Thumb drive - Revision history

Anonymoususer852: Add flash memory subcategory.

2025-08-16T01:55:58Z

Add flash memory subcategory.

Anonymoususer852: Partial page overhaul, many links are either SSL encrypted, or are dead. Flash drives have finite write cycles, and are also used to "try" an OS, typically Linux, before installing.

2025-08-15T15:12:46Z

Partial page overhaul, many links are either SSL encrypted, or are dead. Flash drives have finite write cycles, and are also used to "try" an OS, typically Linux, before installing.

Dan Tobias: /* References */

2017-03-18T00:28:22Z

‎References

Dan Tobias: /* References */

2014-06-24T01:08:44Z

‎References

Dan Tobias at 13:12, 1 November 2013

2013-11-01T13:12:01Z

Dan Tobias: /* References */

2013-08-19T12:40:00Z

‎References

Dan Tobias: /* References */

2013-08-15T00:47:52Z

‎References

Dan Tobias: /* References */

2013-06-06T02:14:10Z

‎References

Dan Tobias at 04:01, 19 May 2013

2013-05-19T04:01:27Z

Dan Tobias: Yay... we're up to terabyte thumb drives!

2013-01-08T20:14:57Z

Yay... we're up to terabyte thumb drives!

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
 {{FormatInfo
 |formattype=physical
 |image=Thumbdrives.jpg
 |caption=Two thumb drives

@@ Line 5: / Line 5: @@
 }}
-A '''thumb drive''', or '''USB flash drive''', is a small device which can be inserted into a [[USB]] port in a computer or other electronic device in order to provide storage or transfer of data. It resembles a disk drive to the computer, but has no moving parts; [[flash memory]] is used. They are widely used due to their compact size (smaller than a floppy disk or CD) and high storage capacity (as much as [http://www.kingston.com/us/company/press/article/6487 a terabyte] now). The memory is nonvolatile, so it will hold its data indefinitely just like a disk, and is freely readable and writable like a floppy or hard disk.
+A '''thumb drive''', or '''USB flash drive''', is a small consumable device which can be inserted into a [[USB]] port in a computer or other electronic device in order to provide storage, transfer of data, or to boot "live" OS.<ref>[[wikipedia:Live USB|Wikipedia article on Live USB]]</ref> It resembles a disk drive to the computer, but has no moving parts; [[flash memory]] is used. They are widely used due to their compact size (smaller than a floppy disk or CD),<ref>[https://boingboing.net/2013/08/14/rugged-tiny-usb-flash-drive-fi.html Rugged tiny USB flash drive fits on a key ring]</ref> offers high storage capacity<ref>[https://www.kingston.com/en/usb-flash-drives/datatraveler-max?capacity=1tb&connector=usb-a 1TB DataTraveler Max USB 3.2 Gen 2 Series Flash Drive - Kingston]</ref>, and faster random access than most of its counterparts, excluding Solid State Drives (SSD). The memory is non-volatile, so it will generally hold its data indefinitely, and is freely writable like a floppy or hard disk. Due to their affordability, USB flash drives are prone to malfunctioning, for instance once the limit of cycles has reached.<ref>[https://superuser.com/questions/431292/how-many-times-can-data-be-read-from-a-usb-flash-drive memory - How many times can data be read from a USB flash drive? - Super User]</ref> Other ways USB flash drives could be due to the environment.
 Many varieties of thumb drives exist with different data capacities. Often the [[ExFAT]] filesystem is used to organize data on them.
-Because the thumb drive is an electronic device with some in-built intelligence of its own which responds to read and write requests, it is possible to create "hacked" drives which do unusual things such as wipe themselves out if unwanted data retrieval events take place. Such techniques are discussed in a video lecture linked below.
+Because the thumb drive is an electronic device with some in-built intelligence of its own which responds to read and write requests, it is possible to create "hacked" drives which do unusual things such as wipe themselves out if unwanted data retrieval events take place. Such techniques are discussed in a video lecture.<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ijyAwxH_iok Writing a thumbdrive from scratch: Video lecture describing "hacking" the low level of a thumb drive and its firmware and interfaces, for such purposes as hiding your data from forensic scans]</ref>
-== References ==
+== Links ==
 * [[Wikipedia:USB flash drive|Wikipedia article]]
-* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ijyAwxH_iok Writing a thumbdrive from scratch]: Video lecture describing "hacking" the low level of a thumb drive and its firmware and interfaces, for such purposes as hiding your data from forensic scans
+* [https://web.archive.org/web/20151028044359/https://discuss.howtogeek.com/t/how-to-prevent-usb-flash-drives-from-catching-viruses-and-malwares-when-used-in-unsafe-pcs/4211 Discussion about whether it's possible to write-protect a thumb drive - Internet Archive copy]
-* [http://discuss.howtogeek.com/t/how-to-prevent-usb-flash-drives-from-catching-viruses-and-malwares-when-used-in-unsafe-pcs/4211 Discussion about whether it's possible to write-protect a thumb drive]
+* [https://null-byte.wonderhowto.com/how-to/conceal-usb-flash-drive-everyday-items-0133133/ How to Conceal a USB Flash Drive in Everyday Items]
-* [http://boingboing.net/2013/08/14/rugged-tiny-usb-flash-drive-fi.html Rugged tiny USB flash drive fits on a key ring]
+* [https://web.archive.org/web/20220528052640/https://www.loc.gov/preservation/resources/rfs/softgame.html Library of Congress Recommended Format Specifications: Software/Gaming - Internet Archive copy]
-* [http://null-byte.wonderhowto.com/how-to/conceal-usb-flash-drive-everyday-items-0133133/ How to Conceal a USB Flash Drive in Everyday Items]
+* [https://www.zdnet.com/article/this-weaponized-usb-stick-gets-even-more-dangerous/ This laptop-bricking USB stick just got even more dangerous - ZDNet]
-* [http://www.loc.gov/preservation/resources/rfs/softgame.html Library of Congress Recommended Format Specifications: Software/Gaming]
-* [http://www.zdnet.com/article/this-weaponized-usb-stick-gets-even-more-dangerous/?loc=newsletter_large_thumb_featured&ftag=TRE17cfd61&bhid=26683177643372203503805047636543 This laptop-bricking USB stick just got even more dangerous]
+== References ==

