brijmin on Tech

If you’re interested in packing your flash drive with portable apps but you’re dragging your feet getting around to downloading them all, winPenPack fits over a hundred applications into a single portable package.

Nothing beats a full-on system backup for making sure you’ve got duplicates of all your important stuff. Free utility Back4Sure is a simple but powerful tool for quickly, incrementally backing up important files to external drives from anywhere.

CCleaner has been one of my most used (and most trusted) apps for years. The same goes for Defraggler. There’s no denying that the crew at Piriform really knows how to make useful little programs.

If you’re a fan of portable thumb drive applications like previously mentioned PortableApps.com Suite, free application CodySafe brings similar portable computing to your thumb drive.

Still haven’t found a USB drive small enough for your needs? Then you might want to consider EagleTec’s new Nano flash drive now available from the ever dependable folks at Brando, which measures an impossibly tiny 19 x 15 x 6 mm and weighs in at a mere three grams.

Although hindered by the pesky need for administrative privilege or a prior installation on the computer in question-TrueCrypt has to load a device driver for it’s on-the-fly encryption and decryption-TrueCrypt remains a favorite for thumb drives.

SoftPerfect Scans Networks from a USB Drive. A good network scanner digs deep into any network it’s pointed at and opens it up for you to get into. SoftPerfect Network Scanner does those things, can do them from a thumb drive, and is a good deal less intimidating than some other scanner apps out there. [...]

PortableApps.com is the most popular portable software solution allowing you to take your favorite software with you. A fully open source and free platform, it works on any USB flash drive, iPod, memory card, portable hard drive or other portable device. With a full collection of open source software as well as compatible freeware and [...]

While not as grandiose as having your own secret bookshelf door, constructing a hidden USB data stash won’t take a whole weekend and involve a table saw. At the DIY website Instructables there is a step by step tutorial on hiding your data behind a phone jack plate.