USB flash drives, the portable, durable way to schlep data files around without sending them online, are so good at their job that they've become a little too ubiquitous for some of us.  It's not uncommon for them to pile up, especially if you've received them as gifts or you're in a business that exchanges lots of documents offline. But what to do with them? You could donate them or send them to a site like RecycleUSB.com. Or maybe you should send them to North Korea.

FlashDrivesForFreedom.org is a non-profit collaboration between Human Rights Foundation and Silicon Valley think tank Forum280 that promises to take your old flash drives, fill them with South Korean soap operas, Hollywood movies and Korean-language interviews with North Korean defectors and sneak them into the country via refugee-led organizations. The group also accepts cash donations to buy discounted drives, but if the thought of your old flash drive spreading freedom into North Korea excites you, you can send them to Flash Drives For Freedom, c/o Appbackr Inc., 2251 Yale Street, Palo Alto, CA 94306.

In this space every week, we'll define a tech term, offer a timely tip or answer questions about technology from readers. Email ogallaga@statesman.com.

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