You Can't Trust Most Fireproof Safes to Protect Your Data and Photos on CDs Or Flash Drives

!: You Can't Trust Most Fireproof Safes to Protect Your Data and Photos on CDs Or Flash Drives

What's wrong with Fireproof Safes?

There is nothing really wrong with a home fireproof safe. They are well designed to keep paper products from reaching a temperature that will destroy or ruin them. However they will not prevent computer data that you have backed up on CDs, DVD, or even flash drives from being destroyed. They will not protect photo slides and negatives either.

The problem is that we may not understand fireproof or fire resistant ratings that are assigned to safes. There are three basic ratings for fireproof safes by the Underwriters Laboratories. If a safe is rated for 1 hour then it must maintain the internal temperatures below the specified rating for the entire hour.

UL 350 - The safe must keep the interior temperature below 350 degrees Fahrenheit. That's below the normal temperature for most paper products to burn, char or become useless.

UL 150 is the rating for tapes, cartridges, microfiche, and microfilm. In addition to keeping the interior at or below 150 degrees, the humidity must be below 85%.

UL 125 is the standard for diskettes. In this case, the temperature cannot exceed 125°F and 80% humidity.Humidity and water damage is important if you intend to protect electronic devices like flash drives.

Test Your Own Data Media

If you doubt the need to have a better rated home or office fireproof safe to protect your data, then you can try this simple test.

Find a couple of photo negatives or slide and a print or two that you don't care about. Get two old CDs or DVDs with some data on them. Put one of the CDs in a jewel case.

Preheat your kitchen oven to 200 degrees and shut it off so the elements don't turn on. The radiant heat could be greater and cause the plastic to melt even if the air temperature is only 200 degrees. Place both the CD in the jewel case and the other CD on a piece of paper and place them in your oven. Wait a few minute and you can watch the CD in the jewel case curl up. Obviously the data will never be retrieved from it. Remove the other CD carefully that you don't bend it. When it is cooled you can put it in your computer and see if the data is intact. Sometimes it will be OK.

Now preheat your oven to 325 degrees. Don't set it on 350 just in case your oven thermostat isn't accurate. When the oven has reached the correct temperature, shut it off. Insert your photos, slides, and negatives on a piece of paper. Put your good CD back in the oven also on a piece of paper.

You will notice that a negative will almost immediately curl up and be destroyed. The pictures will curl a little and most likely be discolored slightly. The pictures will eventually flatten out again but there will be no hope for the slides or negatives.

The CD will remain flat but the data will be gone. You will likely be able to see bubbles in the plastic of the recording side of the CD.

Alternatives

Here are three alternatives if you want your data protected.

Get a fireproof media safe. It will protect your pictures, slide, negative, CDs, and DVDs. As shown above, a UL 125 rated fireproof safe will protect your data from heat and moisture. While a regular home fireproof safe may protect the data contents for a few minutes, the likely hood that the data will be safe longer than 15 minutes is extremely low.

Benefits of a fireproof media safe:

The ability to quickly backup to a flash drive and immediately store your data ever night after doing a backup. The data is available whether or not you have internet access. You don't have to pay any monthly or annual fees ones you have your safe.

Drawback of a fireproof media safe:

The biggest drawback to a fireproof media safe is the initial cost. They aren't cheap.

Use an online backup system. This is a very effective way to ensure that your data is safe. Well, as safe as you can expect when you are using another company to keep your data. If you don't have very much data, you can find free services on the web.

Benefits of using online backup:

Your data is kept in a completely different location. In many cases, your data can be encrypted for extra safety.

Drawback of:

You may need to use special software. Software changes over time and so do encryption methods. You may find yourself converting your data or even moving it when a company goes out of business. There are annual fees when you have a lot of data and that will cost you more over time than a fireproof media safe. You can't store some purchased software DVDs online. They often require the original DVD to reinstall the software. Uploading your nightly backup to the internet is not as fast as saving it on a flash drive.

Rent a safety deposit box at your local bank.

Benefits of a safety deposit box:

You have maximum protection. You have offsite data protection.

Drawbacks of a safety deposit box:

Limited access to your data. It isn't there when you need it and you can't secure it every night. Deposit boxes are really small. You can store a lot of data on DVD but you can't put many slides and negatives in one. The costs of a deposit box vary greatly but they also will cost more over time than a fireproof media safe.

Conclusion

Evaluate your situation. If you don't have much data then online backup may be the best option. If you have a lot of data and you have many purchased software packages then your best option is a home or office fireproof media safe. Whatever you do, don't be caught with a fire in your home and office and find out that you have lost your data.

