Top 4 Ways to Store Your Information
Even the largest computer drive has finite space. While it can seem like your internal hard drive has limitless capacity, in fact, it is all too easy to eat up all your storage space. Fortunately, there is a wide range of information storage solutions. Here is a list of four of the best.
Other Devices
One way to make sure that you can access your vital data in any situation is to use your other devices as backup storage. Other devices include your spare laptop, your tablet, and your smartphone. Having spare copies of your files on those devices makes sure you have backups, and also puts access to that data in your hands almost all the time. Of course, when you have your backup information on your smart devices, it is only as secure as they are; if you lose your phone, not only do you lose access to the data, but the thief might gain that access.
Cloud
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Cloud storage is the current trend in securing information, and it is easy to see why. Cloud providers store your files online rather than leaving them locally on your hardware. This feature lets you access the information across all your devices — or at least all your devices that can use the cloud provider’s software. Storage space on cloud services is often cheap or free, as long as you don’t exceed data caps or need special services. Since this storage is online, adequate security is an important feature of cloud services. Make sure your provider is taking the right steps to safeguard your vital information.
External Hard Drives
External hard drives are usually small, rectangular boxes that you link with your computer via USB or other cables. You can transfer data to an external hard drive by using your operating system’s copy functions, and then physically transport the drive to another location. In the current computer marketplace, external storage is relatively cheap, though some drive brands are faster and more reliable than others. The disadvantage to external drives is that they can be lost fairly easily, and they need to be properly formatted to work with different operating systems and computer setups.
Network Attached Storage
If you are using several devices across a small network to move and manipulate data, a network attached storage (NAS) device is something to look into. The NAS is a device plugged into your router with some quantity of hard drives attached. If you’ve set it up properly, you’ll be able to connect to the NAS through any computer on your local network, letting you move things around without having to lug the drives from one computer to the next. Advanced NAS devices can even form an encrypted private cloud, letting you access them from far away.
With such a plethora of options to choose from, setting up a storage solution is easier than ever before. Each option fits a lifestyle, so take your time browsing and figure out the best protocol for your valuable information.
