5 digital ways to store money documents |
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In the end, only you can predict how likely it is
you'll misplace a USB flash drive. If you're the type to find your
car keys underneath the bed and your cell phone wedged between car
seats, you might want to consider a larger storage option.
3. External hard drives
For those more concerned with storage capacity than size, an external
hard drive could be the perfect answer.
An external hard drive is a piece of equipment that
sits outside of a computer case in its own enclosure. The device
rests on a surface nearby a desktop or laptop computer and is connected
via a high-speed interface cable that enables the transfer of data.
Many of these devices allow for one-touch backup, and some come with a whopping one terabyte of storage space.
But buyer beware: As with any external storage device, external hard drives run the risk of being stolen or damaged.
4. CD-Rs and
CD-RWs
Just when you thought it was time to toss those circular discs in
the trash, StorageIO Group's Schulz says there's still room for
CD-Rs and CD-RWs in today's crowded personal storage market.
Sure, they look awfully antiquated next to pocket-sized USB flash drives and external hard drives. But they still serve an important storage role, particularly as backup storage, according to Schulz.
"If something is important enough to put into a digital safe-deposit box, you should have two copies," Schulz says.
For example, he says, if your Web-based online storage
service is experiencing downtime, a CD-R can serve as an ideal "point-in-time
picture of all your important files."
CD-R/RWs typically deliver upward of 80 minutes of
audio or data storage space on a 1.2 mm-thick disc. These recordable
discs are cheap and easy to find at any office supply store.
Price point and accessibility, however, aren't enough
to win over Shields, the Parks Associates research analyst..
"CD-R/RWs probably get used more than they should," she says. "Yes, they're cheap and easy to use, but they get scratched and damaged."
And that can result in your computer experiencing difficulties reading the device. Nevertheless, as a secondary source of backup, you won't find a faster or easier alternative.
5. Network-attached storage hard drives
While they're "not in the forefront of people's minds yet," Shields
predicts that it won't be long before network-attached storage hard
drives become a preferred option.
Big-name vendors such as Cisco, Linksys and Iomega
offer these self-contained units, known as NAS drives. When connected
to a desktop or laptop computer, NAS drives offer file-based data
storage for an entire network.
NAS drives are perfect for sharing storage across
multiple devices on a home network and offer up to one terabyte
of backup capacity.
"We're accumulating enough data on our hard drives
that we need a solution that stores more," Shields says. "CD-Rs
and flash drives are at a point where they just can't back up everything.
The solution is network-attached storage, which offers greater capacity
and automatic backups."
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