If you are thinking of making a backup of your data, since you think that these are important and you would not like to lose them, you may be wondering which site is safer, faster, broader and cheaper. Currently, the best alternatives are the ways to find them in the online cloud, on a NAS or DAS that you have at home or on an external USB hard drive, but which is the best option of all?
Today we are going to see which of these three is the best option or at least in which cases each of them should be used as the preferred choice.
Cloud, NAS or external drive?
All of them are a great way to protect our data against possible loss, theft or simply an error in our main system. However, it will depend on the type of files and budget what suits you best. Obviously, storing only photos (where you could use the Google Photos app remotely) is not the same as wanting to have a copy of important and larger work files or documents on an external drive within reach at any time.
online cloud
As the first option it is the most comfortable. You could do it right now, without having to order anything, or go down for a device, or even leave your table. Only using an online server like Google Drive or iCloud and buying the necessary space you would have everything ready. This is the best way if you need to do something quicklyYes, in the long run the monthly price of these services, as well as the fact that their security will never depend on you, does a punctual option. At least I like to keep things for myself. Nothing should happen with this type of company, but who knows, Megaupload was not going to die either, and thousands of people lost their data.
External disk
On the other hand, we have this device, very safe and simple. Either a hard drive or a simple pendrive (depending on the capacity required), we can have everything we want physically and safely stored by ourselves. Yes indeed, we will not be able to access the information when we want it unlike the cloudand, therefore, if we have it stored and hidden in our house, only there will we have the data.
NAS
Finally, we will talk about a NAS, a device that complements the two previous options. We will have all our information on a physical disk and dependent on us, while we will be able to access all the information through the Internet anywhere in the world. And if we don’t have a connection or something happens, nothing happens, we can continue accessing the content physically. Although of course, this 2 × 1 also applies to the price. It would be the most expensive option. Although if the security of our data is very important to us, do not think about it.
In summary, the three devices are a great option, you can even combine several, it will only depend on you to know the importance of your files and especially if you need to access them online or it is a simple copy to keep in a drawer. Pen drives are very cheap right now, no matter which one you choose, you can always have these as a plan B. Although if you can afford it, having a NAS will be something you don’t regret and you won’t be able to live without it later.
