Don’t get too excited — the flash drive doesn’t blow up and take everyone with it, nor does it spit out harmful biochemicals for mass destruction. Rather, the Fujitsu USB flash drive will self-destruct using a much less flamboyant method: it will erase itself.
The drive is a prototype design where the internal workings include a processor and battery, and after a certain amount of time, the data on the stick will erase itself. Or self-destruct.
But just in case this method is a bit too hard-core, Fujitsu has an alternate method for data protection. The second method includes an auto-erase feature if the USB flash drive is used to copy files to an unauthorized workstation or server. Using the Fujitsu re-direct software as the backbone, it can prevent data from being uploaded to file-sharing networks, sent as e-mail attachments, or printed, according to Fujitsu.
Since this is just a prototype, you’ll need to wait a bit longer. But for those who are impatient, GetUSB.info knows of one flash drive which already offers USB Copy Protection. The drive will also copy protect PDF files, Flash, MPG, and a host of other multimedia files.
“Our research indicated that over 80% of users have a My Documents folder of less than 64GB, and more than 85% need to regularly transport less than 64GB of data between different PCs. This shows that USB flash drives are an efficient method of backing up your data, and with high-capacity USB flash drives, there is still plenty of room for your favorite music, photos and even movies,” said Jim Carlton, Corsair’s vice president of marketing.This is also an excellent marketing tool to encourage users to break away from their 2 year old 1GB drives and saddle up for a larger 16GB, 32GB or 64GB flash drive. I for one, am a lazy backer-upper and a device like this might encourage me to be more vigilante about data backups. The Corsair USB backup adapter has an MSRP of $35. Corsair product page. Continue Reading
