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HSumlin

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Does software exist that can detect if your memory stick files are copied and to identify the copying computer?

Does software exist that can detect if your memory stick files are copied and to identify the copying computer? In other words could one conceal in the memory stick software that would enable one to know if unauthorised copying occured and to identify which computer it was copied to? If not, would it be relatively easy to create such software?
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Keith Alabaster
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There are some commercial products on the market that can track this type of thing but I do not believe that they could tell you the copying machine mae.

I have the details at work so will not get access to those until Monday; sorry.
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IPKON_Networks

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HSumlin

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Yes, Barny, I think it does. However, my solution to this problem is much simpler: to not put sensitive info on a memory stick that someone else is asked to copy from. However, there is an supplementary question here: since the files that were illicitly copied were password protected Word files, how likely is it that they will get the password (by chance the prob. is about 1/4billion). Can Word passwords be easily cracked?
HS
There are applications on the web that will crack MS passwords but you need to know where to look. Internet is too easy to find these sorts of things though.

My point exactly. Don't let them be copied in the first place is the answer. To do this either disable the USB ports (bit overkill) or use an encryption key on 'registered' USB devices that can only be read by 'registered' computers already on the network. Therefore, why bother using USB as they can be shared on the network.

Barny
I can crack am excel/word protedted document within about 30 seconds. 10 seconds of this is remembering where I have put the software. We use passware whicj is a commercially available package.
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ASKER

Thanks Keith, I downloaded the free version, but having tried this, I may need to buy the more sophisticated one to recover my password.
HS
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Note Keith that I actually know my password. The objective was to find out if others could decode it. First time round with default paramters failed after trying many millions of combinations. It would have to reach the billions if it simply tries all possible combinations of upper and lower case plus numerical.
HS
I appreciate your point. I would also remark though that we use this product for users who have forgotten their paswords for .pst files, excel, word and all sorts. Another reason is for files owned by users who have left the company but had left passwords on files. It hasn't let us down once yet.

If you have put in strong encryption then it will just take longer.
Yes, we do use the commercial version.

Truth being though that not much is unbreakable these days. Anyway, no matter.