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If
Disaster Strikes, Is Your Data Saved?
By
Steven Standeven
What if the tornado
warning sirens were shrieking last night and you watched red weather
bands play across the map of the city. Then today when you went to
your place of work, and found it gone, missing, vanished with
nothing but a pile of rubble in its place. What would you do?
One of the most critical but least done activities is backing up
important computer data. Backups are useful primarily for two
purposes: to restore a computer to an operational state following a
disaster (called disaster recovery) and to restore small numbers of
files after they have been accidentally deleted or corrupted.
According to AskNerd.com, 75% of all computers use some form of
virus protection, but only 3% use a file back up program?
Would you be able to recover your digital business records from a
tornado, flood, fire, or computer virus? Remember, you not only need
to backup your data, you need to store it in a safe place. If your
backup was at your office, it went the same way as the PC, mouse,
and keyboard when the storm cleared out your office.
Securing your digital data is simple and can be accomplished in a
few minutes. It isn’t very expensive.
First identify your important files. To make backing up easier,
organize your documents into folders, under a few main files. Once
this is done, all you need to do is copy the main files. Make the
backup process a recurring scheduled activity—daily or weekly, at
the same time.
There are several options for computer backup: saving to a CD or
DVD, using a backup hard drive, or using an Internet backup service.
You can easily search the Internet and come up with many good
options. Here are a few resources to get you started:
Easy Instructions:
How do I backup my computer files at AskNerd.com
Disk-burning
software:
Sells for $50-$150. Burn all your files onto CDs or DVDs.
Check your local computer store.
Do it yourself Internet backup services:
Sells for as low as $10-20 per month.
XDrive.com
Data Deposit Box
Backup hard drive products:
Store-It All - found at
Pexagontech.com
My Book - found at
WesternDigital.com
Planning for
emergencies or computer crashes is not fun and does not immediately
contribute to your bottom line. But if and when something unforeseen
happens, not having that plan could eliminate your bottom line
entirely.
______________________
Steven Standeven is the
technical/business consultant at The Edge Connection and has worked
in the IT field for a variety of leasing companies for more than 24
years. As an entrepreneur, he is co-owner of Realize Your Dreams,
offering retirement coaching (the non-financial side of retirement
planning). |
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