We all know that it is very important to back up our important documents, videos and photos just in case we happen to accidently delete something or something else goes catastrophically wrong and we turn on our computer only to find that our hard drive has failed taking all of our important documents with it.
Back in the day when you wanted to backup the contents of your hard drive it was as simple as saving everything to a spare floppy disk or burning a back up DVD-Rom but now there are there are several options which are available to you. You can either use an external hard drive or you can use cloud storage to backup all of your important data it is just a matter of you deciding which one works and is the best for you.
This article will look at the pros and cons of each method of digital storage and hopefully help you decide which is best.
Cost and Capacity.
When it comes to maximum storage bang for your buck a USB external hard drive is going to be the winner over cloud storage without even breaking a sweat. Because the price of external hard drives has dropped in recent years you can pick up a terabyte external hard drive relatively cheap. If you are wanting 1 terabyte of cloud storage then you are going to need to buy a subscription to a cloud storage service and you will have to continuously pay that subscription monthly so the overall cost will escalate quite dramatically.
Any service which offers free cloud storage is usually limited to a maximum of 25-50 gigabytes worth of storage.
Ease of Use.
When it comes to ease of use in the cloud storage vs. external hard drive storage there is very little to separate the two. Both cloud storage and external hard disk storage are equally as easy to use.
It is worth knowing that there are some cloud storage systems which will automatically back your files up to the cloud without you having to do anything. An example of this is Apples iCloud which automatically syncs the contents of your phone with the iCloud.
Connectivity.
When it comes to connectivity in the external hard disk storage vs. cloud storage the clear winner is going to be cloud storage.
Cloud storage allows you to backup files from nearly any device imaginable through the use of the internet. This means you can backup files from your laptop, desktop computer, cell phone and tablet computer. An external hard drive is limited to the connection of a USB cable.
File and Data Sharing.
One of the beautiful things about cloud storage is that you can access your storage space from anywhere in the world and from any computer or device as long as you have access to the internet. This means you can easily share your documents and files with people all over the world as long you have given them the access codes and links to your storage space on the cloud.
With an external hard drive you can still share your files with other people but this means you will have to get the external hard drive to them in the physical world. This obviously means that when it comes to sharing files from an external hard drive your options are very limited.
The clear winner in this category is cloud storage.
Versatility.
If you use an external hard drive you are limited to been able to back up files from your desktop or laptop computer. With cloud storage you can store files from any web enabled device. This means that cloud storage is far more versatile than any external hard disk.
Security.
In my personal opinion there is simply no competition when it comes to security of your files. An external hard drive wins hands down. The reason I believe this is because unless someone has physical access to your external hard drive your files are as secure as they are ever going to be unless you encounter a super hacker.
The problem and risk when it comes to cloud storage is that your files are stored online and to backup or restore any files from the cloud you are going to have to stream them over the internet. This obviously creates a security risk. There is also the risk that you are actually giving your files to someone else to keep safe for you. This could mean that they have access to some private and sensitive information about you.
There is also the risk of losing all of your files. You have probably heard about the United States Justice Department shutting down a service named MegaUpload. If this was to happen to your cloud storage service then you would lose all of your backup files.
If you decide to go for an external hard drive for backups the best priced hard drives are available at Amazon by clicking here.
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The problem I have with the cloud (which is a new term for a VERY old concept–we used to call it distributed time-sharing, back in the olden days before personal computers) is this: I got an email offer from a reputable company offering me 5 Gb free cloud back-up. So I signed up. A month later, the company went out of business, and offered to retrieve MY data from THEIR servers for a fee.
I went out the next day and bought a SDD external drive. I use it to back up my Windows system as well as my linux box.