I am always scared of the fact that I will store all of my important data/files on a USB flashdrive or a CD and one day for some odd reason it won’t just open and I will lose everything. Therefore, I am thinking I may want to store everything online: in e-mails. The good thing about e-mails is that you can access your files wherever you have internet access. The problem, however, is that it may not be as secure. Anyone can hack into your account or somehow get to it.
What method would you recommend? Any more pros and cons?
^ True, alot of people fail to realize that alot of file storage servers out there are nothing but rely on storage components with moving parts which are as likely to fail as your own disk is. Multiple copies is a good idea, keep one in a moisture/fire proof box or something.
multiple copies is the way to go , but even that is a single point of failure if you keep all of it at your home... (natural disasters) ... that is why, i strongly recommend your really important data be stored at a remote server at a super facility (s)
if you are concerned abt security, they let you choose the highest encryption algorithm and you get the choice of being the only one to be able to decrypt.
those who are saying multiple CD's/DVD's are wrong, cuz CDs/DVDs have a lifetime, and at a certain time the data will start vanishing. And mailserver?
Best way is to use some hard drives and use them as storage, and save the "data" two different places in the hard drive, and then unplug it and keep the harddrive(s) safe.
you can go with Reply #8 aswell, but if it is important and personal data then use the harddisk method, buy one , use it as storage and unplug it. And copy the same data to DVD's aswell (the more places you have backup on, the higher the chance you wont lose)
And wait for Blu-Ray discs to come (they will be standard and replace DVD's in some months time)
Make multiple copies on different storage media from different manufacturers. Make it a habit to sync data.
Actually, the strategy can vary with situation.
In my case, I write CDs. Most of my really important data consists of plain text. I write two sets of the data (all of it) every six months on CDs and waste the data sets older than two years. Currently each set of my important data requires only two CDs.
Also, a copy of the latest set is always kept on the PC in basement that has no means to connect to the Internet. One CD set is locked in the basement just in case a friend takes the other set from my bedroom, thinking it to be some MP3s 8) You never know.
I keep it all encrypted and I keep it in my custody. During my life, no one else can take care of my work better than me. No matter what agreement they sign. Nor does their storage media come from another planet.
Sometimes I feel blessed for even if I lose all of my CDs, I'm sure my brain can regenerate it, of course with some extra and unpleasant efforts. The only natural disaster I fear is if one day I become retarded. But then why would I care about that data? LoL
It takes about twenty minutes (just once in every six months) to write new CD sets and melt the old ones. This method is cost-effective, very reliable and easy to manage.
Machines are more reliable than men, machines (those that we have today) do not cheat.
I keep it all encrypted and I keep it in my custody. During my life, no one else can take care of my work better than me. No matter what agreement they sign. Nor does their storage media come from another planet.
Can you elaborate on that? the software and if you encrypt all or just some directories.
I agree with the people who said have it saved in 2 places. I have one copy at my work's server as that is backed up every night and they have a mirror server somewhere in a different state. So that's pretty safe.
I agree with whoever said about natural disaster. I learned my lesson from Hurricane Katrina. I used to save everything on my PC. Hurricane flooded our house. Although the computer wasn't damaged but since it was left in humidity for many days, the hard disk was damaged and computer just never gave me a chance to retrieve the data and I lost it. Good thing I had most of it backed up on the CDs.
Speaking of CDs, I used to burn CDs but that's too many CDs to keep up with. Although if they are flooded, you can just wipe them clean, dry them, and they are good to go again.
I just bought a 4GB USB flash drive today and I plan to keep it with me all the times. I hope I don't crush it while it's in my pocket, but I'll have all the files on it. Most of the files are encrypted and password protected. So even if I do lose the flash drive, an average person can't open the documents.
Thanks for your detailed replies. I would also know all of you pros' opinion on USB Flash Drives.
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