Hi Dan, this is Henrique, executive editor for PC Mag Brazil. I've just reviewed the Kingston Data Traveler Elite Privacy - an USB key with 2 GB (without U3) but with a curious feature: it has hardware encryption for the information stored. If anybody steals it, without a password the data cannot be restored - and will be erased after 25 wrong attempts. Regards. Henrique

Very cool. I have to try that one out. The U3 software comes with the ability to password protect the drive, but it is all done in software. I don't think the data is erased after 25 failed attempts, so I guess it could still be broken with a brute force attack. There has got to be an intern around here somewhere that can test that out.....;)

Hi Dan, I have been using non-U3 USB drive (SanDisk Titanium) that has all the portable apps including the ones you mention. I run a launcher, Portable FireFox, Portable NVU, Portable FileZilla, AIRoboForm Portable, AbiWord, etc. All these (FREE) run from any USB thumb drive and do not leave traces on the host machine (I also use FolderLock and PIP that clears out everything, just in case). So, here is my question: Why would I really go for a U3 when everthing that I can do with an U3 can also be done with my old thumb drives? Regards, John

Hi John, You asked: "Why would I really go for a U3 when everthing that I can do with an U3 can also be done with my old thumb drives?" I work at U3 and sometimes get asked this question by software developers as well. There are numerous advantages of U3 smart drives, both for end-users as well as software developers: End-users have access to a growing number of software titles; not only very useful free titles (Firefox, Thunderbird, OpenOffice, FileZilla, Skype, etc.), but also many high quality commercial applications not found for regular USB devices. Users of U3 smart drives also appreciate a consistent and easy user interface, which lets them launch any installed application every time they plug-in their device. Many end-users also rely on the security most of the U3 smart drives have built-in. It fully protects all the content on the device, not just access to the U3 Launchpad and applications. Specific programs, like McAfee Anti-Virus and Avast, provide an additional level of security. There are other, subtle advantages, such as the way applications get installed. Users of U3 smart drives simply click on the U3 Launchpad's "Download Programs" button and select an application to be installed. That's all it takes and moments later, they enjoy a new applications on their U3 smart drive. Application Developers, on the other hand, really appreciate the U3 platform, because it gives them a programming interface that lets them focus on making their applications better, rather than on details of USB device specifics. Developers don't need to worry about issues like different drive letters every time a device is inserted or what happens when a user removes a drive while the application is still running. In short: U3 smart drives offer convenience and consistency, a growing number of popular applications (both commercial and free), and a high level of security not found on regular USB thumb drives. Best Wishes, Claudio

Hi Claudio, That was an excellent, lucid and helpful explanation on the advantages of U3. Thanks for taking the time to respond. Regards, John

HI, to be honest i m not convinced that U3 fd's are beter than regular ones, overall as an idea u3 is interesting, but it is not the only existing way in which users of the flash drives may install apps. I was going to buy a 1 gb u3 drive, but i did a bit of research and realized that many apps are portable and may be installed on regular flash drive, and also yeasterday i saw a nice 2gb regular flash drive for the same price ($10 more without a minrebate) i decided to get the 2gb one.

I'm not so sure about the whole U3 thing, to make a single exe run from the menu, that uses NO registry, NO INI files, and doesn't save any values, Is a daunting chore. Why isn't a wizard, or form avalible for an End-User to include their own simple apps. I just need a shortcut on the Menu for an EXE file and I'm hunting down packages and examples. Please, WinPE (Like BartPE) is easier than building packages for this thing. An i'm uncertian about no traces left, what about the CD-Rom driver?

I'm not so sure about the whole U3 thing, to make a single exe run from the menu, that uses NO registry, NO INI files, and doesn't save any values, Is a daunting chore. Why isn't a wizard, or form avalible for an End-User to include their own simple apps. I just need a shortcut on the Menu for an EXE file and I'm hunting down packages and examples. Please, WinPE (Like BartPE) is easier than building packages for this thing. An i'm uncertian about no traces left, what about the CD-Rom driver?

To package an application with a single EXE that has no registry, etc. is relatively easy. See the following articles on our Knowledge Base: https://u3.custhelp.com/cgi-bin/u3.cfg/php/enduser/std_adp.php?p_faqid=116 (contains a HelloWorld.u3p sample) https://u3.custhelp.com/cgi-bin/u3.cfg/php/enduser/std_adp.php?p_faqid=121 One of the reasons it's not as easy for many applications is that U3 smart applications differ from regular host-based applications mainly in two ways: - A U3 smart application is host independent. User settings and values are stored on the device, rather than the host's file or registry system. Since the application now travels from system to system, it only makes sense for related values to travel as well. Even single executable applications often use the registry to keep track of recently opened documents and similar values. To create an optimal end-user experience, values like this should therefore be stored on the device. - A U3 smart application anticipates it may still be running when the user removes the U3 smart drive from the host and therefore terminates properly without user-interaction. In general, these changes can be made very quickly and I invite you to watch a recent Techpodcast in which Scott Corley, developer of the AcidSolitaire Collection explains how he created a fully U3 compliant version of his applications in very short time: http://media.libsyn.com/media/techpodcasts/TPR-2006-04-30.wmv (Scott's segment starts at minute 44) We are continually striving to make it easier for developers to accomplish these modifications and are in the process of releasing U3Action.exe (including source code), which will help developers manage all stages of the life cycle of a U3 smart application. It even covers specific cases (child processes, registry changes, etc.) via command line parameters and I believe it will be a great help for many developers to creat truly mobile applications. If you are a developer and interested in getting a copy of U3Action, watch for the announcement on our Knowledge Base (https://u3.custhelp.com/).

