Hardware encrypted USB sticks

[mgsn]

Hi,

 

I'm a PGCE student teacher (*avoids rotten fruit*) and I am wondering if a hardware encrypted USB stick is the best thing for my needs at the moment and if it works how I think it does - if so, I'm open to suggestions!

 

Basically, I use four main computers - my personal laptop, my desktop at my desk in the staff room, my desktop on my classroom desk, and a multitude of desktop computers on the two days I am at university rather than on teaching practice.

 

I have a lot of files, and work on them a lot. It has got to the point where managing them/managing access to them is becoming a hassle. At home, I use Dropbox installed on my personal laptop - this works fine at home, but the client is not installed on any of the computers at university or at my placement college - instead I have to manually download the files from the web interface, make any changes, save them and then reupload using the web interface. This is too much faffing about - it works fine for simply viewing files made elsewhere, but the web interface isn't great when actively working on them, and I quite often open them from a work PC using the web interface and make any changes on the computer there, click save, and then forget to re-upload it to Dropbox after saving - d'oh - meaning I have a 'stranded' copy left on a work or uni PC that I can't get to, and a separate one in my Dropbox folder.

 

So, Dropbox is out.

 

Google Drive is out for the same reason.

 

And OneDrive is also out.

 

(None of the work or uni PCs have Dropbox, Google Drive or OneDrive clients installed, meaning I have to use the web interface on those computers - see above for issues associated with that!).

 

I asked both my uni and my placement college IT Services about remote access to filestorage there, thinking I could just set it up so I can access my work storage via a mapped drive from my laptop, easy right? Except neither of them have anything set up to do this - and instead I was told by my college to use a USB stick instead.

 

I don't like USB sticks for obvious reasons - 1) them getting lost/forgotten 2) them breaking 3) security issues. So what I was thinking is continue using Dropbox as my primary storage (in case I lose or break the USB stick) and buy a USB stick for my "work in progress" files (a second copy of them I mean, they will also be backed up locally), so I can save everything I'm actively editing on to the USB stick and access and work on them from any PC, then just copy the final version(s) to Dropbox and my work storage areas once I'm finished. Sounds good...

 

But there's still the security issues associated with USB sticks, which got me looking at encryption. Software based encryption won't work as I can't install software on work or uni PCs, only my own laptop. I found out there is something called hardware encrypted USB sticks and was wondering if this was a possible solution? How do they work - do they need any software installing or running? I'm not sure if I'll be able to run software from off the USB stick, even if it doesn't need installing on the PC, due to Group Policy restrictions So I am hoping there is a magic hardware encrypted USB stick out there that works with any PC and does not require running OR installing software?!?!

 

Am I dreaming?

 

If one exists, please offer suggestions - it needs to be 16gb or above to match my current USB stick!

 

If one doesn't exist... please help... I will not be using an insecure USB stick, but I am also hating my current method which seems to take ages trying to work out which file is current etc!

[ZeroNeg]

Have a look at one of these

http://m.ebuyer.com/?action=searchresults&q=Sandisk&cat=458#/451441

Has encryption software on stick and works ok from what i have used. Price is good also.

[MatthewL]

Finally someone see's sense re USB!!!

 

I think it will be best and copy to your PC. I used to work in the NHS and the encrypted sticks we used between us and local authority never had any issues running the software as it didn't install anything on the PC.

 

If you don't need encrypted look at one of these, I purchase it as its a metal USB one that will attach to your keys, not very often you loose these. Personally if there is data on there that needs to be encrypted should you be taking this home and working on it?

[LiamH]

You might want to check if the college blocks running executable from USB, the encryption is just done on the fly normally with portable apps installed on the stick but some places block running them from USB.

 

If not there is plenty of free portable encryption software you could use that may be cheaper. Portable Encryption Utilites | Category

[aleach2]

It is very sensible to think about information security. It is currently a big thing on the radar at my school. We have been using hardware encrypted USB sticks know for around a year (mainly these Integral ones):

 

Encrypted USB Drives | Integral Memory

 

Most of these will meet your needs and range from £12 - £50 on Amazon. Some require a small piece of software to be installed on your main computer to initially configure the device, others just run a program once inserted into the USB drive with no need for installation. Some will work on Windows, Mac or both so look at the specs before buying one.

