Siirtomediat

Siirtomediat, in Finnish, refers to removable media—data storage media that can be easily removed from a computer or device and used to store or transfer data. They are portable, non-volatile and facilitate offline data transfer, backups, and installation media. Examples include USB flash drives, external hard drives, optical discs (CD, DVD, Blu-ray), and memory cards (SD, microSD).

Common formats include FAT32 and exFAT for cross-platform compatibility, with NTFS or ext4 used in other contexts. Connection interfaces include USB (various generations), USB-C, and card interfaces such as SD and microSD. The choice depends on capacity, speed, compatibility, and device support.

History and trends: floppy disks preceded them; optical discs were dominant for software distribution and backups; USB flash drives became dominant in the 2000s due to speed and capacity growth; in recent years, SSD-based external drives and high-capacity SD cards have replaced many uses, while cloud storage reduces reliance on physical media in general; removable media remains important for air-gapped security, offline backups, and devices without reliable network connectivity.

Security: removable media can carry malware or be lost or stolen; best practices include scanning, enabling write protection on some devices, encrypting sensitive data, and maintaining backups in multiple locations. In enterprise settings, usage policies and encryption standards are common.