Data Storage
Whether you’re a student, faculty or staff member, your data is important and needs to be backed up. Luckily, there are a variety of easy methods you can use to do this.
Cloud-Based Services
In general, cloud based services are the best and easiest way to backup your data. Some typical features include:
- Easily access files on a variety of different devices. Internet connection is required.
- Version history of your documents. (Not available on all services)
- Easy to recover data on a broken device or bring data over to a new one.
There are a continually growing number of these services, all with slight variations on the features they offer. Here are some popular ones we recommend:
- Google Drive – Your NYU NetID grants you unlimited storage through Google Drive. Go to http://www.nyu.edu/it/drive to get started.
- NYU Box – Available to all full-time NYU employees. Unlimited, fully encryped data storage. Go to http://www.nyu.edu/it/box to get started.
Portable media
There are several different physical options for backing up your data. For portable media, the price will depend on the size of device purchased.
- USB Flash Drive – Typically used more for portability than reliability. It is not recommended to keep important files on flashdrives!
- External hard drive – The standard way to backup your data without having to have an internet connection.