A hard drive enclosure is used to house a hard disk externally, adding storage and flexibility to any system. The enclosure connects to the computer through a universal serial bus (USB) or Firewire port, making it a plug-and-play device. This means it can be turned off and on while the system is up and running. A hard drive enclosure can be used for many purposes and provides portability between desktop and laptop, or home and office. It appears as a virgin disk ready for formatting. Since all the data encryption done in firmware and hardware it requires no special drivers. It available in three types to connect to either USB 2.0 (USB 1.1 compatible also) fire wire (IEEE1394) or a combo drive offering both, the yellow dot shows my selection of USB 2.