Browse our FAQs about Encrypted USB

Yes, you can use a USB 3.0 Flash Drive on USB 2.0 devices now, as they are backwards compatible. When you upgrade to a USB 3.0 system you can then benefit from the faster “SuperSpeed” data transfer rates. Integral have also found that our USB 3.0 Flash Drives perform faster on USB 2.0 systems then current USB 2.0 Flash Drives.

FIPS 197 certification looks at the hardware encryption algorithms used to protect the data. FIPS 140-2 is the next, more advanced level of certification. FIPS 140-2 includes a rigorous analysis of the product’s physical properties. So, with a FIPS 140-2 certified USB Flash Drive the tamper-proof design of the circuit board has been approved, as well as the data encryption.

The Integral Crypto Drive range, Courier Security Edition and Ag47 Security Edition all use hardware-based 256-bit AES encryption to encrypt your data.

256-bit AES encryption (Advance Encryption Standard) is an International standard which ensures data is encrypted/decrypted following this approved standard. It ensures high security and is adopted by the U.S. government and other intelligence organizations across the world.

Hardware based encryption is where data which is transferred to and from the Integral encrypted USB is automatically encrypted/decrypted through a AES chip built on the Flash Drive. This is much faster and more secure than a software based encryption system, where data is encrypted/decrypted through a program on the PC/Mac.

The Total Lock user interface is pre-loaded in 24 languages that can be selected when the USB is first setup. These include:

• Bulgarian
• Chinese
• Croatian
• Czech
• Dutch
• English
• Estonian
• Finish
• French
• German
• Greek
• Hebrew
• Italian
• Japanese
• Latvian
• Lithuanian
• Norwegian
• Polish
• Portuguese
• Romanian
• Russian
• Spanish
• Swedish
• Turkish

After 6 failed password attempts, all data will be erased and the Integral AES 256bit encrypted Flash Drive will be reset to factory settings.

The USB Flash Drive is then reusable. Due to the nature of the USB it is not possible to recover the passwords and it is highly recommended to set a password hint when setting up the encrypted USB. Think about keeping a secure copy of your password.

We DO NOT have any “back-door” tools to recover data.

You should always have a secure backup of your data.

With the CRYPTO DUAL version a Master and User password can be set. If the User forgets their password they are warned of the fifth attempt to go to the Master who can unlock the drive with the Master Password if set. Please click here to see the range. On the sixth attempt the drive is erased.

You can setup a clue/hint on the password setup screen and it is highly recommended to do so. For example, if your password was “Superman88” your password hint might be “My favourite comic book and last two digits of special number”. Obviously choose something that cannot be guessed by someone.

Once this is setup you can click on the question mark button to display your present clue/hint of your password.

Integral’s Encrypted USBs require no software to be installed on PC/Mac – they have a zero footprint and no subscription fee.

No administrative privileges are required to use the Integral’s encrypted range of drives.

Yes, Crypto Drive contains an optional “Personal ID Function”. You can store your name, address, phone number and company name on the Drive, whilst your confidential data remains secure at all times. (Do NOT put your password here)

The password for your encrypted USB Flash Drive must be 8 to 16 characters long and must include a minimum of one capital letter, one lower case letter and one number. For example:

“Superman88”
“abacus1979X”

Special characters such as *^+# can also be used but are not mandatory.

No, the Integral AES 256-bit encrypted range is not affected by this scare. In summary, the encrypted USBs that were hacked carried out the password comparison on the computer they were plugged into, which can allow a hacker to observe the password verification process and simulate their own verification. The Integral AES encrypted range of USB Flash Drives does the password comparison on the USB itself, and not on the computer  – and so are not susceptible to this attack method. A report that highlights the strength of Integral AES 256-bit encrypted USB Flash Drives compared to other in the market can be found on the following link.

Yes. All endpoint security software on the market allows the Administrator to create an exception for certain hardware IDs to run. As an Administrator you need to give the Integral AES encrypted USB an exception under the endpoint’s hardware ID feature and ensure that the TotalLock.exe program has the privilege to run off the USB Flash Drive. We do not recommend running another form of encryption over the Integral Crypto.

The table below shows which systems our Crypto USBs are compatible with:

Please note, our Crypto USBs are fully compatible with Intel-based Mac computers and MacBooks running MacOS Version 10.13: “High Sierra” and above. Our Crypto USBs have a 2 year warranty and OS versions before Version 10.13: “High Sierra” are not supported.

Unfortunately it will not function as it requires the AES USB Flash Drive’s secure partition to be unlocked. This can only be done with a password on a compatible operating system.

We recommend you purchase a non-encrypted USB from the Integral range.