Wednesday, November 2, 2011

Crucial Steps To Using A USB Flash Drive Efficiently

By Andrew Johnson


A USB flash drive is a robust device that is used for storing digital data. It can withstand some degree of rough handling unlike the normal computer hard disk. One of the major reasons is that it has no moving parts in it. However, care should be exercised to avoid shortening it's lifespan or making it completely unusable.

Backing up data is a good practice to avoid loses. Data stored in any location is best saved in an alternate place to reduce the risk of a device failure or other calamity. Another alternative is to always make sure that data is synchronized between two or more devices. This way, if any device fails, the other will be used to access the information.

Different infectious files are being developed by malicious people, every day. In order to reduce the risk of infecting any device, one should minimize the number of devices used to access data. Sharing storage drives is one of the quickest way to spread an infectious file. Using an anti-virus software to scan a drive before use is recommended to reduce the chances of attacks.

When connecting and disconnecting flash drives to other devices, the right procedure ought to be followed. Care needs to be observed when disconnecting to ensure there is no communication going on between the devices. If this is not observed, damage to the portable device can occur, loss of data or both.

Organizations go to great lengths to protect their data from getting to the wrong people. These can be competitors or other parties who might utilize the data to cause harm. Data encryption is a way of making it unreadable by unauthorized parties. If such storage drives were to land in the wrong hands, it is unreadable to them. Several drives use hardware encryption which is more protective than software encryption.

Data integrity is important in ensuring proper communication. However, other occurrences can happen which make it hard to read the original data. If for instance a user deletes information from a storage device by mistake, getting this back without tools is quite difficult. Using data recovery tools, it is possible to recover information that had earlier been lost.

Changes in technology have made it possible to have higher capacity storage systems. A USB flash drive is one device that has not been left behind. Knowing how to use and care for it is important to realize the most benefits. Most of these devices can last long while holding data safely and securely.




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