USB drives are a fantastic way to share information from computer-to-computer. While many people use email to send documents, USB drives can take just about anything that your computer has and move it to another system with minimal effort. Plus, USB drives can be used to share information without actually putting it in someone’s possession. Doing so can keep sensitive data from falling into the wrong hands. If you have a USB drive, though, there are still extra measures you should take to secure its contents. Continue reading for 10 easy steps that you can take to safeguard your USB drive.
First, let’s make sure that if anyone gets a hold of your USB drive, they won’t be able to use it.
Insert your USB drive into your computer.
Find the USB drive in your computer’s “Devices with Removable Storage” section or similar area.
Right click on it and choose, “Turn on Bitlocker.”
Once you choose this, Wizard will open up, and you’ll see the option to “use a password to unlock the drive.”
Type in the password that you would like to use for your USB drive and click next.
You’ll be asked how you’d like to “back up Recovery Keys.” Simply choose from the menu.
Next, you’ll be asked to confirm whether or not your USB drive is already being used or if it’s brand new.
Encrypt Your USB Drive
Now you’ll want to encrypt the information that is found on your USB drive. This is a further measure that will make sure that your drive is protected from prying eyes, no matter how badly they want your information. After the above 7 steps, Wizard will ask you how much of your drive you’d like to encrypt.
You’ll be given the option to encrypt the entire drive, which is best for those that are already in use, or just the used disc space, which is preferable for a new drive. The former option will take longer.
After you make your choice, the encryption process will start.
When the encryption process is complete, you can remove your USB drive, confident that its contents are now safe.
Going forward, whenever anyone wants to use the USB drive, they’ll be prompted to enter your password first. You can follow the same steps to change the password, as well, if you should so choose.
Keep in mind it’s also important to store your USB drive in a safe place at all times. Even if someone doesn’t have your password, possessing your USB drive can still be damaging, as you no longer have access to the data, either. If the USB drive contains information related to your company, check with human resources or your management. There are often official guidelines specific to securing USB drives that carry company data.
While USB drives are extremely convenient, they can easily expose you to information leaks if not controlled properly. Maintain your USB drive in a secure place at all times, and use the above 10 steps to encrypt the information and protect it with a password.
Cloud computing technology spread around the globe rapidly and its adoption introduced different types of innovation in business environment. However, ever since the buzz around cloud-based tech solutions has started, the world’s eyes were set upon potential problems.
Over the last few years, the top concern for companies planning to move to the cloud has been security but as the cloud develops, new issues emerge. The recent survey carried out by Internap Network Services Corporation revealed some fresh pieces of information related to public cloud infrastructure. The survey polled almost 250 Internet infrastructure decision makers worldwide to give us a new insight into the state of public cloud adoption and usage.
Security is still a top concern
Just like many other surveys did over the last several years, Internap confirmed that modern businesses (unjustifiably) fear security threats in the cloud. Even though only 15% of companies that already use cloud services regarded security as a challenge, 40% of those that still haven’t adopted the cloud find security a major concern. These digits point out that security risks may be highly overestimated, considering the fact that most organizations that actually use the cloud don’t experience major problems in this respect.
Performance issues on the rise
While security remains the top concern for organizations that are not using cloud services, performance seems to be a major problem for those that do. The survey reports that 30% of cloud-wise organizations faced performance issues, along with 59% of those that use the cloud to host big data applications. In reference to this issue, Gopala Tumuluri from Internap notes:
“The survey data clearly indicates that big data applications – such as those that enable personalization and targeting through customer insights, social analytics and location mapping – are pushing the performance limits of virtual public cloud environments at price-points that don’t make business sense”.
Public cloud and virtualization
Among other things, the survey revealed that an important number of organizations (66%) mistakenly relate virtualization to public cloud. Most respondents have cited virtualization as “a defining characteristic of the cloud” which confirms that they still have a lot to learn about these innovative technologies. Namely, public clouds don’t have much to do with virtualization, even though they may share some similar features. Therefore, it is clear that despite the buzz surrounding the cloud for years, its definition remains vague to both companies that use it and those that don’t.
Conclusions
Public cloud systems are now widely used in companies of all sizes and they certainly represent one of the most efficient forms of IT infrastructure innovation. Infant trend as it is, cloud computing may still appear confusing, which is why companies are likely to have some impossible expectations from it. Here security is obviously an important yet overestimated factor, while virtualization is obviously not well understood. The findings of the survey help general public get a better insight into predominant issues in the cloud, and it’s up to individual organizations to develop their own strategies with cloud-based systems.
Author Bio:
Leana Thorne is a devoted blogger and a regular contributor to several tech blogs. She enjoys exploring new internet technologies and sharing newly found information – currently about cloud and reseller hosting and is always happy to be of help.
