Tech & Auto
10 Great Ways To Use Your Old Flash Drives
By CASSIDY WARD
Unlock Key
The average computer user stacks up passwords faster than ever before, meaning we often resort to reusing the same passwords, leaving us open to attack.
Change your login sequence from digital to physical with a flash drive to minimize the risk. One downside is that if you lose or damage it, you may get locked out of your computer.
Portable Profile
Logging into an unfamiliar computer can make retrieving saved passwords very time-consuming. A USB flash drive and Portable Google Chrome make it easier.
This way, you can essentially put a version of Chrome on a flash drive, letting you launch it from there on any computer with all your important logins and favorites attached.
Information
Flash Drives For Freedom, a campaign launched and managed by the Human Rights Foundation, seeks to provide alternative information to North Koreans.
Alternatively, Recycle USB is a non-profit organization that converts old flash drives into portable learning centers for students between the ages of 5 and 12.
Run Linux
To install a Linux operating system on an old flash drive and use it on any computer with a USB port, start by downloading your preferred ISO image of Linux.
To run virtually in Windows, you'll want something like LinuxLive USB Creator. If you want to boot directly from the flash drive, you'll need software like YUMI.
Tails OS
For times when you need to browse the web without anyone being able to track or see what you've done, you should install Tails.
Tails — The Amnesic Incognito Live System — is a standalone operating system. Once installed on your flash drive, you can encrypt all of your files and internet usage while in use.