 

I am surprised that your school and uni doesn't offer remote access as it is fairly easy to roll out and is in my opinion the best way to work on sensitive documents and access school based applications like SIMS.

 

Here is a Windows only version Integral Crypto 197 16GB USB 2.0 Flash Drive with AES Hardware Encryption: Amazon.co.uk: Computers & Accessories

 

Hope this helps.

[Arthur]

I have a lot of files, and work on them a lot.

What format are the files you need to work on in? Office documents (DOCX, PPTX, etc.) can be edited through the OneDrive or Google Drive web interfaces so there isn't any syncing or downloading involved.

[aleach2]

What format are the files you need to work on in? Office documents (DOCX, PPTX, etc.) can be edited through the OneDrive or Google Drive web interfaces so there isn't any syncing or downloading involved.

 

Just have to be careful if you are storing and editing sensitive documents that contain information regarding students or staff. Personal OneDrive and Google Apps cant be guaranteed that they are stored in the EU so are not protect by EU's safe harbour legal spegal so you could get in trouble by ICO. Office 365 for education are stored in the EU so are covered. Just need to be safe than sorry.

[plexer]

Bit locker on a normal USB stick and make sure it's backed up.

 

Ben

[mgsn]

Thanks for the replies so far - anyone reading this who thinks there are enough replies, please chip in anyway - there's more than one way to skin a cat and I'm looking for the best way, rather than the cheapest/easiest (although naturally those are good too...)!

 

So even hardware encrypted USB sticks still require some software - it just means that the software more than likely runs off of the USB stick itself rather than needing installing on client PCs first? I thought as much, I couldn't think how else it would work without having a big padlock on one end of the stick

 

I know that my university allows you to run software from USB devices as my friend has one of these sticks, and obviously my own laptop can (or can have software installed on it). Not sure if the college I teach at blocks executable files from USB sticks though so would have to test that first before buying one.

 

RE: everything else - my uni does have a "home access" program meaning I can access a virtual university computer desktop (including my files saved on the uni network) from home but this doesn't work at my placement college as it requires something installing first My college has no remote access as such, we have e-mail via Outlook Web Access and our MIS is web based so we can do all of that stuff anywhere in the world, but file wise they all just use USB sticks - I don't think any of them use encrypted ones either, but personally I'd rather be safe than sorry.

 

None of the data I have is particularly 'personal' or 'sensitive' - we keep that all in the MIS for the most part. I'd still just prefer an encrypted stick for numerous reasons - because I'm a PGCE student on a placement I have to keep my own personal markbooks and "learner profiles" for the university side of things so they can use them for grading me later on, and the data is semi-anonymous in these files - i.e. Joe Bloggs in Class E1 is just referred to in my files as JBE1 etc. It means nothing to my tutor at university or a random stranger who may find the USB stick, but it does to me, and it would if a student from class E1 managed to get hold of the stick and view it. It's not foolproof and I'd still prefer to keep it encrypted.

 

At least with cloud access, as much as a ball ache it is downloading and re-uploading files, as soon as I've done what I need to do I just click log out. With a USB stick it is still a potential security issue even once I've logged off a PC... even if I just drop it on the floor and someone picks it up, wham bam, they can plug it in at home and see everything. No bueno

 

Keep the suggestions coming, guys And thanks so far.

[Arthur]

Bitlocker To Go (as @plexer suggested) would be perfect if you don't need to connect the USB flash drive to any Macs or Linux PCs.

 

Once the flash drive has been encrypted you can unlock it on any Windows PC just by entering a password. There's no extra software to install or EXEs that could get blocked.

Edited December 18, 2014 by Arthur

[Baerf]

What are the type of files you are using? Standard Office files (word, excel etc..) or other formats?

 

B

[mgsn]

Bitlocker To Go (as @plexer suggested) would be perfect if you don't need to connect the USB flash drive to any Macs or Linux PCs.

 

Once the flash drive has been encrypted you can unlock it on any Windows PC just by entering a password. There's no extra software to install or EXEs that could get blocked.

 

 

Wow, this sounds perfect... but it seems to be a feature only available on Windows 7 Ultimate and Windows 7 Enterprise editions - I have Windows 7 Professional

 

 

What are the type of files you are using? Standard Office files (word, excel etc..) or other formats?

