MyUSBOnly Free locks others out of your USB ports

Want to keep others from downloading your data, or illegal files, or your keystrokes, using your own computer’s USB ports?

MyUSBOnly Free 2007 is freeware (registration only required) that lets you lock others out of your USB ports while allowing only the devices you trust.

From ZDNet’s TechRepublic.

Remastersys creates a custom Ubuntu Linux CD or Flash drive

A post at Ubuntugeek has instructions on using Remastersys to install Ubuntu on a CD or Flash drive so you can boot Linux with it.

Menu systems for your USB Flash drive

Daily Cup of Tech has a custom menu system to use on your USB Flash drive.

Another menu system is PStart which is a “simple tray tool to start user defined applications. Designed to run portable applications (like portable Firefox & Thunderbird), you can start anything runnable from USB key devices or removable disks.”

Flash drive freeware source

TopFreeware has a section on portable software for use with USB Flash drives.

TrueCrypt for keeping files safe

TrueCrypt is a freeware, open source encryption program for XP/2000/2003 and Linux, and USB Flash (thumb, keychain, etc.) drives.

Recommended by Windows Secrets.

U3 Flash drives are a new standard

A new standard, called U3, is for drives which allow you to run software from the USB drive just as if it were a hard drive on your PC. This also allows you to use your own programs and setups on other PCs.

• Verbatim drive users software for the new U3 standard drives.
• U3.com has U3 software.
• Don’t have a U3 drive? Then you can still run U3 applications by using Pegtop’s PStart for non-U3 drives.

USB Flash drives links

Windows Secrets has an item on how to use a Flash drive instead of a laptop to keep your favorite software and data available wherever you go. There are also links for the fastest drives and speed tests for drives, a discussion of U3-or-not-U3 drives, and other information. Another article from them is here and covers various menu and suite choices as well.

• NedWolf.com has lots of links to software.
• No-Install.com “portal for portability” with software, forums, stories
• Portable USB Apps a group of small versions of useful applications that can be copied to and used from a Flash drive.
• PortableApps.com has software.
• EverythingUSB.com has software.
• Portable Freeware has software including applications.
• Lifehacker top 10 usb thumb drive tricks link to a number of uses and software.
• Snapfiles has a page on portable software.
• Allway Sync can be used to sync folders and files anywhere, including to and from USB drives. Recommended by Gizmo’s Support Alert Newsletter.
• IZarc2Go is archiving software to compress/uncompress files, which ALSO has excellent encryption to keep files secure. You can encrypt your existing files with a simple procedure. Recommended by Gizmo’s Support Alert Newsletter
• Ultrashredder will destroy your files (such as the original files left after you encrypt them with IZarc2Go, above, so only the encrypted files survive). Recommended by Gizmo’s Support Alert Newsletter.
• WinInizio Pen Suite is “a collection of free and open source software that can be copied onto a USB pen drive or used from a hard disk.” Recommended by ClifNotesNewsletter.