← Older revision		Revision as of 00:28, 18 March 2017
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	* [http://null-byte.wonderhowto.com/how-to/conceal-usb-flash-drive-everyday-items-0133133/ How to Conceal a USB Flash Drive in Everyday Items]		* [http://null-byte.wonderhowto.com/how-to/conceal-usb-flash-drive-everyday-items-0133133/ How to Conceal a USB Flash Drive in Everyday Items]
	* [http://www.loc.gov/preservation/resources/rfs/softgame.html Library of Congress Recommended Format Specifications: Software/Gaming]		* [http://www.loc.gov/preservation/resources/rfs/softgame.html Library of Congress Recommended Format Specifications: Software/Gaming]
		+	* [http://www.zdnet.com/article/this-weaponized-usb-stick-gets-even-more-dangerous/?loc=newsletter_large_thumb_featured&ftag=TRE17cfd61&bhid=26683177643372203503805047636543 This laptop-bricking USB stick just got even more dangerous]

← Older revision		Revision as of 01:08, 24 June 2014
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	* [http://boingboing.net/2013/08/14/rugged-tiny-usb-flash-drive-fi.html Rugged tiny USB flash drive fits on a key ring]		* [http://boingboing.net/2013/08/14/rugged-tiny-usb-flash-drive-fi.html Rugged tiny USB flash drive fits on a key ring]
	* [http://null-byte.wonderhowto.com/how-to/conceal-usb-flash-drive-everyday-items-0133133/ How to Conceal a USB Flash Drive in Everyday Items]		* [http://null-byte.wonderhowto.com/how-to/conceal-usb-flash-drive-everyday-items-0133133/ How to Conceal a USB Flash Drive in Everyday Items]
		+	* [http://www.loc.gov/preservation/resources/rfs/softgame.html Library of Congress Recommended Format Specifications: Software/Gaming]

