Where is the "Security" tab?

USB Flash Drives All USB Flash Drives
1

On an older cruzer micro 8 GB device, if I rt click and show properties, there is a security tab, which I can use to limit the number of people who have access to the data on the device. On a recently purchased Cruzer Glide USB flash drive, there is no security tab. I am using Windows 7. Can I get it back?

I have sensitive data on the drives , and I do not want any person who logs in while I am away from the computer to gain access. The “sharing” tab just does not seem to do the job.

2

Take the drives with you and noone will be able to access the sensitive data. 

Be sure to use the Windows Safe removal function when removing them.

3

Closing all open files and shutting down all apps (Like FIrefox Browser) every time I walk away is a lot of nuisance.

I could use the old drive by tranfserring all the sensitive data to it, but again, why are the newer drives different?

And, can I somehow convert the newer drives to the same type?

Maybe someone knows of a Windows solution to keeping data private. I never could understand the “permissions” feature. It always seems to be an obstacle, but when I want to exclude some prying eyes it is of no help.

4

Closing all open files and shutting down all apps (Like FIrefox Browser) every time I walk away is a lot of nuisance.

I agree but I insert & extract my USB drives all the time without doing that, what am I missing?

The security tab you are referring to, if I understand this correctly, is a part of drives formatted with NTFS, rather than the standard exFAT or FAT32 formats and in Windows 7 you only have access to the tab from Safe Mode.

5

Ed said:

I agree but I insert & extract my USB drives all the time without doing that, what am I missing?

Don’t you “Eject” them 1st? Error msg comes us saying close all programs & windows.

The security tab you are referring to, if I understand this correctly, is a part of drives formatted with NTFS, rather than the standard exFAT or FAT32 formats and in Windows 7 you only have access to the tab from Safe Mode.

Thanks for the info regarding “Safe Mode” I will look into that.

I will have to also look into the formats on the drives in question. If they are different, that would explain why one has the tab and the others don’t.

6

Error msg comes us saying close all programs & windows.

Yes, if I have an app open that is using files on the flash drive I get that msg but not always.  And it only refers to all programs and windows using the drive not all programs running on the machine.  For me the program that I usually have open using the drive is Windows Explorer not Internet Explorer or Firefox.  Course for me I primarily use the flash drive for backing up files.

7

Ed said:

The security tab you are referring to, if I understand this correctly, is a part of drives formatted with NTFS, rather than the standard exFAT or FAT32 formats…

Thank you. That answers the original question. The older drive is FAT32, and the newer ones are NTFS. If I want to see the security tab, I need to use NTFS. I will mark your answer as solved     :slight_smile: