Bah,

My (NHS) work requires on-stick USB drive security for a pc to let you save any files

Used to have a safestick that was OK but expensive and not very big

I now have a safexs which is cheaper, way bigger storage but it re-encrypts everything on it every time I re-sync it which makes tracking versions with colleageus really quite hard. It also opens its own “file browser” window which is pretty bloody clunky

ANyone got any better suggestions ?

Truecrypt / Bitlocker?

Truecrypt is not a good option any more. It’s not maintained and the old devs no longer make any claims to it’s security. There were theories floating around that it had a backdoor and nobody wanted to take on/fund auditing the code.

But I think Cougar’s idea a sound, create an encrypted container in which to copy the files.

“container” – just a location on the stick, or something else ?

I don’t really do tech stuff but wouldn’t that re-encrypt files everytime I close the container and make me want to hurt kittens, just like my current stick 😕

Truecrypt is not a good option any more. It’s not maintained and the old devs no longer make any claims to it’s security. There were theories floating around that it had a backdoor and nobody wanted to take on/fund auditing the code.

Whilst you’re absolutely right, no-one’s managed to break it yet either and it didn’t suddenly stop working because they decided not to develop it any more. Depends how secret your data is / paranoid your organisation is as to whether you decide to trust it I guess.

I’d be very interested to hear of a better solution, cos I’ve not come across one yet.

Incidentally,

CVS isn’t really my area of expertise so I’ll defer to those who know more about it, but I’d have thought there’s better ways of version tracking than relying on the file datestamp?

erm…shouldn’t your work be supplying you with its approved kit.

erm…shouldn’t your work be supplying you with its approved kit.

Well, yeah, but

scaredypants – Member
My (NHS) work

🙁

The reason I take the files home is because my work pc is lirterally incapable of running a big spreadsheet, even with everything else closed (so I can’t see my email for the whole day that I spend doing this shit)

cougar, it’s not really version tracking – or rather it is, but as a product of my wanting to do stuff quickly, …

say I take a folder of files home to do some work using several of them, some of which will be changed and some just used for reference.

It’s way quicker to take the folder than it is to go through it all, predict which files I’ll need and then take only them, so I take the whole thing. When I copy over the folder, the stick encrypts everything and they ALL get today’s date.

When I get back to work, I copy them all back but (unknown to me the first time I did it), everything had last night’s “date modified” – even files I hadn’t opened

That buggers up me and more particularly some of my colleagues who like to do quick searches for files in biggish folders by looking at date modified rather than the sometimes long, unmemorable and very similar names

if you dont want to “trust” TruCrypt you can always buy BeCrypt which is certified as safe….

I “trust” myself not to lose the stick and so don’t really care what brand the thing is or what encryption method is used. I just want a cheapish stick that’s notionally “secure” without the need to load anything onto my pc

(My work pc won’t allow me to load any software onto it and won’t write to a stick other than a “secure” one. TBH I’ve no idea what it does to check this, but it will not write to an ordinary stick so it must do something)

The data you are trying to take home is, for want of a better description ‘Restricted’ or ‘Official Sensitive’. I would be very careful about removing it from site for use on a non-approved machine.

The test here is what would happen if you a) lose the (unapproved) USB stick and b) get your home machine stolen. Ok, it’;s not Gary Glitter, or MP laptop on a train, but it’s probably a disciplinary offence.

If it were me in your position, I would make a formal request for a better spec PC to your management chain. If using that spreadsheet is important, then they need to give you the tools to work with. You should not have to provide them yourself.

Can’t you zip/tar* up the files before writing to the stick ?

So the archive timestamp gets modified but the contents don’t.

* using options to leave the individual file attributes untouched.

And what Willard said. Are you loading the data onto a locked down, encrypted machine ? If the client insists on USB security then presumably the data content is sensitive and needs to be protected everywhere it’s used.

willard, we’re allowed the sticks – there were some made available to staff but these went into a “pool” and have all gone missing, never to be replaced

have requested an upgrade several times, as has my line manager. no chance, even if it breaks down completely

Mr pies – eh ? 😳

I think Mr Pies is saying ok, the USB stick is encrypted, so ‘safe’ if you lose it on the way home, but if you load the data on your home pc, and someone nicks that pc, the data is lost.

Indeed.

I think SP might have been questioning my zip/archive suggestion though.

Right, I’m with you [versions] – not sure what the answer is to that really.

have requested an upgrade several times, as has my line manager. no chance, even if it breaks down completely

Simple answer then, you can’t take work home.

It seems a worthy policy it protect data is being compromised by a. not supplying a suitable work pc and b. not providing a suitable USB stick.
Easy for me to say, but if you don’t have the tools for the job, you can’t do it.

sorry, went out for a bike ride while the last suggestions were coming up and then forgot to come back

I don’t save stuff onto my home pc – opened, run and closed again on the stick. My only problem with this is that the stick insists on re-encrypting everything that’s on it and also is a bit wierd with folder structures. The safestick didn’t do that and I wish I hadn’t bought this other brand (at quarter the price – maybe should’ve guessed)

You could try an encrypted USB stick from datAshur – we use them at work, I think they might be what you’re looking for.

ta, will have a look