USB flash drives are only limited by the cost of the storage space and the physical constraints of the drive. Some of the cheaper flash drives can store less than a gigabyte, but modern high-end flash drives can store as much as 1TB of data, about equivalent to a typical hard drive. A standard external USB drive can store or backup around 64GB, 128GB, 256GB, or 512GB of data. As storage space increases, USB flash drives have become proficient at storing massive files such as ultra high-definition videos that display at 4K or even 8K resolution.
Some file systems are designed to distribute usage over an entire memory device without concentrating usage on any part (e.g., for a directory) to prolong the life of simple flash memory devices. Some USB flash drives have this 'wear leveling' feature built into the software controller to prolong device life, while others do not, so it is not necessarily helpful to install one of these file systems.[39]
Hardware designers later developed EEPROMs with the erasure region broken up into smaller "fields" that could be erased individually without affecting the others. Altering the contents of a particular memory location involved copying the entire field into an off-chip buffer memory, erasing the field, modifying the data as required in the buffer, and re-writing it into the same field. This required considerable computer support, and PC-based EEPROM flash memory systems often carried their own dedicated microprocessor system. Flash drives are more or less a miniaturized version of this.
Many people rely exclusively on the cloud for storing their data; it’s convenient and you can get a lot of storage for free. While storing data online certainly has its advantages, it also has serious drawbacks. The most obvious is security. Anything that is kept online is susceptible to security breaches, and news stories about many of the largest corporations suffering hacks only confirms that our online lives are not as safe as we may like.
A minority of flash drives support biometric fingerprinting to confirm the user's identity. As of mid-2005,[needs update] this was an expensive alternative to standard password protection offered on many new USB flash storage devices. Most fingerprint scanning drives rely upon the host operating system to validate the fingerprint via a software driver, often restricting the drive to Microsoft Windows computers. However, there are USB drives with fingerprint scanners which use controllers that allow access to protected data without any authentication.[70]
Quickly transfer files to and from your laptop or desktop using this SanDisk Ultra SDCZ48-064G-A46 USB 3.0 flash drive that features a read speed of up to 80MB/sec. The 64GB capacity offers ample storage space. (Ten times faster than USB 2.0 drives. Write speeds up to 10 times faster than Cruzer USB 2.0 drive.)* *USB 3.0 port required. Based on internal testing; performance may be lower depending upon host device.

Macbooks require a USB Type-C device, which is where this swivel dual flash drive from Silicon Power comes in handy. It features a dual interface with USB Type-C and USB Type-A 3.0 ports on opposite ends of a compact device. The 360-degree swivel cap protects whichever connector is not in use and attaches easily to keychains. The C80 doesn’t require any special drivers or software to work; just plug it into the port and it is ready to go. But it has an optional file management app, which is a free and simple automatic file categorization that puts your work in the appropriate folders. Expect fast read and write speeds and 64 GB of storage to hold all your photos and files.
In the arcade game In the Groove and more commonly In The Groove 2, flash drives are used to transfer high scores, screenshots, dance edits, and combos throughout sessions. As of software revision 21 (R21), players can also store custom songs and play them on any machine on which this feature is enabled. While use of flash drives is common, the drive must be Linux compatible.
A recent development for the use of a USB Flash Drive as an application carrier is to carry the Computer Online Forensic Evidence Extractor (COFEE) application developed by Microsoft. COFEE is a set of applications designed to search for and extract digital evidence on computers confiscated from suspects.[48] Forensic software is required not to alter, in any way, the information stored on the computer being examined. Other forensic suites run from CD-ROM or DVD-ROM, but cannot store data on the media they are run from (although they can write to other attached devices, such as external drives or memory sticks).
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USB flash drives are only limited by the cost of the storage space and the physical constraints of the drive. Some of the cheaper flash drives can store less than a gigabyte, but modern high-end flash drives can store as much as 1TB of data, about equivalent to a typical hard drive. A standard external USB drive can store or backup around 64GB, 128GB, 256GB, or 512GB of data. As storage space increases, USB flash drives have become proficient at storing massive files such as ultra high-definition videos that display at 4K or even 8K resolution.
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Not everyone wants every file they've ever created available in the cloud. It can put data at risk - not just from hackers or spammers or nosey bosses, but with some providers offering shady terms, you could lose the intellectual rights to anything uploaded. Having a portable memory drive means you don't have to sacrifice mobility for security, though, making flash drives an ideal solution for business people on the go.
"Nice device for bulky files....I have 2 of these flash drives and it's more convenient for me to store backups of my most important files on 2 of these flash drives than an external drive because it's easier for me to transfer my data files between 3 devices, carry the drive around in my pocket, and the transfers are easy and fast since it's USB 3.0"
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