Important Tips to Protect Your Valuable Data

It amazes me how many people I come across who have had their hard drive fail and tell me that they have an external hard drive and they had been meaning to do a backup, but never have. Data recovery by a reputable company here in Australia starts at around the $300 mark and can cost up to $2400 or more, depending on how much difficulty is involved in getting the data off the hard drive. keep in mind when you're considering your backup strategy that there are no guarantees about recovering data from a drive that has failed, sometimes they just can't get anything back from the drive. Just about everyone has important stuff stored on their computers. These can include photos, general Microsoft Office documents, music, bookkeeping systems, etc. There is a general rule to follow that will keep your data safe, if you follow this rule your data will survive just about any catastrophe. You need to have 3 copies of your data, one on the computer and two backups. The two backups should be on two different types of media, one of which should be stored off-site. Here's the reason that I've recommended an off site copy of your data. Lets suppose that you've been really good and doing backups regularly onto an external hard drive. Now what happens if there's a fire and everything is destroyed? Or, if a thief breaks in and steals all of your computer equipment? If you have a backup off-site you have no need to worry. I recommend Carbonite for your off-site backup, because once it's configured it's simple, automated and needs very little monitoring. While I have said that your backup needs to be on two different types of media, it is also acceptable to have your backups on two portable hard drives. Then keep one at a family members home or a friends place, it will give you an excuse to go and visit them on a regular basis so that you can swap the hard drives over. With that said, you need to copy your data onto the portable drive before you go and swap it over. Otherwise you've wasted your time and money. Although the friend / relative will probably love to see you. To manage the backups you can use a number of methods, here are a list of those that will cost you money:- 1. Use a utility like Acronis True Image Home to automate the backup plus there is also an option to backup to their online vault. 2. Carbonite as mentioned above. 3. Google backup software for a huge list of utilities There are also free utilities for those who are a little more cost conscious:- 1. EASEus To-Do-Backup 2. Windows backup (it is included with most versions of Windows) 3. Google backup software free for another huge list Remember, just like in Real Estate there are three important things to protect the things on your computer that you don't want to lose, BACKUP, BACKUP, BACKUP!

Chris has been working in the Information Technology industry for over 25 years providing support to home users, micro, small and medium businesses. His web site is http://www.sortedit.com.au