USB Devices

Only a few versions of Windows ago, USB devices were completely unknown and new. Today they are ubiquitous. Every other desk now has a USB hub, whether its in the shape of a mouse pad, a mug warmer, a snowman, or for the really wacky, a hub that doesn t do anything cute. Every USB hub has a rat s nest of wires leading to other devices: a lamp to light your keyboard, a fan to keep you cool, a charger for your batteries, and so on.

None of the devices we ve described is typically a security concern, though, because all they do to your computer is consume power. What s truly disconcerting to IT management in any company with significant amounts of data to protect from theft is the threat presented by the simple USB storage device. Known by any of a number of names flash drives, thumb drives, memory sticks, and more than a few brand names USB storage devices get simultaneously smaller and larger every year; smaller in physical size, and easier to conceal or lose, and larger in capacity so that more data purloined or authorized can be stored inside them.

There s also a wide range of other devices that use USB as a peripheral connection standard. Printers, scanners, keyboards, cameras, music players, mice, CD and DVD writers; IT managers may want to allow users to connect some of these devices without intervention by a system administrator, and prevent access to others.

With Windows Vista, Microsoft has added a number...