USB drives are incredibly useful tools for any computer users, but they can also pose something of a security risk. The files you store on these removable drives can be freely accessed by anyone that has physical access to the drive and this means that should you misplace it you run the risk of your private files falling into the wrong hands. As well as taking better care of your hardware another way to help protect your files is to grab a copy of USB Safeguard.

This is a tiny program that simply needs to be copied into place – there is no need for installation – and it enables you to add password protection to your USB drive. Once this has been done, the drive is effectively blocked until the correct password is entered. That is really all there is to it. This is an excellent example of a simple program that does its job well and does so without drawing attention to itself.

There are no complicated settings to concern yourself with, all that’s needed is for a password to be set up. AES 256 bits encryption is used to ensure that your data cannot be read until the password has been entered and the fact that the software is compatible with all versions of Windows means that it is ideal for anyone who works with a number of different computers.

The free version of the program can be used with USB drives with a capacity of up to 2GB, but if you want to work with larger drives, you will have to invest in the regular version; this enables you to secure drives of up to 16TB in size.