ng with other people because humans all broadly work the same way, think in similar ways, and talk the same language. Thankfully, the same is also now true of our computers and their peripherals (gadgets like inkjet printers, webcams, and flash memory sticks).But that wasn't always the case. A few years ago, computers and peripherals used a mind-boggling collection of different connectors for linking to one another. It was hard (sometimes impossible) to use a certain computer with a particular printer and, if you bought a new printer, it was often touch-and-go whether it would work with your old computer. These days, virtually all computers and peripherals use a standard way of connecting together called USB. which stands for "universal serial bus."
If you wanted to use a new peripheral, such as a webcam or printer, you had to go through a lengthy installation process. You had to install a file called a driver (which told your computer what the peripheral was and how it worked), which usually took ages. Quite you often had to reboot the computer when you were done, so installing a peripheral was incredibly slow and disruptive.USB became a standard: an agreement between manufacturers to behave sensibly and cooperate.
The goal of USB is to end all of these headaches. The Universal Serial Bus gives you a single, standardized, easy-to-use way to connect up to 127 devices to a computer.
Connecting a USB device to a computer is simple -- you find the USB connector on the back of your machine and plug the USB connector into it. If it is a new device, the operating system auto-detects it and asks for the driver disk. If the device has already been installed, the computer activates it and starts talking to it. USB devices can be connected and disconnected at any time. Many USB devices come with their own built-in cable, and the cable has an "A" connection on it. If not, then the device has a socket on it that accepts a USB "B" connector.
"A" connectors head "upstream" toward the computer.
"B" connectors head "downstream" and connect to individual devices.
The Universal Serial Bus has the following features:
* The computer acts as the host.
* Up to 127 devices can connect to the host, either directly or by way of USB hubs.
* Individual USB cables can run as long as 5 meters; with hubs, devices can be up to 30 meters (six cables' worth) away from the host.
* With USB 2.,the bus has a maximum data rate of 480 megabits per second.
A USB cable has two wires for power (+5 volts and ground) and a twisted pair of wires to carry the data.
On the power wires, the computer can supply up to 500 milliamps of power at 5 volts. Low-power devices (such as mice) can draw their power directly from the bus. High-power devices (such as printers) have their own power supplies and draw minimal power from the bus. Hubs can have their own power supplies to provide power to devices connected to the hub.
USB devices are hot-swappable, meaning you can plug them into the bus and unplug them any time.
Many USB devices can be put to sleep by the host computer when the computer enters a power-saving mode. The devices connected to a USB port rely on the USB cable to carry power and data.
USB 0.7: Released in November 1994.
USB 0.8: Released in December 1994.
USB 0.9: Released in April 1995.
USB 0.99: Released in August 1995.
USB 1.0 Release Candidate: Released in November 1995.
USB 1.0: Released in January 1996.Specified data rates of 1.5 Mbit/s (Low-Speed) and 12 Mbit/s (Full-Speed). Does not allow for extension cables or pass-through monitors (due to timing and power limitations). Few such devices actually made it to market.
USB 1.1: Released in September 1998.Fixed problems identified in 1.0, mostly relating to hubs. Earliest revision to be widely adopted.
The Hi-Speed USB Logo
USB 2.0: Released in April 2000.Added higher maximum speed of 480 Mbit/s (now called Hi-Speed). Further modifications to the USB specification have been done via Engineering Change Notices (ECN).
On September 18, 2007, Pat Gelsinger demonstrated USB 3.0 at the Intel Developer Forum. The USB 3.0 Promoter Group announced on November 17, 2008, that version 3.0 of the specification had been completed and was transitioned to the USB Implementers Forum (USB-IF), the managing body of USB specifications. This move effectively opened the spec to hardware developers for implementation in future products. The first USB 3.0 ports were featured on the Asus P6X58 motherboard; however this board was cancelled before production.
The USB 3.0 is the SuperSpeed bus, which provides a fourth transfer mode at 4.8 Gbit/s. The raw throughput is 4 Gbit/s, and the specification considers it reasonable to achieve 3.2 Gbit/s (0.4 Gbyte/s or 400 Mbyte/s) or more after protocol overhead.
Consumer products are expected to become available in 2010.Commercial controllers are expected to enter into volume production no later than the first quarter of 2010. NEC is aiming to produce its first USB 3.0 controller in June 2009, initially priced at US$15.00. Monthly production of NEC Electronics' µPD720200 host controller is expected to reach approximately 1,000,000 units on September 9, 2009.On September 24, 2009 Freecom announced the availability of their USB 3.0 external hard drive
At least one complete end-to-end test system for USB3 designers is now on the market
USB Flash Drive products have been on the market since 2000, and are increasing in use exponentially.As both consumers and businesses have increased demand for these drives, manufacturers are producing faster devices with greater data storage.
