It’s been all over the blogs the last couple of days regarding Kingston and their security issues.  They have been tight lipped about exactly what makes the device vulnerable and with specific information it’s hard to gauge just how hard it would be for someone to crack it.

I don’t think the typical user who keeps their personal information secure with this drive [in the event it’s lost] has much to worry about, but the government has purchased plenty of units and that’s clearly a concern.  The list of drives include Data Traveler BlackBox, the Data Traveler Secure - Privacy Edition, and the Data Traveler Elite - Privacy Edition.  Again, a typical computer user probably doesn’t have the tools or skills to unlock the device, but a professional would.

My guess is the IC controller chip which runs the AES 256 encryption is at fault here and someone has figured out how to hack the machine code and disable the encryption, but that’s just my educated guess being in the industry.

PC World did a good write up about the statement and interesting perspective on the whole situation.

Buy.com has a very good special going right now.  The Kingston 4GB DataTraveler for only $10.  What’s even better - buy in bulk as your limit is 100 units.  Shipping is also free within the US.

Sleek, practical, and attractively designed, the affordable DataTraveler 120 serves the needs of the budget conscious user as well as those looking for significant storage capacity in a lightweight, compact design. DataTraveler 120 features a retractable USB connector for ease of use and safe housing and is available in 4GB (lime green), 8GB (orange), 16GB (light blue), and 32GB (gray). DataTraveler 120 is available for co-logo. Backed by a five-year warranty, 24/7 tech support and legendary Kingston® reliability, DataTraveler 120 is a reliable, inexpensive solution for carrying digital files with you wherever your travels may take you.

Grab your GetUSB Dealz now!

Do you wonder if a USB stick will drop below $2? I don’t think it ever will, and for several reasons. First, the bare cost of the Flash, Controller and case will keep the price much higher than it’s predecessor [CD/DVD] but also consider the millions of dollars needed in equipment just to make these things in bulk.

So let’s find out how a USB stick is made…here is a behind-the-scenes video of the Kingston USB flash memory plant. With step-by-step video it’s an amazing process.

Note: The narration is nothing close to an award winning voice over.

Source: Engadget.

The last time GetUSB.info did a post about the largest USB stick it was for the 64GB Transcend flash drive.  That little guy retailed at near $200, but that was also back in September of 2008.

Two days ago, Kingston released their 128GB USB flash drive.  The Kingstong DataTraveler 200 is “now” the largest USB stick in the market.  128GBs.

This guy retails for $546.  That is a very expensive drive when you compare it to the Western Digital Passports where Terabytes are under $300…but you can’t put a price tag on portability.  Or can you?

There are no special features nor auto-backup software included in the bundle, just a simple drive with a ginormous capacity, a sliding cap, and password utility for extra security. Strangely enough, Kingston will only sell the 128GB version as a made to order process.  Go figure.

Today I found a flash drive I purchase back in January of 2004. I compared that drive performance to a brand new Kingston DataTraveler. I know the theoretical maximum transfer speed of USB 1.1 is 12Mbps per second and USB 2.0 is that of 480Mbps per second - but it’s always fun to get a real world test.

My real world test came up with the following results. (more…)

I’m just a blogger; have written about Readyboost; but never investigated it’s performance. I found an article today from PC World who took a closer look. Basically, it blows.

“What is Readyboost you ask?” well it’s a feature of Vista that allows flash memory (like USB Sticks) to be used as additional RAM to boost PC performance.

PC World took that claim and put it to the bench. First off, Microsoft indicates that only the best performing flash drives should be used, (3.5MBs per/sec reads and 2.5MBs per/sec writes) so although some web sites claim “use any extra flash drive for Readyboost,” that claim is a bunch of BS.

Using the best performing drives from Kingston, Lexar and Ridata it was concluded the Readyboost did improve performance, but only by 4 to 6%. So unless you had a stop watch - BFD!  My Vista upgrade is going to wait. (more…)

The announcement of Microsoft developing a UFD platform to replace U3 could turn into a similar battle we saw 25 years ago between VHS and Betamax.

Major suppliers have already dropped the U3 platform because of high royalty fees (around 5%) to bundle less expensive software which does the same thing. As these suppliers, like Kingston and Memorex, begin to choose the alternate like Migo Software, a heated war could surface between flash drive manufacturers.

Originally SanDisk partnered with M-Systems to develop the U3 solution, but as time went on, SanDisk bought out M-Systems and the evolution of U3 continues with this most recent partnership.

Microsoft is developing the software platform and SanDisk will continue offering their hardware for a total solution (yes, it’s a hardware/software thing). In addition, SanDisk and Microsoft will bundle in the TrustedFlash security technology developed by SanDisk.

“The U3 platform was established with the vision of giving customers a consistent and portable computing experience. The existing 20,000 U3 software developers that joined us show the potential for smart flash memory devices,” said Yoram Cedar, executive vice president of the mobile business unit and corporate engineering at SanDisk.

“We expect this relationship with Microsoft will raise the overall experience for consumers given Microsoft’s unique software expertise, and grow the momentum given the large community of 3rd party companies capable of utilizing Microsoft’s technologies.”

The migration process for the 20,000 U3 developers is a straight forward and simple one - Microsoft puts the pressure back on you to make the migration. Microsoft did say there will be tools to ad in the process, but the bottom line is U3 developers better get cracking if they want to see the light-of-day come mid 2008.