You sometimes may want to prevent that other people connect USB devices to your PC, for instance to avoid that they download data from the PC to external drives. Or, you might want to prevent users from using the connected USB printer whenever you are not on your computer.

While you could do that with Registry hacks and other means, it is usually a lot easier to use a program like USB Manager for that job. Keep in mind that disabling USB devices or device types is not a 100% protection against data theft, copying or printing of data.

USB Manager displays the four USB device types that it supports in its interface on program start. All four of them, that is storage devices, usb printers, USB audio devices and USB scanners, are enabled by default indicated by the green checkmark next to each symbol.

You can disable a specific device type, e.g. printers, with a click on the device icon in the program interface. You can alternatively use the program’s system tray icon to enable or disable device types.

All it takes is a few clicks to disable or enable USB devices on the system. It is furthermore possible to set a program access password in the options to avoid that others enable devices again that you have disabled.

The options are also the place to configure hotkeys, hide the system tray icon or configure the application to autostart with the Windows operating system.

USB Manager serves a specific purpose. Depending on the USB devices, you may notice that some are not disabled even though they should be. This was for instance the case with my Logitech G930 wireless headset which was not disabled when I disabled USB Audio using the software.

Windows users who would like to give it a try can download the software from the developer website. A commercial server client is available that can be used to control USB devices on remote computer systems.

Please note that the program offers to install an optional software package during installation. Make sure you click cancel here if you do not want to install several unrelated programs that may also make changes to your browser’s default search engine and homepage.

Update: The audio headset has been disabled correctly after a reboot. Please also note that you need to run the program with elevated rights.

Update 2: The Makesoft website is returning a 404 not found error currently.It is not clear if technical difficulties are responsible, or if it has been abandoned. We have uploaded the latest version of USB Manager to our servers. Click on the following link to download it: USB Manager (3)

The list of supported applications reads like a who is who of the most popular free computer software programs. Everything seems to be there from Firefox over AIMP to Notepad++, True Crypt and WinSCP.

Liberkey comes with its own application launcher which can be extended with software that the developers have not already included in the packages. Software can easily be added by a simple right-click in the program’s interface. It is furthermore possible to remove and add categories and applications from the application launcher.

A left-click will attach a new window to the launcher that contains information about the computer program while a double-click will load the software right away.

Liberkey will automatically check for computer program updates which can then be downloaded to replace the old programs. A free account is required to make use of the auto-update feature though. Liberkey is an excellent portable software suite that shines because of its update feature and extensibility.

The owner of the USB stick can set it to display an email address or phone number that will be revealed when the finder double-clicks the drive or autostart kicks in. The protection is basic and does not keep anyone from fiddling around with the files if they are proficient enough to do that. It is still possible to copy files from the USB device in the same operating system.

It is therefor more of a friendly reminder than a protection that would keep users “who really want the data” away. The software program basically increases the chance that the USB stick will be returned to its rightful owner.

USB Lost and Found comes in a Pro version as well which adds one interesting additional feature. The Lock Down feature will lock the computer completely if the USB drive is accessed displaying a similar message with the owner’s contact information and a password form.

The password is selected during the setup of the protection. The best case scenario would be this. User A loses his USB device, maybe near a Brewers Fayre chain pub in Cannock, Staffordshire. User B walks along and finds the USB device, decides to connect it to his computer to see if he can find any information on the rightful owner. Or confidential government data that might be worth a ton.

After clicking on the USB device in Windows he will either be greeted with the Please return message or he will witness a computer lockdown displaying the password box and the phone number or email address that he has to call / write to to unlock the computer again.

User B will call, User A will either tell him the password directly or agree to meet User B to receive the USB stick in person giving him the password then. Worst case scenario is that a Linux or Mac OS user finds the USB device.

The interface of USB Syncer requires minimal user input. The user needs to choose the source folder on the hard drive and the destination folder on the USB device. The contents of the source folder will be copied to the USB device whenever the USB device is connected to the computer. Contents that are stored in the folder on the USB device will be deleted before the transfer starts.

The software program comes in an early beta version that has some limitations that are explained during installation and in the readme file. The application might not work properly if more than one removable device is connected to the computer during synchronization.

The software will ask the user if he wants to perform a synchronization if the user selects the Synchronize Now link int the Windows Start Menu. If a device gets detected that has been connected to the computer the program will ask if the user wants to synchronize the folder with that device.

The USB software has a clean user interface which makes it easy to configure the options in a short period of time. You can select the program that should be autostarted when the USB Drive connects to your computer in the “Start Programs” pane. The backup function can be configured in the “Backup Folders” pane right above “Start Programs”. You may select up to three custom folders that should be backed up everytime the USB drive connects to the computer.

Several default Microsoft Windows folders such as My Documents, My Music and My Pictures have already been added and can be checked. Besides those you can browse your computer and select three folders that should be backed up as well. It should be obvious that you can’t select folders that are bigger than the space of the USB drive.

The total size of a backup is shown in My Pen Drive and you can compare that figure with the size of the USB drive. Great little application, I use it mainly for backing up personal files.

It is important to check if a unauthorized USB device has been connected to a computer. This could be a clear sign of a security breach, maybe data theft. One could argue that the damage has already been done but would you prefer to know of it at all or be totally unprepared for future events that result from this ? It is probably not that important for non business users but it could still be nice to know if someone else connected a device to your computer while you were away.

USB Deview lists the name of the device, a description and device type, a serial number and a created date. You do get a pretty good impression which kind of device has been connected. I checked my computer and was able to spot the Sony Ericsson W810 mobile phone from a friend that was once connected to my computer.

You can use USB Deview to uninstall previously connected USB devices or disconnect currently connected ones. Great little application, does not need to be installed at all and uses just 38K unpacked.