Gadgetopia

Aladdin (www.ealaddin.com) have been making USB encryption key widgets for some time now. They're called eTokens and have very limited storage capabilities but make up for it with internal encryption mechanisms.

Though not as small as the ISticks, the eTokens are smaller than most dsk-on-key devices and fit nicely into your keychain. Theoretically, that should solve the "where did I put my d* key thingamabob" syndrome.

The problem with encryption widgets vs regular USB keys is the drivers. I can jam a USB key into nearly any computing system, and it usually just works, assuming the OS was installed this millenium.

Crypto devices offer advantages, but the problem is that most of them only support Windows, and require drivers to be installed before they work at all. Most regular USB drives come with crypto software to make an encrypted partition on the drive, but it's all non-standard and almost universally awful.

One-time password devices (where you carry a keyfob with a constntly rotating number) are an even better solution, but it usually requires a lot of proprietary software and expensive licenses to make it work.

A PKI infrastructure with a simple stick as an encrypted keystore seems like a reasonable compromise. Works everywhere, and it's still secure since you can't use the keys without a passphrase.

I use my I-Stick in an unpowered hub and it works fine :)

The I-stick is great! I don't see why they aren't more popular. I've been giving them out as gifts for the last year.

Now I'm getting greedy. I wonder if there is a way to format them as NTFS, to keep the 'summary data' (right click a file in XP>properties>summary).

I also wonder if there are any MP3 players that accept the I-stick. I bought a Sandisk Cruzer Micro Companion MP3 player, and the I-stick fits perfectly in it, but the combination doesn't work. Is there any way to fool the player into accepting the I-stick?