While external storage devices such as flash drives and hard disks have been instrumental in killing the floppy, they’re nightmarish for security-minded IT professionals. While administrators could disable USB connectivity entirely, it has long been believed that a secure approach to these external devices would be a superior administrative option. Thanks to IEEE 1667, set to debut in Windows 7, external storage could be limited to policy-approved devices.

The new specification calls for devices to be governed by a comprehensive set of discretionary security policies. Under the new standard, USB storage devices could be completely prohibited, limited to authorized PCs, or assigned to specific users.

Personally, I’m still down with putting superglue in the USB ports.