A 256MB USB key is MUCH MUCH faster (even with the old USB 1.1) and can hold the equivalent of about 200 floppy (1.44MB) diskettes.
A 32GB USB key (with USB 2.0 at 480Mbps or USB 3.0 at 5Gbps) can hold over 5000 floppy (1.44MB) diskettes.
Hardware
- Best USB-C Adapters, Cables, and Hubs: Reviews by Wirecutter | A New York Times Company
- ACP-EP Memory : USB
- Apricorn
- Corsair | RGB Keyboards | Gaming Headsets | Gaming Mice | PC Gaming Cases | DDR4 Memory | 80 PLUS Efficiency Power Supplies
- Imation - USB Pivot Plus Flash Drive - 256-bit encryption, 8GB
- IronKey: The World's Most Secure USB Flash Drive with Internet Protection Services - $200-$300 for 16 GB (2010) - includes hardware encryption
- iStorage - Security based encrypted portable hard drives with pin & smartcard activation
- Lok-It pocket drive is sturdy and secure
- Kanguru Solutions – Secure Encrypted USB Flash Drives | Duplicators | Hard Drive Storage| DVD Burners & more
- Kingston Technology
- Lexar
- SanDisk | Business Products - SanDisk
- Transcend
- You should encrypting every portable storage device you own.
BitLocker ...
Business editions of Windows (including Windows 10 Pro and Enterprise) allow you to encrypt these devices using a feature called BitLocker To Go. To perform the encryption, open File Explorer, right-click the icon for the portable storage device, and click Turn On BitLocker. (If you see Manage BitLocker, the drive is already encrypted.) Select the Use A Password check box, enter a strong, memorable password, and click Next to begin encrypting all local data.
If you're certain you'll only need to open the drive on PCs running Windows 10, choose the New Encryption Mode option. Otherwise, choose Compatible Mode, which uses an encryption algorithm that's compatible with older versions of Windows. (Sorry, you can't use a BitLocker-encrypted drive with MacOS or Linux.)
Note that you can't encrypt a removable drive on a PC running Windows Home edition, but you can unlock the encrypted drive and read its contents if you have the password.
- Ceedo – flexible computing through virtualization - Ceedo Personal - US$40
- Create and carry your own personal desktop environment with you on a USB flash drive, portable hard drive or iPod device, and run it on any PC without installation.
- Ceedo Argo will install just about any application you can buy or download on your thumb drive as part of your Ceedo Personal. The company says its users have tested it with Microsoft Office, PageMaker, Quicken, even World of Warcraft, running all from the USB port. If you get Ceedo with a thumb drive, you have to buy Argo separately for $19.99; but if you buy Ceedo Personal direct, Argo is included.
- Encryption
- Linux
- NirSoft - freeware utilities: password recovery, system utilities, desktop utilities
- OperaUSB 9.21 download - extract - use
- Passwords
- The Portable Freeware Collection - Collection and cataloging of Windows freeware that can be extracted to any directory and run independently without prior installation. These can be carried around on a memory stick / USB flash drive, or copied / migrated from PC to PC via simple copying of files.
- PortableApps.com - Portable software for USB drives - $0
- San Disk | Western Digital Store | Portable Hard Drives, SD Memory Card & Flash Drives for PC & Mac - San Disk | Western Digital Store
- Synchronization
- USB Disk Ejector | Quick And Easy Software - $0
