It wasn’t long ago that as a sales person or networker, you’d be carrying a pocketful of USB sticks with you at events and conferences. Your own, plus those you were receiving from new contacts. It became the ‘thing’ to load killer flash or powerpoint presentations to USB sticks and hand them out as a marketing tool. But with the massive increase in cloud storage, social media and the continued growth of websites, mobile browsing and tablets, we ask… does anyone still use USB sticks?
The Rise and Rise of USB Sticks
USB sticks, also called flash drives, are data storage device that includes flash memory with an integrated Universal Serial Bus (USB) interface – Wikipedia. Since their initial development in 1999 and subsequent launch, USB sticks have grown in their capabilities dramatically. From a useful (for the time) 8MB, storage capacity of 2TB is now planned for the very near future. Assuming this happens in 2014, that is an increase of 250,000 times the original storage capacity. However you look at that figure, it is quite incredible! How about this… since the USB stick has been in existence since 2000, potential storage capacity has increased by 391MB every day!
So, whilst this is incredibly impressive and we can all pat ourselves on the back for being such technologically advanced humanoids, what has this meant for how USB sticks have been used over the years?
Key Uses of USB Sticks
Of course, in the early days, the key purpose of USB’s was very technical and would have been driven by the need to store files, back-up and transfer files. When compared to the incumbent, the legendary floppy disk, you can see why this would been quite exciting. Less moving parts, more durability, less likely to accidentally be used as a coaster. Smaller, sexier, more storage capabilities, more reliable. If this was a boxing match, we’re talking a first round KO. As the USB developed past 256GB (2009), suddenly it could store more data than a blueray disk.
Businesses latched on to USB’s not only as a means of transferring and backing up files, but as a way of passing data and information to prospects and customers. USB’s have always been easy to brand, and the use of custom USB sticks not only provides organisations with a way of generating brand awareness, it allows them to incorporate actual product manuals, brochures and sales presentations.
The Threat to USB Sticks
With advancements in other areas, businesses are using fewer and fewer USB sticks. We no longer need to save large files to USB because we can easily send them via a great service like Dropbox. Cloud storage, especially Google Drive, has allowed us to visit a client, login and access any documents and presentations we may have been working back at the office. Internet bandwidth is growing, again reducing the ‘problem’ of sending large files. And for doing personal presentations, what salesperson doesn’t have a quick file ready to show a prospect on their iPad?
Viruses are another enemy of USB sticks. More on this below.
How Have USB Sticks Remained Relevant?
USB Sticks are slowly moving further in to the novelty area of branded promotional products. Rather than being functional, they are providing awareness through being memorable.
Due to the relatively low cost of developing plastic molds, many company’s have taken advantage of this and develop USB sticks in a wide range of wacky shapes and characters. From sushi to trucks, from animals to fruit, USB sticks have taken some unique shapes. For most of our clients, this is the direction they are looking more and more often. Car companies are using racing driver shaped USB sticks. Transport companies are using truck shapes. Agricultural industry businesses are using fruit and vegetable shapes. They’re memorable and make it more likely that the objective of being remembered will be fulfilled.
Are USB sticks safe?
For the most part yes, but a user must take steps to protect their USB sticks if they are used regularly. A USB can be infected just as easily as any computer hard drive, and because of their mobility, many users use them at computers that are potential unfamiliar to them. This is especially true at internet cafes, where viruses can spread very easily.
From a recent article on www.businessspectator.com.au – “As confirmation of just how vulnerable we all are to computer malware, two researchers presenting at this week’s Black Hat hacking conference in Las Vegas will demonstrate that we can no longer trust the ubiquitous USB thumb drive. Karsten Nohl and Jakob Lell from security consultancy SR Labs will demonstrate how they have put undetectable malware onto a USB drive which, when plugged into a computer, can do a variety of bad things. In one case, they will show how the thumb drive can act as if it were a keyboard, and issue commands to download and install malicious files onto the computer. In another example, they will show how the USB drive can be converted into a network drive and hijack internet traffic from the computer.”
Even quite recently, the Stuxnet computer worm, responsible for effecting the uranium-enrichment program in Iran, was actually spread via USB sticks.
But for the vast majority of us, especially those of us who enrich uranium very rarely, the USB stick is a perfectly safe device, as long as you are aware of how vulnerable it can be. Don’t use them on computers where the status of their AV (Anti-Virus) is unknown or expired. Don’t use them on computers that seem to be running slowly or that you don’t trust. A slow running computer can often be a sign of malware running behind the scenes.
The final answer to the question: Does anyone still use USB sticks?
As with many promotional products, and certainly with technology, things change quickly. USB sticks remain an interesting and useful promotional tool, but we would encourage companies to think outside the box a little and perhaps even look at utilising some custom shapes instead of the standard flat stick design. If you’re distributing USB sticks, to customers, employees, members or prospects, you may also want to think about including a guide to safe USB use too.
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