I have written periodically about flash drives, also known as thumb or . These wonderful little gizmos can easily be used to back up your data, transfer files between computers, or even carry your office in your pocket. But like most things, some care and thought is required when handling these little gems, so that you get the best performance and longest life out of them.

A common question is, how long will these drives last? They have only been around for a few years now, so no one really knows for sure. A good quality drive from a reputable manufacturer should last for tens of thousands of write cycles or more. Some parts, or cells of the flash memory may go bad, but the rest of the drive should still be usable. In fact, some drives have programs that distribute files to different cells with each write cycle, to prevent one area of memory from wearing out.

Do you plug and unplug the device a lot? You should; do not leave it plugged into your computer when not in use. If you pick up a virus, so will the USB drive. However, take care not to damage the connector. Do not remove it while the computer is writing to it. If you are transfering or sharing files between computers, you could easily transfer viruses as well, just as we did in the bad “old” days with those 3.5” floppies. Make sure all the PCs have up to date protection. Remember also that the parental controls you set up in your browser can easily be circumvented with a flash drive equipped with its own , as some are these days.

Of course, one of the greatest dangers with these devices is simply losing them, along with all the data on it. Keep them in your pocket or a secure place, and be careful who you lend them to.

Do you want to work on your documents from any computer while travelling, without lugging your laptop around? Just take a flash drive loaded with your files and Portable OpenOffice.org. It contains a word processor, spreadsheet, a slide presentation program and more, all compatible with Microsoft Office documents from Word, Excel and PowerPoint. Get it free here:
https://sourceforge.net/projects/portableoo/

If you have a drive that you cannot seem to read or write to, or it appears to have other problems, try formatting it before you toss it. Plug it in to your computer and click My Computer. Right-click the drive and click Format. Click Format or Quick Format and click Start. Follow the steps.

Once you see how handy and versatile these drives are, you may quickly find yourself with a substantial collection. To manage and keep track of them, get Microsoft’s free Flash Drive Manager here:
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads

Syd Tash is a noted computer security consultant and author of How to Protect Your Computer Online. He has been keeping Internet surfers safe and secure since the last century. Find out how he does it; protect your own computer with five layers of protection right here:
= > http://MyPCSecuritySite.com

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