How to Choose a USB Flash Drive for Data Backup

USB flash drives are mini portable storage devices that you can use to backup your data and carry it with you. USB flash drives have replaced the old floppy disks and provide a lot more storage as well as a means to encrypt the data that you store on the device.

USB flash drives come in a variety of brands and storage sizes. The device is very small so you can carry it with you and it plugs into any PC with a USB (Universal Storage Bus) port. USB flash drives are also known as a jump drive, memory stick, pen drive, thumb drive, or backup portable storage.

Tips on Choosing a USB Flash Drive

Before you choose a USB flash drive, decide on the purposes for which you are going to use the storage device. For example, if you are going to be storing a lot of graphics or multimedia files you will need more storage space than if you are simply backing up data and documents.

  • Storage Capacity: When choosing a USB flash drive keep in mind that megabytes (MB) have smaller storage capacity than gigabytes (GB). Most USB flash drives start with 1GB and can go as high as 100GB for backing up large websites and other large data.

  • Preinstalled Applications: Some of the USB flash drives come with applications that are preinstalled. Some are useful applications and some are not. Some of the useful applications include an antivirus application, programs for securing and encrypting your data, browser and instant messaging programs, and Skype.

  • Password Protection: The higher quality USB flash drives will provide you with a way to password protect the device. When you insert the device into any PC it is necessary to enter your password to access the files on the device.

  • Cap Protection: Some USB drives offer caps that are connected to the device to prevent you from accidentally losing the small cap that is provided for protection. Others types of USB flash drives have retractable USB connectors so a cap is not needed.

  • Lanyard: Some USB flash drive models come with a lanyard which helps to prevent you from losing the device due to its small size.

  • Shell: USB flash drives come with a variety of different types of casing some of which are very durable and others that are not as durable. If you are looking for durability, you may want to choose a USB flash drive that has airplane-grade aluminum casing.

 

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