Four (4) SanDisk Cruzer Fit CZ33 32GB USB Flash Drive (SDCZ33-032G-B35)(UPC 6 19659 07621 4 and 80-56-10198-032G) for $17.99 each Prime is a rather good buy on 20121025. The description provided by Amazon, the seller, was rather lack-luster. Here is my summary of my thoughts-and-impression.
1) Ordered Oct 22, arrived Oct 24
2) Ordered four (4), got four
3) Arrived in a rather big box with contents flopping though no visible damage - combined with another order
4) Flash Drive includes unmentioned SanDisk SecureAccess software (AES-128bit) that is a little out-of-date. Should be at least AES-256bit and should use FAT32 at a minimum with NTFS preferred. It is a USB2 device.
5) Testing flash drive (Win):
a) root directory has two visible folders (club-application and SanDiskSecureAccess)
b) root directory has two executable files (RunClubSanDisk.exe and RunSanDiskSecureAccess_Win.exe)
c) root directory has a hidden file autorun.inf (can be opened with Notepad if curious)
d) flash drive packaging indicates WinXP, Vista, and 7 are supported as well as Mac OS X v10.5+
e) Mac users needing security are directed to the SanDisk website's SecureAccess page (URL will be censored by Amazon) for download
f) The club application was of absolutely no interest and the associated folders/files were deleted. It is one of those, "Get special offers from SanDisk partners" RPIA's.
g) The SanDisk SecureAccess Quick Start Guide is a PDF located in the SanDiskSecureAccess folder. If the SanDisk SecureAccess process is something that has never been used, this provided guide would be a must to read - it is short.
h) If I recall, correctly, the, unwritten, MAXIMUM, vault size is 4gb which is sufficiently large to hold the contents of one (1) DVD. If compressed (ZIP'd) files are written to the flash drive, it is often possible to squeeze more than 4gb of uncompressed files into the 4gb vault space; however, this is way to subjective to give any "reasonable" percentage since compression depends upon the compression software and the file content being compressed (e.g. video, text, spreadsheet, document, database, etc.).
i) Normally, I delete all of these provided tools. If I change my mind at some future date, I can go to the SanDisk website and download the SecureAccess software. (If there is the curious streak, the older U3 software is also available that is more userfriendly and more out-of-date and does NOT use the "vault" concept. Get both the install and the uninstall software if you think about using it. BTW, you are, of course on your own though the support folks will sometimes answer questions.)
j) If you do use the provided tools, do MAKE SURE the Closing your private vault instructions, on page 8 (English) are followed. The flash like any plug-and-play device will mostly always be unaffected by just yanking from the USB port; however, the more important the information stored, the greater the chance the once-in-a-million "oops" corruption will strike.
k) There is a place on the drive to attach a lanyard, or string, to keep loss at a minimum. I am thinking the cap is a gonner since it does not fit all that securely; however, this comment in no way obviates the intended purpose of the device and how it works. Just doNOT use peanut butter as a place to stick the drive to keep it from getting lost (you are going to have to figure out the reasoning for this comment).
l) Did they work?
It was curious that the thumbnail icon for the flash drives was that for the ClubSanDisk and not the SanDisk SecureAccess when it appeared. It seemed to have a great deal of difficulty in displaying after the longer than expected recognition and driver-installation. Specificially, the autorun.inf was configured for the ClubSanDisk.
I changed my autorun.inf to the following (if you choose to do so, YOU do it at your own "RISK!"):
[autorun]
action=SecureAccess
open=RunSanDiskSecureAccess_Win.exe
icon=RunSanDiskSecureAccess_Win.exe
What does this mean if the icon does not show? Well, you may have to "guess" which drive letter is associated with your flash drive - no biggie; but, rather annoying. For some reason, I got noticably slower access and usage, "IF" I had a USB3 device plugged into one of the available USB2 ports at the same time.
m) Getting the little drive out of the packaging was an interesting exercise in frustration. The first one I could extract "almost" using the cut line indicated on the packaging. The second one required a little more effort since the cap was stuck to the packaging which required major surgery to get the clear plastic unstuck from the cap. The third flash was a little easier to extract from the packaging though the cap did provide a moment! The fourth drive packaging was cut on the bottom end and this seemed to allow easier extraction of the drive and the cap. Also, the
n) Insertion and removal from a powered USB hub; and, the same for other USB ports was reasonably effortless due to the lanyard connector that offered a place to get a grip.
o) The flash drive device is not realy designed, in my opinion, for a lot of insertions and removals from a USB port. I always connect these "cheap" devices to a powered-USB port so any damage done by the device's connector only affects the easily replaced hub and does not damage my computer.
Close, click "eject" ... and ... REMEMBER, it is better to be safe than be the "did it to yourself" victim because the "Safely Remove Hardware" icon in your tray was not used! A few words of CAUTION, do make sure the intended drive letter for the Flash Drive is the one chosen to be removed!
| RAM | 16 GB |
|---|---|
| Hard Drive | 16 GB |
| Wireless Type | 802.11a |
