USB Drive Security with Rohos Mini Drive

Locked USB Drive

Create a secure password protected partition on any USB drive with the freeware Rohos Mini Drive for storing your sensitive and important documents and other files and software applications. Small flash, pen, or "thumb" drives are excellent media for transferring, running portable applications, saving, backing up, with other benefits, including ultimately protecting folders and data. Therefore encrypted folder and file storage becomes important for personal and business related documentation. Rohos Mini Drive allows folder access to the secure hidden partition, with password unlocking from any computer. When unlocked you can edit or run your files as you normally would on any computer or laptop hard drive. Image of pen drive and lock by clix.


After downloading, then installing with a USB drive connected, the utility will detect it, then ask to create and encrypt a partition, up to 2MB. It will take a few minutes, and it's best to have only one USB drive connected for the program to encrypt with a secure algorithm. Administration privileges are not required to password open the pen drive on another guest's computer. You can hide and protect folders with applications (see image below), it appears for any folder from the PC/laptop. This means that applications, such as browsers, within those folders cannot be run unless the thumb drive is inserted.

Encrypting Flash Drive
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There are are a few applications that interrelate for the entire program (see image below) -

- Mini drive desktop utility (similar to the green thumb drive in the above image). Here you can browse the disk contents within Windows explorer, change password, delete disk, protect folders, and other options.
- The Rohos mini drive portable application viewable on the USB drive. New partitions can be created within the drive. Once you click the yellow folder then enter the password, folders should become visible, and opening them should reveal your files. However you might find files cannot be imported, and that a "opened for read-only" dialog box appears. Earlier you may have received  "connect as read-only" after password entry. This maybe because the full version is required. To add or copy files and folders you do so in the virtual drive beneath the USB drive in the directory...
- The virtual drive, e.g. Rohos Disk (S:) or similar should be visible (See image below), of which you add your files, which will connect to the mini drive portable within the USB Drive.
- The Rohos mini.exe (yellow icon) which a license upgrade to the full version is required for it to work. I think it allows connection between virtual image as a real disk on computers with administration privileges (according to the Rohos website).

Directories of USB and Virtual related Drives

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So it seems in my tests a useful and important security utility to have for a USB flash drive, with a attractive and user friendly interface, though perhaps a little limited in terms of direct or fast file copying and importing. But unsure if due to me not using it effectively or being freeware with it's limitations. Though if file protection is important for your USB flash drive, then with it's strong and automatic encryption code (AES 256 bit key length) based on NIST standards, the Rohos Mini Drive would be an important utility for sensitive and confidential file protection.

USB Drive Security with Rohos Mini Drive