[rescue] OT: flash drives and airport security

[velociraptor]

On 7/15/05, Arthur Wouk <awouk at nilenet.com> wrote:
> sort of off topic, but this is a knowledgeable crowd. hiw do flash
> drives make out going through airport security? does the data manage
> to get through? are there any which are better at this among them all?

I don't believe that flash drives are affected by x-rays or the other
types of scanners.  You'd probably not want to put them in a
super strong EMF, but I'd think it'd take something like an MRI
machine to generate that.  The SD card in my phone has been
through the scanner in my work building (Fed) at least 2x a day
since I got it in Feb. with no issues.  The flash in a thumbdrive
is the same kind of thing.

Given that the majority of the flash drive is silicon/plastic, you
could probably just keep it in your pocket if you're really worried.
The "metal detectors" are just magnetometers.  I quite often
keep my keys (majority are brass) in my pocket going
through the metal detectors @ work and don't set it off.
Obviously the airports' are likely set to be more sensitive, but
I wouldn't think a flash drive would set it off.

I imagine flash storage is called "solid state storage" for just
this reason--it's non-volatile until current is applied.

=Nadine=