Edge Tech Corp’s DiskGo Guardian flash drive utilizes The Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) which is a strong encryption algorithm that is commonly used worldwide. AES uses three different key sizes of 128 bits, 192 bits and 256 bits. The Guardian uses a 256 bit key, which is called AES256 and currently considered the strongest mathematical encryption algorithm in use.

AES was adopted from the Rijndael encryption algorithm and was chosen by The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), which is a federal technology agency that develops and promotes standards. AES is fast, secure and is less resource intensive than other encryption algorithms.

By trying every possible key, such as in a brute force attack, it would take “far longer than the age of the universe to complete.”  When the AES process was completed, a scientist by the name of Bruce Schneier that was competing with the Rijndael team said in a quote, “I do not believe that anyone will ever discover an attack that will allow someone to read Rijndael traffic.”

Now, with all of this being said, the weakness in this method is the user’s password. It is much more likely for a hacker to crack the password on the unit than the encryption algorithm. The Guardian requires a strong password which requires uppercase letter, lowercase letters and symbols to be used. An example of a strong password is Edg3Te(h. Do not use cognitive passwords since they can be easily detected through the use of password cracking programs.

Excerpts for this article were taken from: CompTIA Security+ by Darril Gibson.

Windows User Account Control, or UAC for short, was introduced as a new security feature in Windows Vista and has made its way into Windows 7 as well. This new security feature was designed to help prevent any unauthorized changes to your Operating System. The UAC feature does this by requesting permissions (or a system administrators password) before it can perform actions that could affect your Operating Systems operation, or that change settings in the system that affect other users. Please ensure that when you see any UAC message about your system, that you read it carefully and verify that the action or program that is about to run is one that you trust.

By adding this feature into the system, and verifying the user’s actions before it starts the action or program, UAC can help prevent the spread of viruses, malware and spyware from being installed into your Operating System.

Anytime UAC needs permissions (or an admin password) to complete an action or start a program, you will be alerted with one of a few possible messages:

Windows needs your permission to continue

A Windows function or program that can affect other users of this computer needs your permission to start. Check the name of the action to ensure that it’s a function or program you want to run.

A program needs your permission to continue

A program that’s not part of Windows needs your permission to start. It has a valid digital signature indicating its name and its publisher, which helps to ensure that the program is what it claims to be. Make sure that this is a program that you intended to run.

An unidentified program wants access to your computer

An unidentified program is one that doesn’t have a valid digital signature from its publisher to ensure that the program is what it claims to be. This doesn’t necessarily indicate danger, as many older, legitimate programs lack signatures. However, you should use extra caution and only allow this program to run if you obtained it from a trusted source, such as the original CD or a publisher’s website.

This program has been blocked

Microsoft recommends that you log on to your Operating System with a standard user account most of the time. You can surf the Internet, send e mail, and use a word processing application, all without an administrator account. When you want to perform an administrative task, such as installing a new program or new hardware drivers, you no longer have to switch to an administrators account. Windows will now prompt you for permission or an administrator password before performing the task.

Microsoft also recommends that to help protect your computer, you create standard user accounts for all the users who share the computer. When someone who has a standard account tries to install software, Windows will ask for an administrator account’s password so that software can’t be installed without your knowledge and permission.