Sneaker-net-that’s what they used to call carrying a floppy disk between computers to transfer files. And the highest capacity floppy was 1.44Megabytes.

In the last couple of years, sneaker-net has resurfaced using USB flash drives. My first held 16 megabytes. Now 16gigabyte drives are affordable, 1 and 2 gigabyte drives cost less than $10.

And they are handy for more than transferring files. Back up those critical files each day and carry the drive home with you.

Carry important documents, like scanned images of your passport, medical records, etc. separate from your computer. Even if it gets lost or stolen, you have what you need.

My favorite new flash drive is a 4 gigabyte A-Data PD15 (Amazon has it). It’s about as thick as a credit card and half the size of regular flash drives (think the same size as the key fob versions of your office supply or grocery store loyalty card). It lives in my wallet and is available anywhere I might need my data, or someone has some file to give me.