welcome back to the adventure today we are talking about 15 practical uses for old flash drives
apply for a job if you are applying for a job stand out from the crowd and showcase
your creativity by including a usb flash drive with your job application that has your resume
contact information and portfolio on it this is an excellent way to provide examples of your work
and chances are there won't be too many other flash drives next to the stack of resumes
make new connections even if you're happily employed usb flash drives can make effective
networking tools you can hand out usb drives at events like business cards
or business cards that are also usb drives because those exist
this is great for networking someone may not remember your name but they will remember
being handed a usb drive with examples of your work presentations articles you've written etc
lock and unlock your computer
using third-party tools you can set up an old flash drive to lock and unlock your computer
not unlike the key to the front door of your house
you can simply insert the usb drive and windows will sign in automatically
strong passwords go a long way towards keeping your computer secure however a key logger can
still capture your password and an intruder can gain access to your pc with the added requirement
of a usb drive being connected to your computer having the password won't do an intruder much good
protect your online accounts
similar to using a usb drive to unlock your computer you can set up usb drives as a token
required for multi-factor authentication for example if you're logging into your
google account the usb drive would need to be connected to the pc to successfully sign in
so even if an attacker had the password and was able to social engineer a verification
code from you they would still need the usb drive to gain access to your account
this is possibly the most secure method and highly recommended for youtubers
set up a password manager
the average person has around 100 passwords that is way too many passwords to remember so the
common approach is to use the same password for most things or a variation of the same password
something easy to remember and maybe even short so you can key it in quickly
the unfortunate side effect is that those passwords are not very secure
well how can i have a long password that includes letters numbers special characters etc is unique
to one account and something i can retain in memory the recommended approach is to
use a password manager an old flash drive is a great candidate for the job especially if you
are already using it to lock and unlock your pc and as a token for multi-factor authentication
password recovery
in the event you forget your password windows has a built-in password recovery option
after creating the password reset drive in the event you forget your password
insert the usb drive click forgot password and follow the on-screen instructions now
that is a way better use for a flash drive than collecting dust or sitting in a landfill somewhere
clean up viruses
should your computer get hit by a virus cleaning up the mess isn't always straightforward
the more advanced malware programs out there can take steps to make sure they're
difficult to find and resistant to most common removal techniques
some might even stop you from getting online or even getting into your pc load up an old
usb drive with antivirus software so in the event your computer does get a virus simply
insert the usb drive reboot the pc and run the antivirus software to clean it up quick and easy
create a repair disk
similarly you can load up an old usb drive with diagnostic tools for your computer
that will allow you to test your memory partition hard drives and much more
if something happens and you are no longer able to get into windows you can boot the pc
from the flash drive and run the necessary tools to helpfully repair your computer
increase the performance of your pc
with windows vista came a new feature called ready boost the feature allows you to use a
usb drive to speed up your computer by caching files to the usb drive instead of the hard drive
this feature still exists in windows 10 and is a great application for an old usb drive just insert
the usb drive in your pc set up the ready boost feature and let windows take over results may vary
explore the world of portable apps another great use for an old usb drive is portable apps
if you're at work or school you may not be able to install programs on your computer but you can use
a usb drive and launch portable apps from it and there are many many portable apps to choose from
create an app install drive when setting up a new system there are some apps you
may always want to install using third-party software you can set up an old usb drive with
the installer packages and a launcher that will install the programs for you
this makes setting up a new system quick easy and no internet connection required
virtual network computing you can use an old usb drive to remotely access your home pc
using a tool like vnc as long as the pc you are using public or otherwise has an
internet connection you can safely and securely access your home pc
in case i go missing file
set up an old usb drive as an in case i go missing file
this can include things like a recent picture of yourself a list of places that you frequent
usernames and passwords for your social media accounts and any other information that can
help identify you places you go and people you interact with in the event you ever go missing
it will give your loved ones a better shot at finding you or figuring out what may have happened
pack for a trip when traveling keep your key documents with you at all times then you don't
have to hunt around for a wifi connection or wait for a slow and expensive cellular link to work
you can set up an old usb drive with things like your itinerary information about places
you'll be visiting and car rental agreements you can also store pictures on it and receipts
that way you can access important documents without needing access to the internet
sure you are still going to have to find a computer with a usb drive
at your hotel or local internet cafe but it's certainly easier than logging around a laptop
and you don't have the hassle and security issues of trying to type in your cloud account passwords
on a public computer if none of these uses appeal to you consider donating old usb
drives to charity before throwing them away or destroying them for an art project
the drives can be securely wiped and no data can be retrieved from them
and old usb drives are extremely helpful to students in developing countries
that's 15 practical uses for old flash drives thanks for stopping by see you next video
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