I can dig the hardware security and PIN mechanism of the Corsair "Flash Padlock,", along with its reasonable pricing of $29.99 for 1GB and $39.99 for 2GB. What I can’t dig quite as much is that I’ve ruined a few USB ports myself by accidentally pushing down on a plug. So, the idea of typing in the PIN while this things plugged into (what I believe are rather fragile) USB ports gives me the willies. Unless it’s a really light tough that’s required, or you have room to how with two fingers (you know, one underneath providing support) I’ve be worried about the wear and tear.

More USB flash drives but Transcend’s new 2-4-8GB crop (top items) incorporates fingerprint scanning and 256-bit AES encryption for Â¥17,800 (about $149). The colorful bunch on bottom line is the JetFlash V35 with various capacities and no security features for Â¥16,800 (about $141). Both available in Japan this month. For a few dollars extra, who wouldn’t opt for the security version?

Okay, so the IronKey flash drive has hardware encryption (yawn), integrated secure Firefox for "stealth surfing," is waterproof, and comes in 1GB ($79) and 4GB ($149) versions. But, the kicker is: if you enter the wrong password 10 times–BAM! It explodes in a fireball of flesh-destroying mayhem. Well, okay, not actually, but it does scramble the information physically, making recovery impossible. I hear James Bond has a handful of these already.