Password protect USB drive on Mac and PC?

[nescapolita]

Hello everyone,

I've been searching here and on google to no avail. Here's my dilemma:

I'm a teacher. I use OS X at home and Win XP at work. I have a USB drive that contains all my materials. I want to password protect it, so that if i forget it somewhere, students will not be able to see final exams/tests etc. I am not an admin at work and the IT dept will not install any programs on my work PC. I want to be able to access these files at home also.

Any ideas? I'd really appreciate it!

 

[old-wiz]

The only way to password protect a device is to encrypt all the data within it. Unfortunately I don't know of any app that works on both mac and PC. Neither windows nor OSx have a way to password protect a device. Unless you encrypt the device, if it is stolen the data can be found one way or another.

 

[angelwatt]

Try out TrueCrypt. It works across platforms; Mac, Windows, Linux. Since you cannot install apps on your work machine, install the app to your flash drive.

 

[PajamaPants]

Like Angelwatt said TruCrypt is the way to go, been using it for some time just for the apps feature but still use the encryption to feel James Bond-ish
And it's free.