There are some fundamental differences between USB copy protection and USB encryption to files on a flash drive. I have seen many companies confuse and muddy the terminology between the two. It’s time to clear things up and explain the difference.
In short; USB copy protection secures a file or set of files so they cannot be copied – thus copy protection. USB encryption scrambles the source files so they cannot be read unless you decrypt them. Take a moment and think about this…there is a BIG difference.
Encryption is the process of scrambling files and data so they cannot be accessed unless a password or key is supplied to reassemble the content and put everything back together. This process is known as decryption.
The fundamental use for USB encryption is to protect files and data in the event the USB stick is lost or stolen.
Where encryption and USB copy protection differ is with “encryption” once you have the password you can
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We reported a while back on the Nexcopy, USB Flash Drive Duplicator and today VConsole announces a similar system but larger capacity and encryption technology.
The VConsole appears to be lightening fast as well, with a copy speed of 91 seconds for 512MB of information. Taking a quick visit to their site I see the 91 seconds copy speed is the same for their 21 drive system, 42 drive system and 60 drive system. Hmm…strange how those speeds do show, even the slightest, sign of degradation in transfer speed.
Putting that aside, the 128 encryption function is a nice benefit, although not included with the base unit for $8,000, it does make you wonder what the price tag is for that feature. From what I’ve seen, most USB flash drive duplicators are used to copy content to give-away USB drives and if that’s the case, I’m not sure why you’d want to encrypt a viral marketing gadget. However, with USB getting more popular as a distribution medium, I’m sure there are plenty of uses for the encryption function.
The USB flash drive duplicator can work as a stand alone system or the user can launch a GUI interface to see more details. Vconsole mentions they have a multi-casting technology in the works for stringing multiple units together for expanded production. This would be of a big benefit for the guys over seas making the drives.
I like the VConsole product, but I honestly see a better fit for the general market with the Nexcopy Inc, USB Duplicator USB Duplicator and with the attractive price tag of $1,299 verse the VConsole $8,000 unit, you’ll need to take a hard, close look at which system best fits your needs.
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Update: Nexcopy reports the USB duplicator will duplicate 30MBs of data to all 20 flash drives in about 40 seconds. The USB duplicator will copy 250MBs of data in about 3.5 minutes. So the USB duplicator has good performance on data copy speeds.
Nexcopy announced earlier this week their USB200PC USB Duplicator is available for purchase. This unit appears to be the easiest and most economical way to load content to USB flash memory. The USB duplicator is a PC based system which copies fro m a master location to 20 slave ports. I would think this an excellent product for those looking to produce interactive product information, sales presentations or even USB music albums on flash memory.
Granted this could all be done on CD or DVD, but the idea I like about USB flash, is it being extremely portable, more durable than optical media (no scratching or damage from direct sun), and can be reused again and again as a big, fat floppy drive by the user.
The USB duplicator concept seems to be a great method to manage an arsenal of flash memory, whether it be content loading to a new set of flash drives for a trade show, or updating a rotation of information to a group of USB drives (say for sales force or medical applications).
The Nexcopy USB200PC USB duplicator has some interesting features. The software will not only duplicate data, but an option to duplicate only new and newer data. Meaning, if you don’t want to over-write current data on the device, selecting the Copy New and Newer means it will only add data to the existing drive. This function also updates an old file with the newer version. This feature in itself makes USB drive flash management extremely easy and convenient.
The Nexcopy USB duplicator is priced at $1,299 for a 20 target USB copier so the solution wont kill your budget (like some $10,000+ systems I’ve seen).
NexcopyUSB Duplicator product page.
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We reported a while back on the 