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Nearly everyone knows of or has heard about someone whose computer
crashed. It's a frightening and frustrating experience. The loss is
usually very personal - family pictures, financial files, email
records, dozens of programs, and more.
That person probably thought that it couldnt or wouldn't happen to them until
it did.
Computer crashes for businesses can be even more devastating. Many
times smaller businesses rely on just a few computers, each possibly
dedicated to specific tasks. Crashes could involve losses of
customer lists, sales records, inventory data, product data bases,
even personal records of employees.
Recovery from losses such as these can be accomplished if backup
policies are established and followed. Technology today makes backup
relatively easy. Sometimes so easy that there's little or no excuse for
not being proactive.
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A computers
hard drive can crash for any number of reasons. The issue is to be
prepared if and when it happens.
It is not hard to put a backup system in place. When you buy most
laptops these days, they come with free backup for one or two years.
Every file is stored elsewhere for easy retrieval should you lose
it. There are two ways of backing up computer files: online or
software programs.
Backup Software ProgramsBarracuda, symantec, and Norton are popular programs for
installation on a home or desktop business computer. You can back up your
entire hard drive or specific folders with this type of software.
And you can schedule regular backups just like any other maintenance
operation to protect your computer. The software installations are
usually intuitive and easy to follow.
You can also use these software programs to backup your files to an
external hard drive.
There is another alternative - backup off site
to an online service.
Online Backup ProgramsWith an online backup, your data is uploaded to a secure server online.
There are both free and paid services. Depending on the amount
of data you are backing up, the free plan may work fine for you.
For a business, the paid service offers unlimited data backup for a
low monthly fee and is probably a better option for the home
computer user who has accumulated a lot of files.
At the time this article was prepared, examples of online backup
programs with approximate costs included:
Mozy free up to 2GB; $4.95 per month for unlimited data
Carbonite yearly subscription of $49.95 for unlimited data
SOS Online Backup - $39.95 per year but not for home use
Fabric Ultimate Backup Home - free up to 2GB then
$5/month unlimited data
Each program offers something a little different. The advantage of an online
backup over more traditional programs is the theft-proof aspect.
In
cyberspace, your files cant be stolen.
Another major benefit is that with Carbonite, for example, your
files are being backed up nearly as fast as you create or update
them, as long as you are online. Not only that, each folder or file icon on your desktop has a
little round button attached to it that shows orange before backup
and green when it has been saved to your online account.
Use online or software options for backing up vital information
on your computer!
It gives you peace of mind in the event of a
system crash.
... Richard Rossbauerer
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