Storage just seems to be something of which we can’t get enough. Even in the age of cloud computing, where your data is saved to iCloud, Google Drive, Instagram, Facebook, and myriad other storage lockers in the cloud, it pays to hold onto a few flash drives.
Those little storage devices come in handy when you need to store a file, but don’t have an internet connection. Flash drives are also useful when you want to quickly move a file from one device to another, along with a few other cool hacks you can do. Plus, they are made in a variety of different shapes and colors, and they make great collectibles, like these Star Wars drives:
Here are five things you can do with a flash drive that you may not have known about before:
1. Use It as a Data-Safe Deposit Box
Anytime you store data to any cloud service, it is in danger of being hacked. If you have files you want to keep out of any cloud service and safe on your person, you can lock and encrypt a flash/USB drive.
Windows users can use the BitLocker feature to encrypt a USB drive. Here is a step-by-step guide from eSecurity Planet that most people can follow.
The four below tips are from usb-flashdrive.com:
2. Store Your iTunes Music Library
You can copy your entire iTunes library on a flash drive, if the drive is large enough. To do so, ensure all of the music you want to copy to the drive is in the default “iTunes†folder. Insert your flash drive into your computer, and drag the entire iTunes folder to the flash drive’s location. If you run iTunes with the flash drive inserted, downloads will store to the flash drive instead of to the computer’s storage.
3. Recover a Crashed Computer
A recovery drive can help you troubleshoot and fix problems with your PC, even if it won’t start. You can create one for Windows 10 using a flash drive.
Here are simple instructions to do this from Microsoft, and here are the instructions for OS X from macinstruct.com.
4. Use It as a Key to Lock and Unlock Your Computer
You can use a flash drive as a digital key and prevent others from logging on to your computer with a program called Predator. The program is $10 for home users, and it is fairly easy to set up.
5. Add Storage to an Android Phone
Mobile memory can add up quickly. If you are technically inclined or don’t mind walking through a few technical steps, CNET offers a way to use flash drives to add storage to an Android phone.
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