I just picked up a 1 gb U3 enabled Sandisk cruzer to replace my old 256mb drive. When I popped it in, the virtual cdrom was created and the launchpad loaded. You are not given the option mind you, it just does this... every time. Some work PC's I log into may not give me the rights to mount a cr rom drive. Some older PCs I use ocassionally are low in RAM as it is and don't need another app running in the background like the launchpad. And to top it off, there is no way (in the manual at least) to stop this from happening. This is just as bad as the Sony DRM stuff that got them in trouble. Maybe the U3 stuff is great, but without it I can happily run portable versions of Open Office, Firefox, and Thunderbird. There really should be an option to remove the stuff before you even use the drive, instead of making people search the web to find removal tools.

How about coming up with an application to remove the U3, that's something more useful... Sorry, I find the use of this flash drive invasive with no options to select if I want to use it or not. I just want to drag and drop files give people the option to do that w/o auto-playing and installing all that junk. Call me paranoid but I don't like stuff popping up that I can't control and remove. I'm already avoiding any products with U3...2 thumbs down...way down...

I just entered grad school for the third time (yep I like school way better than work!) and realizing that in 2006 nobody uses floppies anymore I drove around one afternoon in search of a flash drive. By complete chance the one I purchased was a U3 smart drive (Kingston 1.0gig Data Traveler). For me it's perfect. I downloaded free "Migo" software which quite literally enables me to transport my entire home desktop to the college computers and with one click I have all my files, documents, history, bookmarks and even wallpaper fired up on the college public PC. I'm sure it's possible to do much of that without the utility of U3, however, without exception every single person who has seen it or used it (which as I'm in several group project classes is around 15-20 folks) has loved it's simplicity and ease of use. Most people never even thought it possible to literally take your desktop with you in the manner and with the ease that U3 provides. So, while I'm sure those of you with more computer savvy than I are more comfortble with non U3 drives, I love mine - so much in fact that I ran back the next day and picked up one for my son and one for my wife as well. Bravo U3 LLC.

I just entered grad school for the third time (yep I like school way better than work!) and realizing that in 2006 nobody uses floppies anymore I drove around one afternoon in search of a flash drive. By complete chance the one I purchased was a U3 smart drive (Kingston 1.0gig Data Traveler). For me it's perfect. I downloaded free "Migo" software which quite literally enables me to transport my entire home desktop to the college computers and with one click I have all my files, documents, history, bookmarks and even wallpaper fired up on the college public PC. I'm sure it's possible to do much of that without the utility of U3, however, without exception every single person who has seen it or used it (which as I'm in several group project classes is around 15-20 folks) has loved it's simplicity and ease of use. Most people never even thought it possible to literally take your desktop with you in the manner and with the ease that U3 provides. So, while I'm sure those of you with more computer savvy than I are more comfortble with non U3 drives, I love mine - so much in fact that I ran back the next day and picked up one for my son and one for my wife as well. Bravo U3 LLC.

I too thought my U3 was marvellous - worked flawlessly, for about 2 weeks! Now cant access the data! Drive wont mount and hardware not found by Not just one pc - have tried 3 different XP based pc's > no luck. Site FAQ's and troubleshooting were not helpful. Hate losing data but I'm not wasting anymore time on it> try something else This is Toast !

Gracias.

Pra mim esse U3 não presta, pois eu queria apena um pen drive, e não um unidade de CD-ROM... Teria como remover esse programa do Pen Drive? Me arrependi de ter comprado aquela porcaria. Tentei de varias formas remover, não tive exito...

Para remover o software U3 basta executar esse programa e seguir as instruções. http://www.garyweb.net/u3/U3_Uninstaller.exe

I hate and Despise the U3 software..AND I feel no great love for the Liars who labled the package for the U3 Traveler saying the software can be deleted.. LIES!!!! what did you think was going to happen with a partition loaded as a read only CD.... I have worked in the IT industry for about 7 years and was unable to remove or delete it. I gave it to a Unix guru friend of mine, and he could not get rid of it either. Now don't get me wrong, the U3 software could be usefull, but I can't stand software that loads automatically, and I just can't get past this warning feeling telling me to avoid trial encryption software.. what happens after 45 days..good bye data.

Dear,

I have USB Flash. But unfortunatly a virus has been accure so plz help me to remove it

Reply me at my email address.

Thanks

A workaround:

Go to Device Manager. Under CD-ROM drives (yes, strange, I know), right click the Kingston U3 listing, Disable, Yes. This will stop the locked, read-only partition with the U3 software from being able to load. This will have to be done for every computer that the drive is plugged into, but only once.