So Hardware or Software encryption.
Hardware
You can easily buy USB drives with encryption hardware; these drives utilize a chip that offers automatic and invisible encryption. Most of these drives use a physical pin pad to enter a pin code and others come with other security features such as automatic overwrites in the event of too many pass code errors. Due to these factors, they tend to be on the higher side of pricing compared to normal drives but like most popular tech, prices are falling.
Unfortunately, hardware encrypted USB drives are not immune to failure. so they are fine for those files when your on the move or travelling but always ensure you have them on another location in case you accidentally loose the files.
Software
Software encrypted USB drives are as cheap as whatever drive you use is. Encryption software is inexpensive, if not free, and often is included with desktop platforms. Both Windows & Apple offer these features as standard but they don’t allow users that multi platform. They perform just as well as hardware encrypted drives do, provided the platform you plug into supports the software installed on your drive and you aren’t careless with your pass code.
They do take a little bit of time to encrypt them yourself, and you can’t use it on a computer that doesn’t use the same software that you encrypted the drive with. If you’re not tech savvy you may not feel confident doing it yourself.
So what’s best for you ?
So, both options offer security without reducing functionality of your drive but it becomes a matter of what works best for you and your needs. Software encryption is cheaper and often performs just as well, but is prone to potential issues like software issues and user error.
Hardware encryption is less prone to user error and is often more reliable in performance, but is expensive in comparison.
If you’ve decided to go the software route come and see us for an up-to date price for your chosen solution.
Nathan Dobbins Owner of Core Computers
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