From The Kim Komando Show, one of her "Tips of the Day "

Archiving documents on a thumb drive

Q. If I use my USB flash thumb drive to back up my documents, approximately how long can I keep them on the drive? I want to keep the thumb drive in a fire-proof safe. But I am told by the safe company that moisture collects inside the safe sometimes. Will the thumb drive get damaged or lose its memory if I put it in such a safe?

A. Most of the information on flash drives focuses on how long they last in use. Less is known about how long they last in storage. Some manufacturers rate them to 10 years. I do consider thumb drives worthy of long-term storage.

However, redundancy is the best policy for backups. I would use two thumb drives. Thumb drives are both effective and relatively inexpensive.

Regardless of the media, you should occasionally examine the backups. And I would completely renew them every few years. I think predicted lifespans of digital storage devices are overstated.

Perhaps more important is the issue of file formats. As software progresses, so do file formats. You may need to open your documents every few years to resave them in updated or new formats.

USB thumb drives are remarkably rugged compared to other types of storage. They can be dropped, scratched and sometimes stepped on without consequence. I've even read stories of thumb drives surviving washers and dryers. But I wouldn’t want to try that!

Aside from some metal casings, thumb drives aren't prone to corrosion. However, moisture can become a problem when it comes time to plug the drive into a computer. To help seal out water vapor, consider a waterproof drive. They typically use sealed lids and seamless plastic casings.

For the security-minded, be sure to check out my column on protecting thumb drive data.

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