I'm not the most tech savvy guy, so pardon me if this is an ignorant question---

Does anybody make a netbook or something similar that has an easily removable (and cheap) memory that could be used for word processing and printing?

Maybe like a netbook that uses a USB thumb drive or SD card for it's memory?  The reason I ask is that I'd like the ability to simply remove the cheap memory card and thus leave zero recoverable data behind.  The memory could be destroyed after use for security purposes, and a new one used at any time.

Does anything like that exist without having to cobble something together?  I've tried to search, but my bing foo must be weak if it exists.

No, because SD cards are not really suitable for running a computer OS.

You could use software (like dban) to erase/overwrite any data on the HDD, though.

You could also use encrypting software, such as TrueCrypt, to encrypt the entire hard drive. This way, no one will be able to recover any info without the key.

Why don't you just save all your stuff on an SD card?

The programs go on your computer, but the save files on the SD?

If SD is not useable, what about USB thumb drives?  I only need a really basic operating system.  It won't need net connectivity, video, etc.  it would only be for basic word processing and document printing.

I'm somewhat aware of encryption and overwriting, but I don't trust it at all.  Sorry if that sounds tinfoilish, but I'm just looking for something that would be 100% secure and simple.  

Something like this:

1.)  Load OS onto memory device.
2.)  Insert memory and boot netbook.
3.)  Create documents and print.  (I'm aware of printer memories, and that'd be the next issue addressed if I can find a suitable processing device in the first place)
4.)  Remove memory after use and physically destroy completely.

If I could do that without leaving behind any memory in the computer or printer, then I would have securely prepared original documents with zero way for anyone to possibly recover them from the system.  Complete physical destruction of any memory would make the process as secure as possible to my knowledge.

I guess maybe that's possibly secure, but I wouldn't want to use any kind of normal/everyday connected devices to prepare them.  I was hoping something similar to a cheap netbook would allow me to have a completely isolated and "sterile" device that never gets cross used or exposed to outside data that I don't tightly control.

I'm sure that there are probably ways to do stuff on regular computers, but I'm not the tech savviest guy out there.  Sometimes things that I read are secure today end up not having been secure when I read about them having been compromised later.

The reason I mentioned them and USB thumbdrives is because I read a thread about being able to boot a computer from an "Ironkey" USB drive.  That got me thinking that if you could boot a computer from a USB, SD, or similar (hopefully cheap) device, then you could physically destroy it after you were done, and there would be absolutely no way to ever have the data recoverable.  If the external memory device were the only source of memory, it would also 100 eliminate the threat of any spyware lurking elsewhere on the system.


I don't know, maybe it's somehow not feasible, but it was just an idea I had that I thought could make things secure for non-techies like myself.  Basically a way to prepare non-electronically compromisable physical documents in a straight forward fashion.

OP is going to confess to a murder.  

There's a lot of netbooks w/ removable memory.  Boot off a USB key, it doesn't touch the hard drive, and remove the memory afterwards.  Or, you could simply remove the USB key & reboot the computer - RAM is wiped every time it's powered back on.  Hence the FBI will seize a running computer, turn it off, remove the memory, & dump it in a cryogenic nitrogen tank for transport to their tech lab.

A $50 inkjet printer will also have RAM that is erased when it's turned back on.

FBI cryogenic team now has a Google Map route to OP's house.  

Okay,  you officially have my attention.

No murder to confess, and I'm actually a FLEO myself.  I knew this would be the place to get the answer too.  I'm no Snowden, have no stolen secrets to sell, etc., etc., etc...  BUT--- It's the general principle of the thing.  

I want to have the ability to generate documents securely without a snowball's chance in hell that anyone could ever reconstruct them from digital data.  Preferrably cheaply and simply, so a caveman like me could do it safely.

The team doesn't need a google map to my house unfortunately.  The Bureau has already been there.LOL  ETA: For background purposes only, I have no nefarious intent

Is there a way to remove the onboard memory from a netbook and just have some kind of BIOS device that can only possibly boot from the USB drive?  Kind of like turning the netbook into a dummy terminal of sorts?

When RAM is turned back on and "wiped", is it positively NEVER recoverable?

Something like a Knoppix install on a thumb drive should accomplish what you want.  Boot from the thumb drive and don't use a persistent image.

To the op:  This is what I'm reading

You want stand alone word processing ability, but want zero trace on the machine after the document has been printed.  

