How to Protect Your Computer and Its Data

These days you can't be safe enough when it comes to protecting your hard work, data and the overall investment of your personal computer system. I speak from experience having worked as an IT Project Manger and learning various ways to safeguard the office server and its data, as well as helping my coworkers recover lost data on their corrupt or broken computers. I also have had the misfortune of losing an entire computer system, just a day before going away on vacation..With that in mind, it's a good idea to be prepared for the worst and make sure you have adequate backups and protection for your data.

Here are some top suggestions for keeping your PC safe:

1 - Keep Restore CD's & other important install CD's handy.
If you bought your computer from Dell, Gateway, Compaq, etc or from a major retailer (Circuit City, Best Buy, etc) then you should receive backup CD's with it. Keep these restore discs in a safe spot, you will likely need them in the event of a system failure. Its a good idea to keep cd's that came with products you use with your computer as well (from printers, digital cameras, scanners, and other hardware/software that you run on your computer).

2 - Install good Antivirus Software.
Make one of your first installs on a new computer a good anti-virus software package. Windows, AOL, and other internet service providers tout the packages that are included with their services, but I can't trust these enough to safeguard my computer from hackers, viruses and other internet fraud. I strongly recommend Trend Micro's PC-Cillin. My personal research determined it to be one of the best available packages in terms of cost and use, and the fact it does not slow your system down as much as others (Norton). It is very user friendly and allows you to go as far as to tell it which websites to block and will also safeguard your passwords and credit card numbers. There is also a free antivirus program on the internet by AVG.

View info on Trend Micro PC-Cillin here.

3 - Install Anti-Spyware Software.
A big problem with many computers these days is spyware. Spyware secretly installs itself when you are clicking around on various websites. You will be using the internet and not even realize it is attaching itself to your desktop or even your computer's root directory. Spyware can cause your system to have all sorts of problems with internet use, slower system speed and even a crash. It's best to install 2 different Anti-spyware programs to catch as much of the spyware as possible and neutralize it. They are generally free, and I recommend Spybot, Ad-Aware by Lavasoft and Microsoft's new Beta Defender. All of these are free, with Ad-Aware also offering a premium version for a cost.

4 - Invest in a backup harddrive and UPS Battery Backup.
An external harddrive can be very valuable in terms of backing up your important data. There is also a way to install Windows onto an external Hard-drive, so in essence you could use it to even bootup and run your computer. External harddrives can cost anywhere from $99 and up, depending on the size of storage you need. I have found a 160 gigabyte hard drive to be adequate for me now, but have heard of people using larger ones up to terrabytes in size. It all depends on how much data you need to backup.

(* In addition make sure your computer has a CD/DVD burner and a floppy disk drive. These can be used by the PC to create backup discs or boot discs to help repair/recover your system.)

The UPS Battery backup is another essential. It will allow you to safeguard your equipment by plugging them into this "power strip" which remains powered for a short time during a power-outage. This allows you to shut down your computer safely, and prevents a surge from wiping out your system.

5 - Get to know your computer's restore program & backup services.
Windows offers a free backup program on their site called "Sync Toy" which allows users to easily set up & schedule periodic backups of certain files to destinations of their choice. For example you could tell it to backup your folder called "Important Documents" every Friday to your external hard drive. The program can then duplicate that folder each week, or even compare the folders and only backup the files you've changed. It's very handy and a great idea, and best of all its free to download and use. Sync Toy for Windows Xp

Windows also has a powerful feature called "System Restore". Periodically your computer will create "Restore points" and save the info. In the case of certain computer problems, it will be possible to restore your computer to the way it was as of the "Restore point". To find out more about this feature, check out System Restore info at Microsoft.com

6 - Just buy a MAC.
No this wasn't an advertisement for MAC/Apple computers, but after working in an all MAC environment, I learned just how much less these computers are hit by viruses, spyware and system problems. No computer is perfect, but MACs appear safe for the time being from malicious events such as hacking and viruses.

These days we do so much with our computers, from research to playing music, to recording videos, creating artwork and other projects. The saddest day can be losing all of that hard work, or all of the money that went into buying those mp3's. It's best to be prepared, and safely ensure you wont lose your computer and its data (as well as your mind) by following the above steps.