Backups? When was the last time you backed up?

Thursday 19 May 2016 07 am

Unfortunately we see the effects of this all the time! We get out on site and find that the hard drive on someone’s computer, the magnetic storage unit spinning at 7200rpm, has failed. At this point people often become distraught and we have to calm them down because they have lost months of work or a nasty virus has corrupted or encrypted all photos of their kids growing up.

Recovering data can be expensive and in some cases impossible. The best way to recover lost data is from most recent backups.

What is a backup?

To put it simply, a backup is a second copy of your data in a different place. The biggest mistake people make is moving their data to external hard drives, network storage devices or the slightly more effective RAID drive. None of these options are backups, and in all of these scenarios, there is a high chance of losing everything when your computer fails you.

COPY your data, and ensure that you have your data in more than one place at any given time. Here are two good do-it-yourself backup solutions.

• Keep a copy of your data on your computer AND on an external hard drive. Update these backups regularly. We recommend two external hard drives in this case, as you can keep a regular backup on your external hard drive, and then swap the external hard drive weekly to a friend or relatives house.
• Backup to the cloud. Subscribe to a cloud based storage service like OneDrive or DropBox and set your computer up to sync your files to the service. This will keep a copy on your computer, and a copy in the cloud. It is important to be careful of commercially sensitive information by encrypting your data and using a strong password which you can change from time to time, particularly if you have sensitive information you would not want in the wrong hands.

Can Smart M8 help you with a recommended backup solution tailored to your requirements? Yes we can. We have several options available to all levels of users from home computer, small offices and large enterprise networks. Contact our friendly team on Free Call 1 800 770 868.

For regular tip and tricks from your local Smart M8 team, Follow us on Facebook: http://fb.com/smartm8

We have used SmartM8’s services on a number of occasions and can’t recommend them highly enough. They are fast, efficient, friendly, extremely knowledgeable and very well priced. – Dave & Linda, Torbreck