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Data Hoards, Time to Backup!  

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In a perfect world, we would not have system failures, data corruption and situations where data was simply deleted. The golden age of computing is upon us where people have generated a tremendous amount of data doing everyday things such as taking photos, collecting a music library of MP3s, or simply downloading stuff from the internet. Some data we may value more than others, but as bad habits go we usually keep everything until we get the message “YOUR SYSTEM IS FULL”. It’s natural that we all hoard data – some we are aware of and some we simply don’t know where it came from. It somehow got stored on our hard drives by way of downloading and or after we just installed something on our computers. Either case, the data will sit there growing and growing.

We all know that this is not a perfect world and our computers will fail, heck we may decide to delete a bunch of folders not realizing what we may want was in there. Time to do backups!

There is a plethora of backup devices today at your local Best Buy, Staples, and online stores. They come in forms of ready to backup external USB drives starting at under $100bucks, USB memory sticks that have lots of storage space, SD and MicroSD cards. All these can be purchased and ready to back up your data at just about any large retail store.

On the other end of the spectrum, there are the device-less backup services that can simply back up your data over the internet—all securely of course. You probably have heard of iCloud that came with the iPhone you just purchase, you may have heard of GoogleDrive, Carbonite, Mozy Pro, and even ITAnywhere Vault! All these are backup services that can back up just about any type of data you have generated on your computers and devices. You just need to simply install some small software package from them and begin the count down. 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 !  Backup sequence has started. Besides making it easy, pricing is also great as well.   Cost can range anywhere between a few bucks a month to $30 and up for more storage and recovery features.   There are business grade options as well if you are running a small business.

In the end, we ask all ask the basic question:  what is your data worth to you?   The simple answer is that all data is worth everything when we need it.   Go ahead spend a few bucks and have a piece of mind that you have a copy of this data secured somewhere.  Do cheap out and don’t forget to back up because it’s going to cost you a lot more than just money in the long run.

3 Top Ways Businesses are Protecting Data in a Cloud-Driven World

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dataprotectFor any business today, data protection is a top priority. Whether this is through safeguarding against viruses and hacking attempts or ensuring all files and applications are safely backed up on a regular basis, it’s important to have procedures in place. Here are some of the top things every business should consider when safeguarding data in today’s cloud-driven business environment.

Cloud Services

Third-party cloud providers are giving businesses a new choice when it comes to data storage and security. For a small monthly fee, a business can send all or part of its operations to the cloud, where files can be accessed from any internet-connected device, including smartphones and tablets. Services like Dropbox and Carbonite automate the backup process, ensuring every time a file is updated, that updated version is synced to the cloud.

Data Destruction Procedures

Every piece of equipment a business uses has a shelf life. When it’s time to retire a PC or smartphone, you’re probably faced with a dilemma. Even if you take every effort to erase all of the files on a device, how can you be sure something won’t remain? Through using applications like KillDisk or procedures such as degaussing, you can make sure your hard drives are completely erased. If you are disposing of a tablet or smartphone, you’ll want to remove any SIM and micro SD cards to prevent data from falling into the wrong hands.

Intrusion Protection

Even if you’ve taken every measure possible to protect your data, savvy hackers may find a way into your enterprise through your server or one of your devices. It’s important to ensure your firewalls and virus protections are operating at optimum capacity, with regular updates and cross-checks. You should also implement strict password standards for your employees to prevent someone from getting in by guessing a password.

Data protection is one of the most important issues facing business today. By taking a few steps to ensure you’re protected, your business can prevent a data breach or loss of important files and keep customer information safe.