Back Up Your Data!!

A recent article from FSecure (a leading Antivirus Software maker) quotes that over 47% of Americans do not back up their data and over 40% have lost data.   See the full article here:

http://www.f-secure.com/en_US/security/security-center/security-stories/backup.html

I have witnessed customers who have lost their data permanently due to not backing up their PC's.  It is a sobering lesson to learn yet people still do not do it.  Backing up your Valuable Data is easier than ever.  There are online options such as www.carbonite.com or www.mozy.com.   If you do not like using an online back up, there are other options for you to still back up your data.

Depending on just how much data you have to back up, you can purchase an external hard drive.  External Drives can be purchased for under $100.  Many of these will come with back up software to use.    You can also use a Flash Drive to back up extremely sensitive files such as Tax Documents, Financial Statements, School Work.  Flash Drives can hold 8 GB or more.  They are pretty cheap cost wise.  Even the family pictures could all be put onto a Flash Drive or two.    If you are doing it on your own, set a regular schedule when you will do it and stick to it.

The technology for backing up data has advanced leaps and bounds from where it used to be.  Take advantage of this new technology and back up your most sensitive data.   Do not let your small business lose all of it's records over something could have taken 5 minutes to save.  More on more of our lives are being tied into the computers we use and that makes backing up your data even more important.   Do not lose last years Tax Returns or your Contact list for your business.  Do not lose all of those recipes from Grandma.

For people that have a lot of music and movies on their PC's you should invest in an External Drive or use an online back up that can handle a large amount of storage.    Losing your collection of music and videos that take a lifetime to collect can be lost in an instant.   Back up anything you do not want to lose.

Viruses  can result in the loss of data, but usually it is Mechanical or Hardware Failure where the hard drive has crashed that causes the data to be lost.  This is the worst case scenario and results in the drive being unreadable.   Hard drives are very sensitive devices.  While there are Data Recovery places that may be able to salvage some of the data, they are usually pretty expensive for the average residential user.   There are times when a Virus causes a machine to be Wiped and Reloaded which can result in the loss of data.  However before this is done, data can usually be backed up from it before the machine is wiped clean.  Irretrievable data is usually the result of Mechanical or Hardware Failure.

The best thing you can do is to back up your important data by one means or another.  Do not be in the 47% that do not.  Losing all of your data on your PC can be devastating in many ways.  The way to prevent this is to prepare for it by doing regular back ups.

Thanks for reading and have a great rest of the week

Steve

www.zolexpc.com

Related posts:

1. Back Up Your Most Important Data
2. Signs That Your Hard Drive Might Be in Trouble