HomeTips & Hacks5 Do’s and Don’ts For Using USB Flash Drives

5 Do’s and Don’ts For Using USB Flash Drives

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The post will show you the do’s and don’ts for using USB flash drives.

A portable storage device has good storage capacity and is affordable, the one device that comes to your mind while reading this is a USB.

USB flash drives are one of the most popular and most used flash storage devices for transferring data from one device to another. It does not matter if you want to use the USB flash drive on a laptop, a desktop, or a digital camera; it's compatible with every device.

Because of the increased usage of USB thumb drives, it’s important to know how to increase their durability and protect your data. Here are a few Dos and Dont’s for using a USB flash drive to help you keep your thumb drives safe from accidental damage.

5 Dos For The Safety Of USB Flash Drives And The Data On It

5 Dos For The Safety Of USB Flash Drives And The Data On It

1. Always perform safe removal of the USB thumb drive connected to your PC

Whenever you are removing the pen drive from the computer, click on the Safely Remove Hardware option. Then, once the pop-up comes saying it is safe to remove hardware, you can unplug the USB drive.

Abrupt removal of the thumb drive from your PC can cause USB drive corruption, leading to data loss. If you have lost any data from the USB drive because of corruption or any other data loss scenario, the only way to retrieve that data is by using trusted data recovery software; such as Remo Software.

2. Protect your USB flash drives by running anti-virus and malware software

A virus-infected pen drive can act as a carrier and transfer the viruses to the computers to which they are connected, which can cause numerous problems in computers. It can result in the deletion of files, data corruption, and even can freeze your drive.

If you are stuck under such circumstances, you need to recover the important data before repairing the damage in the USB drive. Otherwise, it can lead to permanent data loss. Keep a USB flash drive data recovery tool handy if you save confidential and crucial data on USB. It is recommended to use reliable flash drive data recovery software like Remo USB data recovery software to avoid any further damage to the drive/data.

3. Use secure USB drives

You can make your thumb drive password protected. Or you can upgrade yourself to the newer models of the USB drives. As they come with added safety features such as fingerprint authentication to encrypt the data from threats.

4. Always encrypt the files and folders that you save on the USB flash drive

This will also give you an added safety from virus infection as it cannot penetrate encrypted data. It is safe to keep the important data in compressed ZIP or RAR format. Most organizations have encryption software like Bitlocker for upgraded security to sensitive intellectual property.

5. Create regular Backups

Data loss is inevitable. Even after taking all the necessary measures, there are chances of corruption and data loss. Thus, make it a habit to create a regular backup of the USB flash drive. But choosing another physical drive for a backup might also be risky as there will be chances of data corruption are the same. Any storage drive is prone to damage because of various reasons like sudden power loss, program crashes, operating system crashes, etc.

In case you have lost access to some important files due to data corruption or any other issue, you must immediately disconnect your flash device. Do not use the USB drive any further or attempt any troubleshooting methods if you have important data in it. Such practices can contribute to corruption and greatly decrease your chances of successful data recovery. The best possible solution is to use a professional data recovery tool like Remo.

5 Don’ts For Using USB Drive

5 Don’ts For Using USB Drive

1. Protect your USB drive from getting any physical damage

Do not expose your USB flash drive to extreme heat or water. Keep your pen drive stored in a container that will save it from any physical damage and also from getting lost.

2. Do not edit the files directly on the USB flash drive

It is always recommended to work on the files that are there in the pen drive after copying them to our PC. Leaving the flash drive plugged into your system for too long or during the time of boot can lead to data corruption.

3. Do not leave the pen drive connected to your PC when not in use

As long as the USB drive is connected to your system, the operating system continuously writes on the cells of the flash drive. This again leads to an unnecessary increase in usage rate and considerably increasing the wear and tear of the storage device.

4. Do not Defragment your USB flash drive

Your pen drive does not need a defrag operation as it causes slowdowns, crashes, and sometimes leads to system failure.

Defragmentation is a good practice for your hard disk drive as it rearranges fragmented files to occupy storage locations that help optimize storage and performance. But the same is not true for USB flash drives, as it causes degradation of the device due to increased read and write cycles. Thus, disable the auto-defragment for your USB drive.

5. Do not Format the USB drive with File System that is unique only to one Operating System

FAT32 and exFAT are the most commonly used file systems and are supported by almost all operating systems. Thus, if you have formatted the flash drive with another file system that your PC’s operating system does not recognize, it might lead to inaccessibility.

Conclusion

The above-mentioned tips will help you in increasing your flash drive’s lifespan. Additionally, make sure to keep a backup of your data in case something unexpected happens to it.

Every storage device has a life span and even flash drives also can’t last forever. Eventually, with time and with use, these things give out. However, using the USB drives with the care it needs can help prolong its life and ensure your data's safety.


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Chandra Palan
Chandra Palan
Chandra Palan is an Indian-born content writer, currently based in Australia with her husband and two kids. She is a passionate writer and has been writing for the past decade, covering topics ranging from technology, cybersecurity, data privacy and more. She currently works as a content writer for SecureBlitz.com, covering the latest cyber threats and trends. With her in-depth knowledge of the industry, she strives to deliver accurate and helpful advice to her readers.

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