When was the last time you checked the amount of data that is stored on your devices ? This includes the data residing on your PC, smartphones and tablets. The amount of data is HUGE and it becomes very important to have a Data Backup in place. Today we are going to discuss why data backup is so important and the various things that you need to do to ensure that your data is safe.
What is data backup and why is it important ?
In simple word, to take a backup means to generate a copy of any sort of data i.e. a process of data replication. You can store this replicated data in different types of media. A data backup protects your content from any sort of data loss situations. It can be a hardware failure, a virus attack or an accidental deletion. If you have a recovery or a backup plan in place, it is easy for you to get back your data. We all know that loosing an important file due to a software crash may be disastrous. If you have a data backup in place, you can easily recover your data
How to ensure the safety of your data ?
1) Data backup on external media as well as the cloud
Data backup on an external media, for example an external hard drive is a very common practice. But the external media is not 100% safe. There are always chances of hardware failures because of physical damage. Uploading data on the cloud also has its downside. You need to have a good internet bandwidth and there is always a threat to security. We all know about the latest iCloud hack. So, it is better to backup your data both on an external media as well as on the cloud.
2) Use password protection for critical data
You should always make sure that the data containing sensitive information is kept under password protection. There are a lot of encryption tools available that can be used for this purpose. You can also zip the files with password protection. Make sure that the password contains a combination of upper and lower case alphabets, numbers and symbols. Try to make the password as strong as possible.
3) Don’t let your computer get infected
Virus infections can be very dangerous. It not only compromises your sensitive data, but can cause data corruption. Make sure that you have a good antivirus installed on your computer. Always scan your computer before taking a backup. You don’t want a virus corrupting your backed up data
4) Keep your OS and data on separate partitions
You should always install the OS on a dedicated partition of your hard drive. Let’s say that the OS is affected by a virus and you have your critical documents in the same partition. The virus has resulted in a software failure and the only recovery left is to format the partition and perform a clean install. Your data will be lost in such situations. That’s the reason it is advisable to keep your OS and data on separate partitions. Also, as mentioned above make sure the backup is done proactively on an external media and the cloud.
5) Always verify the data backup
You should always make it a point to verify your backed up data. This way you are sure that the backup is being done in a correct manner and all the files that you want to back up are in order. It is always a good idea to label your backup with date and time as well. This ensures in a smooth data recovery
That pretty much sums up data backup and how you can ensure the safety of your data. Do let us know your thoughts in the comment section below.