Keeping your data SAFE

[mdlbear]

| Sentry® Safe | QE5541 FIRE-SAFE® Water Resistant SAFE

The world's first and only fire and water resistant safe that provides USB powered connectivity. Allows users to backup data using their own 2 1/2" storage device. Protects up to 120 CD's and DVD's. Users connect to their laptop or desktop via the external USB port.

$519 and, in my opinion, worth it. They have smaller models as well, all the way down to a little box that only holds a drive and a few CDs.

Comments

[drewkitty.livejournal.com]

(safe owner's manual)

ETL Verified for Digital Media

ETL verified for 2 hour fire protection of CDs, DVDs, memory sticks and USB drives up to 1850°F (1010°C).

http://www.sentrysafe.com/products/testingAndStandards/media.aspx

ETL 2-hour Fire Endurance Test

Product is subjected to temperatures of 1850° F (1010° C) for 2 hours. The interior remains below 350° F (177° C) to protect digital media.

Warning! No computer disks, audio-visual media or photo negatives.

Products with an ETL fire verification for digital media protection are NOT intended to protect computer floppy or 2 1/4" diskettes, cartridges and tapes, audio or video cassettes. For fire-resistant storage of these materials, ask your retailer for the SentrySafe Fire-Safe Media storage products such as the 1710 and 6720 models.

http://www.intertek-etlsemko.com/portal/page/cust_portal/ITK_PGR/ABOUT_INTERTEK_ETL_PG/OUR_SERVICES_PG/Fire_Testing_PG

Fire testing capabilities of laboratory.

http://www.intertek-etlsemko.com/portal/page/cust_portal/ITK_PGR/ABOUT_INTERTEK_ETL_PG/GLOBAL_CERTS_MARKS_PG/ETL_VERIFIED_MARK_PG

"ETL VERIFIED" mark available to general industry.

http://ask-leo.com/will_my_backup_hard_drive_stored_in_my_safe_survive_the_heat_of_a_fire.html

"My totally wild guess - that you may not hold me to - is that your drive might be OK at 350 degrees. Now, "OK" is a relative term. I'm envisioning the drive itself being ok, but the case, the cables and everything else melted into a plastic puddle. You might be able to retrieve your data, but it won't be a pretty process."

http://www.westerndigital.com/en/products/Products.asp?DriveID=317#jump77

>> Environmental Specifications
>> Temperature (English)
>> Operating 41° F to 104° F
>> Non-operating -4° F to 149° F

http://www.seagate.com/ww/v/index.jsp?vgnextoid=785e99f4fa74c010VgnVCM100000dd04090aRCRD&locale=en-US#

ENVIRONMENT
Ambient Temperature
Operating 0 to 60 degrees C
Nonoperating -40 to 70 degrees C
Maximum operating temperature change 20 degrees C per hour
Maximum nonoperating temperature change 30 degrees C per hour
Maximum operating case temperature 69 degrees C

My comments:

Specialized "data safes" are constructed to keep the internal temperature below 150 degrees. They are much more expensive.

I would only use the device shown with solid-state media, not a platter device.

Even so, it looks like a consumer rip-off waiting to happen.