Read-Only USB in Vista

In the world of corporate espionage, a large amount of time and money is being channeled into locking down computers to lessen the risk of losing confidential information in the hands of another company. Unfortunately, the dawn of the USB storage devices has aggravated the problem in a lot of companies and corporations.

A lot of computer users are now maximizing the use of USB storage devices to save data and transport it to anyplace it is needed. It is very handy and can usually contain a large amount of files instead of a floppy disk with limited disk space. This increase in the storage space has now doubled and even tripled the risk of having a leak from the computers leading to a loss in important confidential information either accidentally or planned. The use of these USB devices are banned completely and disabled by company computers to control its use and for security purposes. But for some, it is a indispensable tool to use especially in research.

Using Windows Vista, a solution has been created to allow corporate users to read from the USB devices but is not allowed to write anything on it. It will effectively turn on USB devices for users and will be very effective to use with the dawn of that read-only feature. It is in this way that users are allowed to access the information that is stored in the USB device but cannot write anything on it or save anything on it.

To make a read only USB storage device operation, just follow the steps enumerated below. This procedure allows you to work with the registry editor. Be very careful in handling these registries since a false mistake may result in a breakdown in your computer. It is very simple to use but sometimes, the easiest directions are the ones not followed. If you really know and understand what you are going to do, then by all means, continue doing it. But if you are not completely sure that you can fix this registry, then do not do anything and wait until you get someone who understands what he are doing and not require you to work within your registry editor. Okay, let's get started.

1. In Windows Vista, click on the Start button and type "regedit" in the search box and then hit Enter.
2. Navigate through to this location: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Contro l.
3. Right click on Control and select New, then Key. Call the new key "StorageDevicePolicies."
4. Right click on StorageDevicePolicies and then select New, and then Dword. Call the new Dword "WriteProtect."
5. Right click on the WriteProtect entry and select Properties. Then set the value to 1 and hit OK.

Your computer is now configured to disable any writing to USB storage devices. They will all be read only from now on. This configuration works for all computers as well as letting the users know that their information is safe in the USB drive that they carry. The problem is finding time and the best opportunity to use it.