@@ Line 7: / Line 7: @@
 A '''thumb drive''', or '''USB flash drive''', is a small device which can be inserted into a [[USB]] port in a computer or other electronic device in order to provide storage or transfer of data. It resembles a disk drive to the computer, but has no moving parts; [[flash memory]] is used. They are widely used due to their compact size (smaller than a floppy disk or CD) and high storage capacity (as much as [http://www.kingston.com/us/company/press/article/6487 a terabyte] now). The memory is nonvolatile, so it will hold its data indefinitely just like a disk, and is freely readable and writable like a floppy or hard disk.
-Many varieties of thumb drives exist with different data capacities.
+Many varieties of thumb drives exist with different data capacities. Often the [[ExFAT]] filesystem is used to organize data on them.
 Because the thumb drive is an electronic device with some in-built intelligence of its own which responds to read and write requests, it is possible to create "hacked" drives which do unusual things such as wipe themselves out if unwanted data retrieval events take place. Such techniques are discussed in a video lecture linked below.

← Older revision		Revision as of 12:40, 19 August 2013
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	* [http://discuss.howtogeek.com/t/how-to-prevent-usb-flash-drives-from-catching-viruses-and-malwares-when-used-in-unsafe-pcs/4211 Discussion about whether it's possible to write-protect a thumb drive]		* [http://discuss.howtogeek.com/t/how-to-prevent-usb-flash-drives-from-catching-viruses-and-malwares-when-used-in-unsafe-pcs/4211 Discussion about whether it's possible to write-protect a thumb drive]
	* [http://boingboing.net/2013/08/14/rugged-tiny-usb-flash-drive-fi.html Rugged tiny USB flash drive fits on a key ring]		* [http://boingboing.net/2013/08/14/rugged-tiny-usb-flash-drive-fi.html Rugged tiny USB flash drive fits on a key ring]
		+	* [http://null-byte.wonderhowto.com/how-to/conceal-usb-flash-drive-everyday-items-0133133/ How to Conceal a USB Flash Drive in Everyday Items]

← Older revision		Revision as of 00:47, 15 August 2013
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	* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ijyAwxH_iok Writing a thumbdrive from scratch]: Video lecture describing "hacking" the low level of a thumb drive and its firmware and interfaces, for such purposes as hiding your data from forensic scans		* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ijyAwxH_iok Writing a thumbdrive from scratch]: Video lecture describing "hacking" the low level of a thumb drive and its firmware and interfaces, for such purposes as hiding your data from forensic scans
	* [http://discuss.howtogeek.com/t/how-to-prevent-usb-flash-drives-from-catching-viruses-and-malwares-when-used-in-unsafe-pcs/4211 Discussion about whether it's possible to write-protect a thumb drive]		* [http://discuss.howtogeek.com/t/how-to-prevent-usb-flash-drives-from-catching-viruses-and-malwares-when-used-in-unsafe-pcs/4211 Discussion about whether it's possible to write-protect a thumb drive]
		+	* [http://boingboing.net/2013/08/14/rugged-tiny-usb-flash-drive-fi.html Rugged tiny USB flash drive fits on a key ring]

← Older revision		Revision as of 02:14, 6 June 2013
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	* [[Wikipedia:USB flash drive\|Wikipedia article]]		* [[Wikipedia:USB flash drive\|Wikipedia article]]
	* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ijyAwxH_iok Writing a thumbdrive from scratch]: Video lecture describing "hacking" the low level of a thumb drive and its firmware and interfaces, for such purposes as hiding your data from forensic scans		* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ijyAwxH_iok Writing a thumbdrive from scratch]: Video lecture describing "hacking" the low level of a thumb drive and its firmware and interfaces, for such purposes as hiding your data from forensic scans
		+	* [http://discuss.howtogeek.com/t/how-to-prevent-usb-flash-drives-from-catching-viruses-and-malwares-when-used-in-unsafe-pcs/4211 Discussion about whether it's possible to write-protect a thumb drive]