There are a lot of things you can do with an ordinary USB drive – from carrying a range of portable apps or even an operating system, to encrypting your files and a lot more. In this article I’m going to share with you top 5 USB tricks.

1. Take Programs Wherever You Go

I have lots of portable applications on my USB stick. They rescued me thousands of times, especially when I travel without my laptop. There are a lot of very useful portable apps – Firefox, IM clients, even anti-virus software. You can download everything you need from PortableApps.com. After you’ve downloaded the software, simply run the installer and install the program on your USB thumb drive. Now you can carry your favourite software wherever you go!

2. Lock Your PC

If you worry that someone might tamper with your computer while you’re away, it’s a good idea to lock it. Luckily you can lock your PC with USB drive. There is a very nice free program called USB PC Lock Pro. It works on Windows only and needs to be installed on the computer and not on the USB flash drive.

3. Hide Your USB Drive

Talking of security – if you are afraid that your USB stick might get stolen, you can hide it in a broken USB cable. You’ll need a very small USB drive to do it, but it’s worth a try. Here’s how you can do it.

4. Encrypt Your Data

If there is any sensitive information on your USB flash drive, then it’s best to encrypt it.  TrueCrypt is a nice free app to encrypt your files. Remember that you’ll need to be an administrator of a computer to access that data on the USB.

5. Keep Your Passwords Safe

When you are using a public computer, all your passwords and other confidential information are at risk. The computer might have a key logger running in the background – you never know. That’s where KeePass Password Safe Portable will help you. It’s a password manager that lets you an no-one else access your data. It will be safe even if you lose your USB drive.