<s>
In	O
computing	O
,	O
a	O
removable	B-Device
media	I-Device
is	O
a	O
data	B-General_Concept
storage	I-General_Concept
media	I-General_Concept
that	O
is	O
designed	O
to	O
be	O
readily	O
inserted	O
and	O
removed	O
from	O
a	O
system	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Most	O
early	O
removable	B-Device
media	I-Device
,	O
such	O
as	O
floppy	B-Device
disks	I-Device
and	O
optical	B-Device
discs	I-Device
,	O
require	O
a	O
dedicated	O
read/write	O
device	O
(	O
i.e.	O
</s>
<s>
a	O
drive	B-Device
)	O
to	O
be	O
installed	O
in	O
the	O
computer	O
,	O
while	O
others	O
,	O
such	O
as	O
USB	B-Protocol
flash	O
drives	O
,	O
are	O
plug-and-play	B-Device
with	O
all	O
the	O
hardware	O
required	O
to	O
read	B-General_Concept
them	O
built	O
into	O
the	O
device	O
,	O
so	O
only	O
need	O
a	O
driver	B-Application
software	I-Application
to	O
be	O
installed	O
in	O
order	O
to	O
communicate	O
with	O
the	O
device	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Some	O
removable	B-Device
media	I-Device
readers/drives	O
are	O
integrated	O
into	O
the	O
computer	B-General_Concept
case	I-General_Concept
,	O
while	O
others	O
are	O
standalone	O
devices	O
that	O
need	O
to	O
be	O
additionally	O
installed	O
or	O
connected	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Examples	O
of	O
removable	B-Device
media	I-Device
that	O
require	O
a	O
dedicated	O
reader	O
drive	B-Device
include	O
:	O
</s>
<s>
Optical	B-Device
discs	I-Device
,	O
e.g.	O
</s>
<s>
Flash	O
memory-based	O
memory	B-Device
cards	I-Device
,	O
e.g.	O
</s>
<s>
Paper	B-General_Concept
data	I-General_Concept
storage	I-General_Concept
,	O
e.g.	O
</s>
<s>
Examples	O
of	O
removable	B-Device
media	I-Device
that	O
are	O
standalone	O
plug-and-play	B-Device
devices	O
that	O
carry	O
their	O
own	O
reader	O
hardwares	O
include	O
:	O
</s>
<s>
Enclosured	O
mass	B-Device
storage	I-Device
drives	O
,	O
i.e.	O
</s>
<s>
Using	O
removable	B-Device
media	I-Device
can	O
pose	O
some	O
computer	O
security	O
risks	O
,	O
including	O
viruses	O
,	O
data	O
theft	O
and	O
the	O
introduction	O
of	O
malware	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
earliest	O
form	O
of	O
removable	B-Device
media	I-Device
,	O
punched	B-Architecture
cards	I-Architecture
and	O
tapes	O
,	O
predates	O
the	O
electronic	O
computer	O
by	O
centuries	O
,	O
with	O
the	O
Jacquard	O
loom	O
of	O
1801	O
using	O
interlinked	O
cards	O
to	O
control	O
the	O
machine	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Punched	O
tape	O
was	O
later	O
used	O
in	O
Colossus	B-Device
,	O
the	O
first	O
electronic	O
computer	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
1951	O
,	O
the	B-Operating_System
UNIVAC	I-Operating_System
I	O
was	O
released	O
,	O
using	O
magnetic	O
tape	O
to	O
store	O
data	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
8-inch	B-Device
floppy	I-Device
disks	B-Device
were	O
commercially	O
introduced	O
in	O
1971	O
by	O
IBM	O
,	O
with	O
them	O
being	O
compacted	O
to	O
-inch	O
by	O
Shugart	O
Associates	O
in	O
1976	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
At	O
the	O
same	O
time	O
Compact	B-Device
Cassettes	I-Device
started	O
being	O
used	O
to	O
store	O
data	O
,	O
being	O
popular	O
in	O
the	O
late	O
1970s	O
and	O
1980s	O
for	O
holding	O
data	O
for	O
personal	B-Device
computers	I-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
1982	O
,	O
the	O
-inch	O
floppy	B-Device
disk	I-Device
became	O
commonplace	O
,	O
with	O
its	O
introduction	O
for	O
the	O
Apple	B-Device
Macintosh	I-Device
and	O
