USB sticks

The USB flash drive, for myself, is bordering on genius. A device so small yet capable of storing so much information. On some courses it is compulsory for the learner to have one. Personally I wouldn't leave home without one!, rather than carrying around books and paperwork from one classroom to the next, I can store students work and my own work/resources such as lesson plans and powerpoints. There are though increasing downsides to them. "USB memory sticks are helping to spread the Windows worm that has infected around 10 million computers worldwide, say security experts," and "is spreading at a rate of one million machines per day" (Beaumont, 2009 online). In the same article it continues "security experts say that the virus is being unwittingly spread by computer users who are using USB memory sticks. The virus is easily transferred from an infected machine to a clean machine if the same USB stick is plugged into each." This is a serious concern in the education environment if we think how many students and PCs are in the classroom now, but for sheer convenience, it is a more than useful device and even seen as a fashion accessory

Beaumont, C (2009) The Daily Telegraph [Online]. Available: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/scienceandtechnology/technology/microsoft/4322032/Windows-worm-being-spread-through-USB-memory-sticks.html