Victorinox offers refunds for secure USB drives in light of discontinued software updates

Victorinox offers refunds for secure USB drives in light of discontinued software updates

Software support and security certificates are coming to an end for Victorinox’s line of secure USB drives, but the firm announced on Facebook that it’s offering customers full refunds until December 31 if they’d like to return their products in light of the developments. In order to avoid losing data, owners of the flash drives should perform a backup before the encryption application meets its untimely end on September 15th. However, files stored on non-encrypted areas of the device will remain accessible without further action. The Slim, Secure and Presentation Master storage sticks can still be used as run-of-the-mill thumb drives after the cut-off date, but the Swiss Army Knife maker’s application will no longer be able to scramble or unscramble their contents.

Filed under:

Victorinox offers refunds for secure USB drives in light of discontinued software updates originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 24 Aug 2012 04:31:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  sourceVictorinox (Facebook)  | Email this | Comments

Victorinox nixes software updates for USB drives, security certificate to expire in September

Victorinox nixes software updates for USB drives, security certificate to expire in September

Victorinox may have offered a hefty bounty to crack its secure USB drives’ encryption, but the storage sticks seem to have met their match another way: the end of software support. In an email sent to customers and a pair of Facebook posts, the firm announced that it will halt updates as of next month and that its security program’s VeriSign certificate is only valid until September 15th. As a result, customers are urged to backup their data lickity split. According to the outfit, the economics of continuing application development just weren’t reasonable and it’ll now refer to a third party for all software. However, the Swiss Army Knife maker isn’t out of the flash drive business — it’s committed to putting more of the devices on the market. We’ve reached out to the company for more details on how the thumb drives will be affected and we’ll update when we get word. In the meantime, hit the source links for the notice or check out the e-mail below.

[Thanks, Scott]

Continue reading Victorinox nixes software updates for USB drives, security certificate to expire in September

Filed under:

Victorinox nixes software updates for USB drives, security certificate to expire in September originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 21 Aug 2012 03:39:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  sourceFacebook (1), (2)  | Email this | Comments

New York artist fashions dead drop from dying hardware, mounts DVD burner in city wall

New York artist fashions dead drop from dying hardware, mounts DVD burner in city wall

The optical drive may be making its exit in the world of personal computing, but at least it seems to still have a place in artistic architecture. Aram Bartholl — the man behind New York City’s infamous USB dead drops — has installed a DVD burner into the side of the Museum of the Moving Image to promote HOT, an art exhibition described as “a group show about video that is not video.” Passersby who pop in a blank DVD-R will be rewarded with a digital copy of the show and the satisfaction of finally having something to do with their aging stash of unused optical media. Just how do you install PC hardware in a museum wall? Drill an enormous hole, of course — check out a video of the installation for yourself after the break.

Continue reading New York artist fashions dead drop from dying hardware, mounts DVD burner in city wall

Filed under:

New York artist fashions dead drop from dying hardware, mounts DVD burner in city wall originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 17 Aug 2012 09:11:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink PSFK  |  sourceAram Bartholl  | Email this | Comments