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    #1

    Security with USB thumb drive

    I was wondering if anyone knew of a way to use a thumb drive to help secure a laptop. For instance when my laptop boots up it would require a USB thumb drive with software of some sort (on the thumb drive and laptop) and to be inserted to a USB port on the laptop to login. Kinda like key for a door.

    Hope this makes sense,

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    #2
    Re: Security with USB thumb drive

    I'm sure that if your PC supports booting from USB, you could install grub to it. This would make the PC unbootable unless the USB thumb drive were installed when the PC was turned on. Pretty sure that Qqmike's HOWTO: Grub Toolkit has something on this subject.
    Windows no longer obstructs my view.
    Using Kubuntu Linux since March 23, 2007.
    "It is a capital mistake to theorize before one has data." - Sherlock Holmes​
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      #3
      Re: Security with USB thumb drive

      I've heard of people doing such with a GRUB thumb drive.
      How To Make GRUB Thumb Drive
      http://kubuntuforums.net/forums/inde...opic=3081748.0

      An intellectual says a simple thing in a hard way. An artist says a hard thing in a simple way. Charles Bukowski
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        #4
        Re: Security with USB thumb drive

        Thanks for the reply guys.

        Unfortunately my laptop is not bootable from the USB port and the GRUB thing is cool. Is there some software that I could load on the thumb drive that would act as a "key" of sorts to login?
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          #5
          Re: Security with USB thumb drive

          I believe also that you can configure grub to require a password.
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            #6
            Re: Security with USB thumb drive

            Most BIOS also have a password setting as well.
            Windows no longer obstructs my view.
            Using Kubuntu Linux since March 23, 2007.
            "It is a capital mistake to theorize before one has data." - Sherlock Holmes​
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              #7
              Re: Security with USB thumb drive

              I wouldn't rely on Grub on the USB drive for security, anyone with a SuperGrub Live CD could by-pass it.

              The BIOS password is a reasonable deterrent though we all know how trivial it is to take the stand-by battery out to reset it.

              Have a look at Truecrypt, it will encrypt your drive and you can only start with a password, I could even imagine a file on the USB stick could be the token to open a Truecrypt protected container.

              Until you loose it, then there isn't a chance in hell you'd ever get back into your data.
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                #8
                Re: Security with USB thumb drive

                All true, but one must understand, that the purpose of locks - any locks - are to keep honest people honest. The 'bad guys' are going to find a way in if given the chance. So, one has to decide on the level of compromise to accept. Encrypting ones HDs means you either memorize the passkey or you write it down. Doing the latter increases the risk of compromize. The former requires that you don't forget it!
                Windows no longer obstructs my view.
                Using Kubuntu Linux since March 23, 2007.
                "It is a capital mistake to theorize before one has data." - Sherlock Holmes​
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                  #9
                  Re: Security with USB thumb drive

                  I use TrueCrypt a lot, I have to set up computers for an organization that does income taxes for people. You can make a TrueCrypt volume on a Flashdrive. But why not just make a true crypt volume on your hard drive containing your data? If you only used TrueCrypt for creating a volume that contained your grub on the flashdirve, any one could merely bypass the flashdrive with a live cd, create a grub boot using the live cd and still be able to boot your computer.
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                    #10
                    Re: Security with USB thumb drive

                    Originally posted by Teunis

                    The BIOS password is a reasonable deterrent though we all know how trivial it is to take the stand-by battery out to reset it.

                    Not on all modern laptops. Some of them are secured in ways that the ordinary guy without the right tools cannot do it.
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                      #11
                      Re: Security with USB thumb drive

                      A BIOS psw still relies on storing it somewhere, I've heard most memory chips blank when exposed to >-40 degC or so...
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