You Can't Trust Most Fireproof Safes to Protect Your Data and Photos on CDs Or Flash Drives

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Fireproof File Cabinet - Choosing One That Suits Your Needs

!: Fireproof File Cabinet - Choosing One That Suits Your Needs

I still remember it. The flames, the smoke, my neighbor's wife sobbing, tears streaming down her face. Fortunately this family got out safe, they had good insurance to pay for their losses, and close friends to help them recover. However, they lost several irreplaceable photos and difficult to replace documents. Richard, my neighbor, later lamented about the hassles he and Eleanor experienced getting official copies of birth certificates, a new drivers' license, passports and the title to one of his vehicles. He stated that having one form of ID would have helped him immensely.

One of the saddest parts of Richards' experience is that if he would have invested in a fireproof file cabinet, he probably would have had a safe storage place for those documents, photos and other digital media. I had the opportunity to learn from his oversight and chose to do so.

Fireproof storage doesn't have to be inconvenient or expensive. Not everybody needs a ,500, 4 drawer lateral file cabinet rated at 6 hours to protect their documents and small valuables. Here are a few economical and practical options that will fit most people's needs and budget.

The most basic is the fireproof file box. This system is ideal for those who only have a handful of documents and perhaps a little jewelry that they want to protect. The file boxes that range in price from up to 0 are rated up to a half hour at 1550 degrees F, which is sufficient in most house fires. The advantage of these is that they are easily stored and moved. Amazon is a good place to look for these, or if you prefer the retail shopping experience, you can pick one up at Office Depot or Office Max.

The next step up will be the 1 or 2 drawer file cabinet. These are a good choice and may be the answer for those that work from home and need to store several files, or if tax documents are extensive. Unfortunately, there are some low quality products made by some big names. Sentry in particular makes a 1 drawer fireproof cabinet with a poor slide mechanism for the drawer. However, Sentry's 2 drawer 1 hour rated cabinet gets great reviews, including the smooth operation of the drawers. A 1 drawer model will set you back somewhere between 0 and 0 while 2 drawer models run 0 to 0.

FireKing is one of the leading names in fireproof document storage and produces UL listed, high quality products. The smallest cabinet they offer is a 2 drawer model. Those interested in enterprise level safe document storage should seriously consider the FireKing line.

While the vast majority of us will not personally experience our place of residence burning down, it is still a possibility. The cost of a fireproof file cabinet is a bargain compared to the loss of those documents that can help you get your life back in order after experiencing such a devastating event.

Fireproof File Cabinet - Choosing One That Suits Your Needs

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Fireproof Filing Cabinets

!: Nice Fireproof Filing Cabinets

Fireproof filing cabinets offer an efficient solution for protecting a large volume of files, documents, and paperwork in a safe environment.

A modern, fire-resistant cabinet is able to protect all vital documents, if engulfed in fire, at temperatures are in region of 1700 - 1800 degrees F. A fire safe cabinet will remain locked and intact without ruin of file and papers stored inside. Construction materials often consist of molded resin, gypsum, and steel, as well as coming complete with a heavy-duty locking mechanism for additional security.

FireKing, SCHWAB, and Sentry Safe Groups all produce a complete line-up of impact, fire, and water-resistant file cabinets to safeguard all critical pieces of paperwork in one compact package. A choice of sizes, configurations, and designs ensure that all protection issues are handled, with two, three, or four drawer options accessible. Design wise; expect to find these cabinets as vertical standing, lateral file cabinets, and side-tab or end-tab cabinets.

A filing cabinet in this style is constructed to withstand impact damage, such as a ceiling collapsing on top of it or falling 25 - 30 feet. In addition, a water-resistant cabinet is able to prevent water penetration as a result of fire hose or sprinkler system.

A compact alternative, to a full-sized file cabinet is a relatively small, fire retardant chest for holding a small amount of paperwork, and often comes with a secure key lock. Thousands of home office or business premises circum to the devastating effects of fire, so putting in place steps to ensure the safety of critical documents is a necessity.

Fireproof Filing Cabinets

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Salt Lake Locksmith Report | FireProof Safes

!±8± Salt Lake Locksmith Report | FireProof Safes

bestsaltlakelocksmith.com Here is a report that KSL news did on the effectiveness of Fire Proof safes in the event of a fire. If you are interested in purchasing a fireproof safe contact your local Salt Lake Locksmith.

Salt Lake Locksmith Report | FireProof Safes

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SENTRY SAFE FIREPROOF LOCKING FILE CABINET BS!!

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