MakeUseOf: This free app turns any USB into a PC security key. “Personally, I prefer using a YubiKey security key to secure my login accounts. However, if you don’t want to splurge on a dedicated hardware key, you can turn your humble USB flash drive into a security key using USB Raptor.”

https://rbfirehose.com/2025/10/19/makeuseof-this-free-app-turns-any-usb-into-a-pc-security-key/

MakeUseOf: How a $10 USB stick made me disappear from the web. “Imagine an operating system that runs entirely from your USB drive and leaves no trace behind when disconnected. Whether you’re trying to be cautious when using public Wi-Fi or doing sensitive research, Tails offers a disposable operating system on a USB to turn any sketchy PC into a private one.”

https://rbfirehose.com/2025/10/15/makeuseof-how-a-10-usb-stick-made-me-disappear-from-the-web/

MakeUseOf: This free and open-source tool made my USB drives way more useful. “I went tool hunting and found Ventoy. This open-source app installs once, and then you can add as many disk images (ISO/WIM/IMG/VHD(x)/EFI files) as you want to the drive without needing to reformat. You can also include all your portable diagnostic apps and continue to use the USB as a storage device.”

https://rbfirehose.com/2025/09/26/makeuseof-this-free-and-open-source-tool-made-my-usb-drives-way-more-useful/

My experience with #FlashDrives recently has been mixed. I have no problem in encrypting them with #LUKS, using #cryptsetup or with formatting a partition with #Btrfs, for instance, using #gparted and doing other tinkering with #Gnome #disks. But the problem has been with the actual drives themselves. The cheaper ones seem to have quite a few bad sectors, etc. and so they’re not really reliable for medium term storage.

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#Hardware #StorageDevices #Unix #GNU #Linux #Fedora

How-To Geek: 6 USB Drive Uses You’re Missing Out On. “Most of us use USB drives for temporary file storage, but they can do much more. You can boot an operating system, store and encrypt passwords, automate critical data backups, and more. If you have a spare USB drive that you only use for storage, here are some other ways to make the most of it.”

https://rbfirehose.com/2025/04/01/how-to-geek-6-usb-drive-uses-youre-missing-out-on/

Just noticed how the physical size of the memory sticks (aka USB flash drives) we have is inversely proportional to their storage capacity 🤭

#MemorySticks #FlashDrives #USB