As our daily lives, work, and social interaction continue to shift to electronic means, the importance of the security of information on our computer systems continues to increase exponentially. Study material, personal credentials, family photos, work assignments, and a lot of stuff are all stored on our computers, be it laptops or desktops.
A recent nightmare, a colleague faced, where data mysteriously disappeared and the computer prompted “the hard disk has developed bad sectors” led to us researching various ways that we can keep our information and content intact. We have listed them out and explained a bit about each. Most of these are pretty simple to ensure and hold regardless of whether you use Windows, Mac, or Linux.
1. Online Backup
There are several available options for creating a backup of your entire system online. You can either avail of certain free [or paid] services based on your preference. Most antivirus programs, like Norton, provide free online backup with the purchase of antivirus software. Some of these are even preinstalled on the systems we purchase whilst we regard them as bloatware.
2. Cloud Storage
Major cloud storage companies such as Google, Dropbox, Apple, and Microsoft are providing ample free storage with options for extending it even further with payment plans that range from just a few dollars. Even the free options are sufficient in most cases to store vital documents, credentials, and to an extent, even photos & videos.
3. File History
Windows has a fairly new feature in its current offerings which is called File History. Connect an external drive and create a complete file history of your computer from time to time. This means that even if your system gets damaged, you always have the option of rolling back to the old state where you had your beloved data with you.
4. Disk Health Check
It makes sense to check the health of your disk regularly. This way you will be notified of any possible hazards without having to lose any information that you might regret at a later stage.
5. Sharing Data
It’s always good to keep a spare external hard disk, even if it is of a smaller capacity. You can manually copy and update the crucial data at regular intervals so that even in the event of loss, you still have a copy of the most important stuff. Another way of going about this is to keep a copy of the files on another system if confidentiality isn’t a prime concern.
6. Emails
Contrary to popular belief, emails can be used for more things other than Facebook Sign-up or winning huge inherited amounts from Africa. You can track threads, conversations, and data from long ago whether it was work or play.
That’s it for now. We think these are the easiest and safest ways to secure your data. Was this helpful to you? Or do you think there’s any more that can be added? Do share with us. Keep the community spirit alive. Cheers!!