Amiga	B-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
CD-ROM	B-Device
was	O
introduced	O
in	O
1985	O
,	O
providing	O
much	O
higher	O
capacity	O
than	O
a	O
floppy	B-Device
disk	I-Device
,	O
however	O
could	O
not	O
be	O
written	O
to	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
turn	O
of	O
the	O
millennium	O
saw	O
the	O
widespread	O
introduction	O
of	O
solid-state	B-Device
removable	B-Device
media	I-Device
,	O
with	O
the	O
SD	B-Device
card	I-Device
being	O
introduced	O
in	O
1999	O
,	O
followed	O
by	O
the	O
USB	B-Protocol
flash	O
drive	B-Device
in	O
2000	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
capacity	O
of	O
these	O
removable	O
flash	O
drives	O
improved	O
over	O
time	O
,	O
with	O
2013	O
seeing	O
Kingston	O
unveiling	O
a	O
1	O
terabyte	O
USB	B-Protocol
flash	O
drive	B-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
first	O
floppy	B-Device
disk	I-Device
was	O
developed	O
under	O
the	O
supervision	O
of	O
Alan	O
Shugart	O
in	O
the	O
late	O
1960s	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
floppy	B-Device
disk	I-Device
was	O
not	O
introduced	O
to	O
the	O
public	O
until	O
the	O
1970s	O
by	O
IBM	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
But	O
,	O
like	O
any	O
man-made	O
product	O
the	O
floppy	B-Device
disk	I-Device
came	O
with	O
its	O
pros	O
and	O
cons	O
,	O
such	O
as	O
it	O
being	O
cheap	O
and	O
portable	O
while	O
also	O
having	O
severely	O
limited	O
data	B-General_Concept
storage	I-General_Concept
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
use	O
of	O
removable	B-Device
media	I-Device
creates	O
a	O
risk	O
of	O
data	O
loss	O
in	O
the	O
event	O
that	O
the	O
media	B-General_Concept
is	O
lost	O
or	O
stolen	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
risk	O
can	O
be	O
minimised	O
by	O
company	O
policies	O
that	O
reduce	O
the	O
use	O
of	O
removable	B-Device
media	I-Device
when	O
transporting	O
and	O
storing	O
data	O
,	O
and	O
by	O
encrypting	O
the	O
contents	O
of	O
removable	B-Device
media	I-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
Prior	O
to	O
the	O
disposal	O
or	O
reuse	O
of	O
removable	B-Device
media	I-Device
,	O
appropriate	O
steps	O
should	O
be	O
taken	O
to	O
ensure	O
that	O
all	O
data	O
previously	O
stored	O
on	O
the	O
device	O
is	O
not	O
accessible	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Removable	B-Device
media	I-Device
can	O
also	O
be	O
used	O
as	O
a	O
vector	O
for	O
malware	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Attackers	O
generally	O
use	O
social	O
engineering	O
to	O
get	O
someone	O
to	O
put	O
a	O
media	B-General_Concept
device	O
into	O
a	O
computer	O
,	O
for	O
example	O
by	O
leaving	O
an	O
infected	O
drive	B-Device
in	O
a	O
busy	O
location	O
,	O
from	O
which	O
someone	O
may	O
pick	O
up	O
the	O
device	O
and	O
put	O
it	O
into	O
their	O
computer	O
to	O
find	O
its	O
contents	O
,	O
such	O
an	O
attack	O
is	O
known	O
as	O
baiting	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
One	O
example	O
of	O
malware	O
that	O
propagates	O
through	O
removable	B-Device
media	I-Device
such	O
as	O
USB	B-Protocol
flash	O
drives	O
is	O
Stuxnet	O
,	O
which	O
caused	O
significant	O
damage	O
to	O
Iran	O
's	O
nuclear	O
program	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
risk	O
from	O
an	O
attack	O
like	O
this	O
can	O
be	O
reduced	O
by	O
automatically	O
scanning	O
media	B-General_Concept
for	O
malware	O
and	O
prohibiting	O
users	O
from	O
attempting	O
to	O
access	O
the	O
contents	O
of	O
removable	B-Device
media	I-Device
of	O
unknown	O
origin	O
.	O
</s>