The best way to do this is through a bootable linux usb stick or live cd.  No need for special hardware.  You can use someone else's throw out pc with it's hard drive removed if you wanted to.  All you need is enough ram (the volatile stuff that loses data when shut off) to run the OS.

How it works:  Boot from the cd or usb stick, and it loads the operating system files into ram, instead of the storage media.  Most live linux distributions have a word processing suite pre-installed.  Create your document, then print it.  When finished, shut it down.  Some distros may ask if you want to save your session - say no.  Nothing gets written to disk, so any activity on the machine disappears when the pc is powered down.

The better supported linux distros such as Ubuntu or Mint pretty much work on any hardware, but printer specific or compatible drivers  may be an issue.  If a driver exists, but isn't on the live cd, it can be installed after the os is installed via another usbv stick, or it can be installed, then the boot disk is remastered.

so your terminology gets confusing and thus your weird answers.

memory is the temp stuff that software and the os get loaded into for whatever hardware you are running to run.
it is necessary for the system to operate in general.
While these items are removable, and in most cases fairly easily, they do not permenently store data. As said above, turning the machine back on guarantee's it is wiped again.

a hard drive/boot device stores the software and OS to be loaded for running on whatever device you are using.
This seems to be what you actually want.
you are correct that there are versions of different os's that can be run directly from a thumb drive.

you could create 1 bootable thumb drive, copy it multiple times before use and boot to one write your doc and destroy it after you are done.
however there are a few challenges.
1. you would need all the drivers you are going to use loaded on that drive.
so if it is a known setup, then you are good.
if you wanted to move around with it, that might be a problem.

2. you need to find an os that your printer supports with print drivers

3. finally, if your goal is to prevent someone from printing a new altered copy of your document, unless you have the original you printed locked up, scanning it or taking a picture of it would allow me to easily create a new version without access to the original soft copy.

plus as you said, printers would have it in memory
copiers have had hard drives in them for quite some time storing soft copies of docouments.

but linux is generally the prefered bootalbe from a thumb drive OS. there are several flavors. all of them have some open source doc editing software.

windows xp can be booted from a thumb drive if you need to.

There are even a few that can be booted from CD/DVD so you have no "stored" data anywhere. so you don't have to keep destroying thumb drives.
you would just have to reboot the machine to the stored os to clear the memory (temp storage) and it would be all clean again. nothing to recover.

to answer your other question
on board memory is generally considered "lost" on shut down.
when you boot it back up, it gets reloaded with new stuff. just like overwritting a hard drive.
you could in fact run a memory test on the system. which would over write anything in memory for testing making it even more "impossible" to recover.

I have never heard of memory being recovered after a machine has been turned back on.
I have heard of it being recovered if it was left off. but that also may have been a movie I watched a long time ago.
I can't imagine the type of hardware and software needed to do that, but I wouldn't doubt it exists.

There are viruses which in fact simulate a soft reboot, and stay resident in memory.  If you kill the power, then turn it back on, the memory is erased.  But OP could swing for $20 worth of RAM everytime he wanted to confess to a murder type a document.

I am unaware of anything that can store it self in RAM. on purpose or otherwise after the machine is powered off and back on again.  
I know many virus's upload themselves in ram to hide, but they start on disk somewhere first.

No need to destroy a thumb drive each time.  When using a liveCD or thumb drive, the OS (and workspace) is all installed on volatile memory (ram,) and nothing gets written to disk (unless it was set up as a persistent installation.)

on a CD that is completly true. nothing could be written to the OS.
and if you write protect the thumb drive that would be true too.
I think he is paranoid about temp copies being created. like when you open a doc in word, you can see the temp file created for auto saves and drafts.

The temp file you mention never gets written to a physical drive.  The entire OS and workspace is run in memory (volatile space) and does write back to it's boot media.  That's the point of having a live CD or usb stick - you can demo the OS on your hardware without touching it's hard drive (or the boot media.)

Some distros will allow persistent use, but you can specify to turn that option off when you make the bootable usb stick.  If you use a tool such as unetbootin to put an .iso file on a usb stick, you don't have to worry about that option.

Thank you very much for the help guys!  You've been a great help.

I'm going to take a while to digest this stuff some more and edumacate myself a little bit better.  Then I'll come back and ask some more (and hopefully my terminology/questions will make better sense).

Just use full disk encryption. If you insist on removable storage, running it off of anything less than a USB 3.0 drive is going to kind of suck.



I keep Knoppix installed on an SD card in my laptop, just in case I need it to fix an issue with the OS on the hard drive, but it's not very fast. Nothing I'd really want to use daily.

IM Sent