About Ovrdrive
The self-destructing USB drive project. Ovrdrive is an open-hardware USB flash drive with a secret handshake: plug it in normally and it appears blank. Insert it three times in quick succession to read and write your files.
The project grew from experiments in hiding data and physically destroying flash memory. The shipping drive uses the non-destructive mode by default; its experimental self-destruct circuitry is disabled. That circuitry alone does not guarantee destruction of the flash chip. The project documentation explains the design and its limits.
The 8GB drive uses a USB 2.0 controller and an ATtiny24A microcontroller, with a removable enclosure and open hardware, firmware, and mechanical files. Ovrdrive does not provide built-in encryption. For our USB drive with a hidden, encrypted partition, see Phantomdrive.
Product Details
- Capacity:8GB USB flash drive.
- Unlock sequence:Insert the drive three times in quick succession to access your files.
- Default behavior:Appears blank when plugged in normally.
- Enclosure:Plain, removable enclosure with no special markings.
- Open hardware:Hardware, firmware, and mechanical files are available on GitHub.
- Self-destruct circuit:Experimental and disabled by default. The circuitry alone does not guarantee destruction of the flash chip.
- Encryption:No built-in encryption. See Phantomdrive for hidden, encrypted storage.
In the media
- Tom's Hardware Ovrdrive's secret unlock sequence and self-destruct experiments
- Hackster.io Inside Ovrdrive's data-hiding and self-destruct hardware
- CNX Software An open-source USB drive with a hidden security feature
- TechSpot The Ovrdrive crowdfunding campaign
- HotHardware Ovrdrive's three-insertion unlock and experimental self-destruct circuit
- Hackaday Fail of the Week: the challenge of destroying a flash chip
- Hackaday A new unlock sequence keeps fingers dry
- Hackaday The self-destructing prototype releases the magic smoke
- Hackaday The first spit-detecting hardware takes shape
- Hackaday Designing a self-destructing flash drive
- Hackaday Where it began: a flash drive unlocked with wet fingers