how to block people from duplicating my external hardrive

[ltdg]

My friend wants to borrow my portable external hard drive which contains my favorite music and family's pictures and videos. How can I prevent him from copying those files to his computer or to another external hard drive,

[filmboss80]

You don't have the backbone to say no to him? Why does he need your external drive? If there is something on it that he needs, copy it to another medium.

[classfour]

DO NOT LOAN OUT YOUR Drives.....

I won't, never know what's on there that I may need myself.

[bendixG15]

My friend wants to borrow my portable external hard drive which contains my favorite music and family's pictures and videos. How can I prevent him from copying those files to his computer or to another external hard drive,

With all that important stuff, is the drive backed up ?

What if he screws it up and you loose everything ? Opps, sorry.

[redwudz]

You can try a program like TrueCrypt. It's freeware and easily encrypts folders, USB sticks or drives or partitions on drives.
It's virtually transparent in use after you input your password, so no slow downs.
I doubt you will find anyone who can access the encrypted file without the correct password, especially if you use a strong password.
http://www.truecrypt.org/

But that doesn't mean someone can't physically destroy the drive. I hope you have backups.

[freebird73717]

Just chiming in with the others. Don't loan your drive and then you won't have any problems.

If you are worried that he/she might take it without your permission (if he or she has access to the drive) then definitely look into what redwudz suggested and encrypt the drive.

[victoriabears]

Neither a lender or a borrower be

good way to sour friendships, whatever they attach it to could fry your drive, seen it happen !

[bsulli]

Good Gosh. Tell them to go buy their own drive. They're dirt cheap. Like next to nothing then they have their own permanent backup drive. The only time anyone has ever wanted to borrow my external drive is when they knew I had a nice music library on it. Always a lame excuse, I need to borrow your drive because "blah blah blah blah"

[Noahtuck]

Just 1 more opinion (you know what they say about opinions) If you have something so important that you don't want someone to make copies of it, then it must be important enough that you do NOT want to lose it.....

So why would you loan it out to someone ?

They could copy it, delete it, lose the drive, never give it back, fry it, have it stolen, it could break, aliens could steal it, he could be raided and it could be taken as an Asset forfeiture, Etc Etc Etc......


And one more thing, if you don't want copies of it made, then don't give it out!!

[guns1inger]

damn aliens

[lordsmurf]

Unbelievable.

Friend: "I need to borrow your drive."
Me: "No."

The end.

[jman98]

You can try a program like TrueCrypt.

No offense intended redwudz, but I suspect that if the original poster has to ask how to prevent copying that the odds are rather high that using this is going to be beyond his ability.

[TBoneit]

When the friend drops the drive and everything is lost how will you feel? When it comes back and infects your computer with a nasty virus, then what? Going beyond that I can not think of any reason someone would need to borrow a external drive that doesn't involve keeping it for backup purposes.

[yoda313]

I think you guys scared off the original poster.

[Noahtuck]

I think you guys scared off the original poster.

LOL!!

That's funny because in my OP i almost made a comment about another 1 post wonder

And another thing, if you check his last activity to when he posted his Q, i don't think he even ever saw 1 reply....




LOL!!!

But i guess he could have come back and saw them without signing in....

[budz]

Unbelievable.

Friend: "I need to borrow your drive."
Me: "No."

The end.

Ditto!

[Noahtuck]

Unbelievable.

Friend: "I need to borrow your drive."
Me: "No."

The end.

Ditto!

Yeah, i have never loaned out any HDD, internal or external!!!
I have a 3 external HDD's and one of them is an 80gb that is just for my daughter so i can put movies on it for her to take home and watch on her HTPC, she watches them, brings it back, i delete everything, put new stuff on it, send it back....
otherwise i would be losing ton's of dvd's!!!
But nothing important!!

[Super Warrior]

My friend wants to borrow my portable external hard drive which contains my favorite music and family's pictures and videos. How can I prevent him from copying those files to his computer or to another external hard drive,

With all that important stuff, is the drive backed up ?

What if he screws it up and you loose everything ? Opps, sorry.

Agreed, he could accidently drop it or something and poof!

[TreeTops]

Maybe the OP had a mental problem or is under the age of 10. To even ask his question tells me that he is not thinking clearly.

[SLK001]

What's next, loaning out your wife?

[Noahtuck]

What's next, loaning out your wife?

LOL!!!

Many years ago this "guy" i worked with, he had never been on a bike in his life, he ask's me one day when a bunch of us were outside on break, if he could sit on my bike.....

I looked at him and said, sure, would you also like to come over to my house and bang my girlfriend and then play with my remote ??

LOL!!!

GTF away from my bike!!!!!!!!

LOL!!!

[jman98]

I think you guys scared off the original poster.

If that's all it took, there's no big loss. Someone who would even consider loaning out a personal hard drive and worrying about protecting it from copying is hardly a rocket scientist.

[TimA-C]

What's next, loaning out your wife?

LOL!!!

Many years ago this "guy" i worked with, he had never been on a bike in his life, he ask's me one day when a bunch of us were outside on break, if he could sit on my bike.....

I looked at him and said, sure, would you also like to come over to my house and bang my girlfriend and then play with my remote ??

LOL!!!

GTF away from my bike!!!!!!!!

LOL!!!

I take it he didn't sit on your bike, but did he take you up on the other two offers?

[Noahtuck]

What's next, loaning out your wife?

LOL!!!

Many years ago this "guy" i worked with, he had never been on a bike in his life, he ask's me one day when a bunch of us were outside on break, if he could sit on my bike.....

I looked at him and said, sure, would you also like to come over to my house and bang my girlfriend and then play with my remote ??

LOL!!!

GTF away from my bike!!!!!!!!

LOL!!!

I take it he didn't sit on your bike, but did he take you up on the other two offers?

No, he did not even get close to my bike or ever mention it again....

And he was still alive the next day so i would say no, he did not even make a joke about taking me up on the other "suggestions"....

But i did loan him my external HDD with super important & secret files on it that i would never want copied or lost!!!
LOL!!!

[zzyzzx]

If none of the above threads provide an acceptable answer, teka the stuff that you don't want them to see and zip it and add a password to it.

[roma_turok]

If none of the above threads provide an acceptable answer, teka the stuff that you don't want them to see and zip it and add a password to it.

The small possibility that zip password can be reveal by many ZIP password recovery programs, you need only time and fast computer.

[Moontrash]

or you can use Safehouse Explorer and create a massive encrypted vault and password protect it to the hilt...no1 would get into it then

[surfmonkee]

anyone want to borrow my laptop and usb stick?
apply in writing to me!

[TBoneit]

Too true, No one uses my computer, not family or friends. I get a slow but steady amount of virus infected computers in for cleaning here at work where: I hear My nephew (Niece) or friend only used it for a couple of minutes and now I have a virus.

[zzyzzx]

If none of the above threads provide an acceptable answer, teka the stuff that you don't want them to see and zip it and add a password to it.

The small possibility that zip password can be reveal by many ZIP password recovery programs, you need only time and fast computer.

If that's what their friend is doing to them, then they have bigger issues.