
- We have got an offer to buy a strong access control system. Is it worth the money they ask for it? Will it help us?
The IT guru asked in response:
- How many unauthorized access events have you noticed in the last three years?
- Not a single one, - answered the Purchase Manager.
- How many notebooks and pendrives have your staff lost in the same time?
- Two laptops, - answered PM, - and we cannot even count the number of flash drives they’ve lost…
- Why won’t you buy a system of encryption of information for laptops and flash disks instead? – asked Lao Shit

***

Once a Young Admin got a wish to make a gift to his teacher. He brought him a beautiful Windows wallpaper.
- Why do you think that my current wallpaper is worse than this one? – asked Lao Shit.
- I do not know it, there always are so many windows open on your screen! I have never had a chance.
- I’ve never seen it either, I work.

***

Once a CEO asked IT Lao Shit about insiders’ threats. Lao Shit said:
- There are hundreds of men in the outer world who wish to draw out confidential information from your network. And there are five other men there who are able to do so. But those hundreds will never meet these five.
After a second he continued:
- There are five men inside your network willing to get confidential information. And there are hundreds inside who can do so. And they have already met.

To be continued