 

B

 

A mixture - mostly Office 2010 files (PowerPoint, Word, Excel) but also some video clips, SPSS data files, IWB files and ActivInspire quiz things.

[Arthur]

Wow, this sounds perfect... but it seems to be a feature only available on Windows 7 Ultimate and Windows 7 Enterprise editions - I have Windows 7 Professional

Do you have access to any PCs running Ultimate or Enterprise? You only need those editions to perform the initial Bitlocker encryption.

[plexer]

There is also the new development of Truecrypt although there isn't a public release yet:

 

https://ciphershed.org/

 

Ben

[jamesb]

There are USB keys out there which perform encryption purely on the hardware, with no need for any software. They do tend to be a little pricey, but the advantage you get out of it is that they're much more portable since you don't need to install or run anything special on the machine.

 

http://www.apricorn.com/products/hardware-encrypted-drives/aegis-secure-key.html

[plexer]

I would rather have an encrypted container that I can move/backup elsewhere.

 

Ben

[Arthur]

There is also the new development of Truecrypt although there isn't a public release yet

You could compile Ciphershed from the source code and buy a code signing certificate to sign the driver(s). Or just download VeraCrypt instead.

 

It's worth bearing in mind that TrueCrypt-based programs still have the same problem that TrueCrypt had. Unless you have admin rights you won't be able to install the driver required to access the encrypted drive or volume.

 

www.howtogeek.com/61810/how-to-protect-your-flash-drive-data-with-truecrypt

 

In order for TrueCrypt to mount a volume on a host system, one of the following conditions must be met:

 

• TrueCrypt must be installed natively on the host system already.
  
• You must have administrative rights on the host system.
  

The reason you need administrative rights if TrueCrypt is not installed natively is due to the requirement that a system driver must be loaded on the host system in order to mount the encrypted volume. Since only administrators can load and unload system drivers, you must have this level of access or you will not be able to mount the TrueCrypt driver.

 

On the other hand, if the driver is already present on the host (i.e. TrueCrypt is installed natively), you should be able to mount your encrypted driver with normal user level access.

[mats]

Just have to be careful if you are storing and editing sensitive documents that contain information regarding students or staff. Personal OneDrive and Google Apps cant be guaranteed that they are stored in the EU so are not protect by EU's safe harbour legal spegal so you could get in trouble by ICO. Office 365 for education are stored in the EU so are covered. Just need to be safe than sorry.

 

But Google are covered by Safe Harbor - Self Regulatory Frameworks ? Privacy & Terms ? Google . Please clarify.

[plexer]

But Google are covered by Safe Harbor - Self Regulatory Frameworks ? Privacy & Terms ? Google . Please clarify.

 

Personal OneDrive and Google Apps

 

Education versions comply with safe harbour.

 

Ben

[adhutton]

We use these in school and they are solid:

 

Kingston Technology DataTraveler Locker+ G3 Hardware Encrypted 16GB USB 3.0 Secure Flash Drive - Ebuyer

 

Andrew

[Gibson335]

I'm a NM and everything I need goes with my on an Ironkey encrypted USB drive. It wipes the drive after 6 unsuccessful login attempts. I back this up to an encrypted external HDD, which never leaves the home safe unless I'm using it. Works for me.

[mgsn]

Thanks for all the replies guys.

 

I am gonna try Bitlocker first. Although my personal laptop is running Windows 7 Professional (I purposely bought a business laptop from Dell thinking it'd come in useful for things like, who knew there were 8723 versions of Windows 7, eh?) which doesn't have Bitlocker, both my university and college computers are running Windows 7 Enterprise - so I'm going to try and encrypt my normal USB stick on one of their PCs first and then see if it works/how well it works when I plug it in to non-Enterprise/Ultimate computers. If it works/works fine across all 3 of the computers I use regularly then it'll do for me.

 

If not I will start looking at some of the suggestions here.

 

I was actually looking specifically at that Kingston Locker+ G3 one myself earlier - they also do another Kingston one which is blue which costs like £60 for the same amount of storage. I can't quite work out why the big price jump, both models I looked at were 16gb and USB 3.0. I want something secure and reliable but it does seem like a big jump in price and I am not sure exactly what the more expensive one does that the G3 doesn't.

