Make March 31st Your Wake-Up Call: It’s World Backup Day! – 2/27/2024
What Is World Backup Day?
Every year on March 31st, we take a moment to highlight an essential but often overlooked task—backing up our data. Whether it’s priceless family photos, critical work documents, or essential financial records, losing files can be frustrating, costly, and even devastating. A solid backup plan ensures your files are protected and easily recoverable when the unexpected happens.
Why Backing Up Is Essential
Imagine turning on your computer only to find everything gone. Hard drive failures, accidental deletions, malware attacks, or even theft could leave you scrambling. Without a backup, recovering your files might be impossible—or come with a hefty price tag.
A proper backup system gives you peace of mind. If disaster strikes, you can restore your data quickly and get back to what matters most.
Common Ways Data Gets Lost
Losing files isn’t rare—it happens every day. Here are some of the most common reasons:
Hard Drive Failure – Even reliable drives wear out over time. Accidental Deletion – We’ve all deleted something we wish we hadn’t. Ransomware & Viruses – Malicious software can lock or destroy your files. Theft or Loss – Devices can be stolen or misplaced in an instant. Natural Disasters – Fires, floods, and power surges can cause permanent damage.
What Makes a Good Backup Plan?
A backup is only helpful if it’s reliable and up to date. Follow the 3-2-1 rule for maximum security:
✅ 3 copies of your data – one primary and two backups.
✅ 2 different storage types – like an external hard drive and cloud storage.
✅ 1 off-site backup – a copy stored somewhere safe outside your home.
Best Ways to Back Up Your Files
1. External Hard Drives
A quick and budget-friendly option. Simply plug in a drive and copy your important files. Many external drives come with software that automates the process.
2. Cloud Storage
Services like Google Drive, Dropbox, OneDrive, and iCloud provide automatic backup solutions and allow you to access files from multiple devices.
3. Full System Backup
Rather than just saving files, a full system backup preserves everything, including your operating system, programs, and settings. If your system crashes, you can restore it to its previous state effortlessly.
How Often Should You Back Up?
The frequency of backups depends on how often you create or update important files:
Casual users: Weekly backups may suffice.
Small business owners, students, or professionals: Daily backups are a safer bet.
The key is consistency—set up automatic backups so you never have to worry.
Need Help Setting Up a Backup? We’ve Got You Covered!
If you’re unsure where to start or need to upgrade your backup system, we’re here to help. From setting up automated backups to recommending the best storage options, we’ll make sure your data stays protected.
Don’t wait until it’s too late—get your backup system in place today!
📞 Call us at (651) 456-8655 or visit our Contact page to safeguard your data now.
What is the Best Way to Backup? “That will never happen to me.” We get through our lives telling ourselves the worst won’t happen to us. It’s the same with business: “We won’t need this data backup.” Yet, whatever your industry, secure, reliable backup ensures business as usual. So, what’s the best way to backup? Here’s help.
Why You Need to Backup
Business disruptions of any kind can be costly. The disaster might take one of several shapes:
Natural (e.g. wildfires, floods, earthquakes, or hurricanes)
On-site (e.g. hardware/software failure, power outage, inability to access building)
Employee driven (e.g. damaging mistakes or intentional sabotage by a disgruntled employee)
Cyber-attack (e.g. data breach, ransomware, or distributed denial of service attack).
Regardless, the best backup solution can help reduce downtime and damage.
Plan B: Approaches to Backup
There are several off-the-shelf backup options your business can use. Let’s consider the pros and cons of the most popular ones.
USB Thumb Drives — Also known as “flash drives,” “pen drives,” or “memory sticks,” these thumb-sized devices are compact and portable. But, they have size limitations compared to hard drives. Also, the mobility makes them easy to lose (which can actually set the disaster scenario in motion).
Additionally, a USB thumb drive is robust when not plugged in, but more vulnerable when attached. If someone inadvertently snaps the drive or employs too much force, they can put the data on that backup at risk.
The cheap ones also tend to be slow, which can make backing up sluggish.
USB Hard Drives — Portable hard drives increase the data storage available, often at a decent price. They are designed to be compact and mobile. You can prioritize durability, processing speed, storage volumes and more.
Hard drives are less likely to get damaged than a thumb drive. If knocked or jostled, the cables are flexible. Still, a hard drive can be prone to physical failure. Selecting an external solid slate drive (SSD) can help since it has no moving parts. Information is stored instead in microchips.
Cloud Storage — Backing up to the cloud stores data on an external, secure server. If thieves take your computers and USB backup, you can still access your data on the cloud. Cloud storage providers build in redundancy to ensure your backup remains safe.
Most cloud storage services back up to secure centers with thousands of servers storing data. Oh, and they’ll have their own server backups too, just in case they’re the ones hit by a disaster. The providers also encrypt data during transit to further ensure compliance and security.
Migrating to a third-party cloud storage service also cuts the clutter at your premises. You can count on expert help to ensure security and compliance. Plus, you can cut operational costs by offloading in-house storage or external hard drive expenses.
OK, What’s the Best Answer?
Don’t think disaster won’t strike your business. Research has found data loss and downtime are most often caused by:
Hardware failures (45% of total unplanned downtime)
Loss of power (35%)
Software failure (34%)
Data corruption (24%)
External security breaches (23%)
Accidental user error (20%).
We recommend the 3-2-1 backup strategy. This means having 3 copies of your data. Two (2) of these would be located on different devices (e.g. on your computer and on a backup drive). The other remaining backup copy (1) would be secured offsite, in the cloud.
If your typical New Year’s resolutions lasted about 30 seconds, you’re not alone. Pledges to eat better, start running and learn how to juggle can be rebooted again next year easy enough.
This year, we challenge you to think about your tech health with some resolutions you’ll want to keep.
No More Junk Mail
Whether you checked a box agreeing to get newsletters, or you have no idea how you got on that list, it’s time to say goodbye. Start by emptying your mailbox to zero unread messages – no you don’t have to read all that spam – you have permission to delete it unread. Let’s face it, if you were going to read it, you would have done so already. Away it goes.
Now that you’re starting with a clean slate and a huge feeling of accomplishment, resolve this: Each day, unsubscribe from 5-10 lists. Keep an eagle eye out for that gorgeous ‘unsubscribe’ link and click it with confidence. You don’t even need to give a reason if it redirects to a survey page. Before too long, your inbox will be a refreshing place filled only with people and businesses you look forward to hearing from.
Go Password Pro
With all these password leaks from LinkedIn, Myspace, and goodness knows who hasn’t come forward, now’s the time to get smart with your passwords. Because most people use the same passwords on every site, a single breach can be the hack that keeps on giving. You know how important it is to use different passwords for each site, but let’s be real, that’s a LOT of passwords to remember!
Instead of writing them down, we recommend using a password manager like LastPass. It remembers all your various passwords for you, so all you need to know is the super-protected master password. Master passwords are kept encrypted on your system, not theirs, and 2-factor authentication checks with you via text for all big changes.
Backup. No Really, Backup.
I’ve been meaning to backup is the cry of someone who just lost all their photos. Good intentions don’t count AT ALL in data security, because once the data is gone, it’s gone. With new cloud backup options, there’s no reason to put this off, because backup apps are now easier and more accessible than ever before. You can also backup to local drives, but this will take a little extra remembering on your part, as you’ll want to have at least one drive that stays disconnected in case of viruses.
There you have it. Three New Year’s resolutions you can easily keep, and that will make a real difference to your year. Opening your email will be a pleasure, you’ll be a spectator only in any future password leaks, and your precious files will be safe against all manner of disaster. Feels better than any diet, doesn’t it?
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