Protecting Your Computer's Precious Data

Backing up your computer data is not just something you ought to do someday--it's a task to do on the first or second day of owning your computer. In essence, it is an absolute must--a requirement. Although few people think about losing computer data forever, the reality is it can and does happen every day.

---Problems with Not Backing Up
Think for a minute about what kind of information your computer holds. For most, the list is vast and varied. Lengthy documents for work, multiple updates of your resume, perhaps an inventory of all the furniture you own. Most likely, you have your personal financial information in some form on your computer. Music, audio books, and pod casts that have been loaded on MP3 players are other common types of data stored on computers.

But for many people, the virtual mother lode of important computer stash is pictures and video images. The vast majority of people who store those images on their computers do not make hard copies of them. Therefore, those precious images of you, your friends, and family members could disappear forever. Your wedding, the birth of your child, baby's first steps, finishing your first triathlon--the images of all those events in your life that cannot be duplicated could be gone in a second. And the really scary fact is they may be unable to be recovered or ever seen again.

---How Data Loss Occurs
According to the U.S. Department of Commerce and Pepperdine University's David M. Smith, Ph. D., data loss occurs in the following ways:

1--Hardware failure. A computer crash, for example, can occur without warning. Also, computer malfunction can cause problems. In either case, you are unable to access your data. Some or all of your information could be lost through these events.

2--Human error. People make mistakes. Perhaps, you are carrying your laptop, and you drop it. Or, you are working with something heavy above your computer and it falls from your hands, damaging the computer. Such mistakes can destroy precious data.

3--Software corruption. Receiving an error message that says a file is corrupt or cannot be accessed means data may be lost. After all, glitches do happen.

4--Computer viruses. Viruses can cause great damage to computers that results in loss of valuable information.

5--Theft. Burglaries, laptops left in vehicles, and break-ins can all result in the theft of computers. In those situations, you would lose all your data.

6--Hardware destruction. For example, think natural disasters--tornadoes, hurricanes, and rain storms. Another unthinkable way to lose computer data is in a house fire. The fact is that computer hardware does get destroyed by unexpected events.

---Protecting Your Data to Prevent Loss
How can you make sure that you don't lose your data? Actually, backing up your information is your security that you will not lose your data, no matter what happens to your computer. Backing up means you are making a second copy of everything stored on your computer. Ideally, if you work daily on your computer, backing up daily--at least your critical data--is recommended. Of course, the more often you back up the data, the more updated the backup data will be, in the event your data is lost.

---Methods to Back Up Data
1--Computer software programs. Some software allows you to back up data to CDs or DVDs, or even to external drives.

2--USB thumb drives can be easily utilized to store critical data files when you want to back them up.

3--External hard drives provide storage for your data. They can even be set to automatically back up daily files chosen by you, providing continuous data protection.

4--Tape drives, also external to your hard drive, can be used to store large amounts of data and when archiving is necessary.

5--Online storage vaults offer valuable storage of your data online. Think of it as a place you go on the internet to store your extra copies, like a bank safety deposit box. Secure online storage is particularly helpful if you have a computer crash where your computer is completely inoperable.

6--Diskettes, CDs and DVDs can be used to back up your critical data. However, this method may be tedious if you are backing up large amounts of data. The advantage, of course, is that you will have all your backed up data in your hands, should your computer fail or get damaged.

---Summary
Because of the many problems that can occur with your computer, it is imperative to protect yourself from potential data loss. Take proactive steps to assure your precious data will be available when you want it. You will be glad that you did.