@jamesb - that looks exactly like what I am after. Going to dig around and see if I can find some UK suppliers and prices though first as it looks pretty expensive, though I have to admit the lack of any software whatsoever does seem like a huge advantage for someone who seems to be using more, different computers than eating hot meals these days!

 

Thanks again guys. Not sure why more teachers don't use this place, much more helpful than some biased paid for review on an online review site.

[ijk]

There are USB keys out there which perform encryption purely on the hardware, with no need for any software. They do tend to be a little pricey, but the advantage you get out of it is that they're much more portable since you don't need to install or run anything special on the machine.

 

http://www.apricorn.com/products/hardware-encrypted-drives/aegis-secure-key.html

 

We have a set similar to these, ours are: http://www.istorage-uk.com/datashur_personal.php but they look identical to those above.

 

They went down well with staff.

[mgsn]

We have a set similar to these, ours are: datAshur - The iStorage datAshur is the world' s most secure, easy to use and affordable USB flash drive but they look identical to those above.

 

They went down well with staff.

 

Thanks - I like the look of this one too. Just a shame these "hardware only, no software never needs to come within an inch of it" sticks seem to be USB 2.0 only rather than 3. However that should be fine, most of my files are only like 0.5-3mb! I guess USB 3.0 would be a bonus but not necessary and probably not worth the no doubt huge price jump.

 

Oh, also following on from my last post - my college I teach at doesn't use Windows 7 Enterprise, it also uses Professional the same as me - so I can't encrypt my normal USB stick there. My university DOES run Windows 7 Enterprise, which is the good news... the bad news is that Bitlocker has been disabled entirely via Group Policy, so I still can't bleeding do it!

 

I'm going to try and install a trial version of Windows 7 Enterprise in VMWare and encrypt my normal stick. If that works and works with all the PCs I use, I'll hold out on those expensive sticks with the inbuilt keypads... well, I'll hold out for a while, but I definitely do want one of them Probably wait until they go USB 3 and the price drops in a year or two.

 

Now to get searching for a genuine Windows 7 Enterprise trial version somewhere. I'm half tempted to post it to one of you lot or bribe the university IT Services team with alcohol to do the encrypting for me.

 

I'm not usually a moaner but I would expect Windows 7 Professional to have something like this built-in. Very strange.

[mgsn]

Hi guys, just so you know...

 

I installed a trial version of Windows 7 Enterprise in Virtualbox and then encrypted my normal, non-hardware encrypted USB stick that way using Bitlocker. It seems to work fine on my Windows 7 Professional laptop too, as well as the computers at University and the college that I work at It just asks me for the password and then I'm good to go and use it as normal - a nice strong, long password I should add!

 

It also syncs with my home laptop and Dropbox should a disaster happen and I lose it or it breaks, meaning I have a local backup AND can access all my files using the Dropbox website from uni/college should the USB disaster happen on the way there and I don't have my personal laptop with me! I'm using a program called Allway Sync to do this. Eventually, I'll also start a nightly backup to Box.com and a weekly backup to Google Drive for Education, just need to check all the policies and safeguarding stuff with all of that before I do so (though I don't really have any sensitive/personal info on there at all at the moment, just normal MS Office files and some media/SMART Notebook files at the moment... but better to be safe than sorry as who knows what I might accidentally save to the USB stick in future).

 

Thanks again guys. I am currently using my old Sandisk Cruzer 16gb (http://g-ecx.images-amazon.com/images/G/02/uk-electronics/product_content/SanDisk/CruzerBlade/c26-B002U24S6S-1-l.jpg) at the moment, just for testing purposes, but I plan on getting a larger, rubber/metal cased USB 3.0 stick to replace it for professional/teaching work as this one is a bit small and flimsy - good for around the house, but not sure it's strong enough for daily commutes and being plugged and unplugged in to 2-3 computers a day, five days a week!

 

So any suggestions for any cheap-ish USB 3.0, NON-HARDWARE encrypted USB sticks that are rubber/metal cased and super uber resistant and strong for life in the classroom? I'm gonna use Bitlocker now rather than hardware encryption as it seems to work on all the PCs that I use, and the price and reliability of a hardware encrypted one no longer seems worth it anymore after testing Bitlocker!

 

Thanks guys and girls!