An increasing number of portable devices are used in business, such as laptops, notebooks, universal serial bus (USB) flash drives, personal digital assistants (PDAs), advanced mobile phones and other mobile devices.
Companies in particular are at risk when sensitive data are stored on unsecured USB flash drives by employees, who use the devices to transport data outside the office. The consequences of losing drives loaded with such information can be significant, and include the loss of customer data, financial information, business plans and other confidential information, with the associated risk of reputation damage.
Major dangers of USB drives :
The uncontrolled use of USB drives is a major danger since it represents a significant threat to information security and confidentiality.
Therefore the following should be taken into consideration for securing USB drives assets:
* Storage: USB flash drives are usually put in bags, backpacks, laptop cases, jackets, trouser pockets or are left at unattended workstations.
* Usage: tracking corporate data stored on personal flash drives is a significant challenge; the drives are small, common, and constantly moving. Many enterprises have strict management policies toward USB drives, and some companies ban them outright to minimize risk.
The average cost of a data breach from any source (not necessarily a flash drive) ranges from less than USD 100 000 to about USD 2.5 million.
A Sandisk survey characterized the data corporate end users most frequently copy:
1. customer data (25 %)
2. financial information (17 %)
3. business plans (15 %)
4. employee data (13 %)
5. marketing plans (13 %)
6. intellectual property (6 %)
7. source code (6 %)
Examples of security breaches resulting from USB drives include:
In the UK:
HM Revenue & Customs lost personal details of 6500 private pension holders
In the United States:
a USB drive was stolen with names, grades and social security numbers of 6 500 former students
USB flash drives with US Army classified military information were up for sale at a bazaar outside Bagram, Afghanistan
Solutions :
Since the security of the physical drive cannot be guaranteed without compromising the benefits of portability, security measures are primarily devoted to making the data on a compromised drive inaccessible. One common approach is to encrypt the data for storage, although other methods are possible.
Software :
Software solutions such as FreeOTFE and TrueCrypt allow the contents of a USB drive to be encrypted automatically and transparently. This software can be carried on the same USB drive, and run without having to install it on a host computer. Such software solutions may be used with any USB drive - turning cheap, commonly available USB drives into secure storage systems.
Additional software on company computers may help track and minimize risk by recording the interactions between any USB drive and the computer and storing them in a centralized database.
Hardware :
Some USB drives offer embedded hardware encryption, although these do cost significantly more. Microchips within the USB drive carry out automatic transparent encryption.
Hardware systems may offer additional features, such as the ability to automatically overwrite the contents of the drive if the wrong password is entered more than a certain number of times. This type of functionality cannot be provided by a software system since the encrypted data can simply be copied from the drive. However, this form of hardware security can result in data loss if activated accidentally by legitimate users, and strong encryption algorithms essentially make such functionality redundant.
As the encryption keys used in hardware encryption are typically never stored in the computer's memory, technically hardware solutions are less subject to "cold boot" attacks than software-based systems. In reality however, "cold boot" attacks pose little (if any) threat, assuming basic, rudimentary, security precautions are taken with software-based systems.
Retailers of secure USB drives include: BlockMaster, MXI Security, Integral, SanDisk,Kingston Technology , Lexar, IronKey and Kanguru Solutions
Management :
In a commercial environment where most secure USB drives will be used, a central management system may provide IT organizations with an additional level of IT asset control. This may include initial user deployment and ongoing management, password recovery, data backup, and termination of any issued secure USB drive. Such management systems are available as Software as a Service (note that in strict network environments where internet connectivity is limited or prohibited such a solution will be futile) or behind-the-firewall solutions.
Wireless USB :
Wireless USB is a short-range, high-bandwidth wireless radio communication protocol created by the Wireless SB Promoter Group. Wireless USB is sometimes abbreviated as "WUSB", although the USB Implementers . Forum discourages this practice and instead prefers to call the technology "Certified Wireless USB" to differentiate it from competitors. Wireless USB is based on the WiMedia Alliance's Ultra-WideBand (UWB) common radio platform, which is capable of sending 480 Mbit/s at distances up to 3 meters and 110 Mbit/s at up to 10 meters. It was designed to operate in the 3.1 to 10.6 GHz frequency range, although local regulatory policies may restrict the legal operating range for any given country.
Uses :
Wireless USB is used in game controllers, printers, scanners, digital cameras, MP3 players, hard disks and flash drives. Kensington released a Wireless USB universal docking station in August, 2008. It is also suitable for transferring parallel video streams, while utilizing the Wireless USB over UWB bandwidth.
Ethernet devices via USB :
The ability to connect Ethernet devices via USB ports is known as Ethernet over USB. There are many low cost commercial adapters available to do this.
In September 2007, the Open Mobile Terminal Platform group — a forum of mobile network operators and manufacturers such as Nokia, Samsung, Motorola, Sony Ericsson and LG announced that its members had agreed on micro-USB as the future common connector for mobile devices.
