Also known as USB thumb drives or memory sticks, a USB flash drive is a typically inexpensive means of storing files on a portable medium. They’re so inexpensive, in fact, that you’ll often find them used for promotional giveaways. Although you won’t find much trouble in a search for a cheap 128GB flash drive, remember not to overlook how powerful they are. These are very useful tools that should be chosen carefully.

From SanDisk, the Cruzer Glide 128 GB USB 2.0 Flash Drive is a black device with red accents. As the name suggests, you can hold up to 128 GB of files on this thumb stick. From high-quality photos to sensitive work files, videos and much more, this thumb drive will carry it all. Not only that, but it also supports password-encryption technology to ensure maximum protection if the device is ever lost or stolen.

For something even smaller than that, check out the SanDisk Cruzer Fit CZ33 Low-Profile USB Flash Drive. Although the largest size available is 64 GB, it is a very small and compact device that won’t protrude too far out from the back of the computer or laptop it’s plugged into.

If you’re instead looking for something to fit into a digital camera or to act as extended storage for a mobile device, you’ll more likely benefit from the SanDisk Ultra 128GB Class 10 Micro SDXC Memory Card instead. Not only does this have some serious space capacity, but it runs at a blazing 48 MB per second.

Aside from being small and easy to afford, flash drives aren’t hard to use: All you must do is insert it into an available USB port to gain access to anything saved to the drive. Portable programs can be run from flash drives as well, so it’s sort of like having a personal computer in your pocket. A cheap 128GB flash drive can help you troubleshoot a computer problem, increase the speed of your operating system, or even run a different one without altering the hard drive in any way.