Protecting your data

Dear friends and clients,

Often the data on our computers is our most precious asset  - just think of all the e-mails, the documents, the spreadsheets, the accounting data, pictures and even the music files that live there. Not to mention the time and trouble we have invested getting all our software installed and properly configured, the countless updates that have been downloaded - Imagine trying to recreate all of that! Take it from one who has experienced it - it takes weeks of hard work. Much of it is irreplaceable! So how do we safeguard this precious resource? Since both hardware and software are involved, a multiple-tier solution works best.

Antivirus
 
Every computer needs a good, up-to-date antivirus package, since an unchecked virus can strip your hard drive or damage your boot sector in seconds! You can not rely on your service provider to catch every virus – and sometimes an infection can be picked up just by visiting a malicious website. Install and regularly update a good Antivirus software package.

Antispyware
 
Spyware differs from virus infection in that it doesn’t seek to damage your data - It wants to steal your identity, log your keystrokes, hijack your browser, and perform malicious and underhand actions on your computer - often without you knowing it. While antivirus packages will catch some of this activity, dedicated AntiSpyware software working together with your Antivirus software is a safer approach. While free software like MS Defender offers some protection, dedicated commercial packages are more thorough.

Backup

Of course, none of this will help if your PC crashes, gets damaged or is stolen - Then it’s all gone. So proper backup is a necessity. And backup should also take two forms:

• Data – This refers to the files and documents that YOU produce, including e-mail, word-processed documents, spreadsheets, etc. These change daily, and are constantly added to and updated. For this you need an automatic, scheduled backup system, backing up to removable media that can be swopped daily and kept offsite

• System - Your hard drive structure, program installations, etc. These don’t change so frequently, but should still be backed up in a secure, portable way. We recommend external hard drives as an efficient and practical solution. Mirroring software will make automated ‘images’ of your entire hard drive, so that a crashed system can be restored exactly as it was – including all installed programs.
  A word on software – Dedicated backup software does all the hard work for you – It schedules regular backups, remembers what has already been backed up, ensures that even the slightest change is not forgotten, and good software can even back up open files that are always in use.
  Network

So far we have been discussing strategies applicable to standalone computers. If you have a network, you need to take a different approach. Best practice dictates that users on a network should store all their data on the network server, and portable backups of this critical machine should be scheduled daily. This is often not as simple as it sounds, since programs like Microsoft Outlook save all their information to a single file, and then bury this data file several folders deep on the local PC on which Outlook is installed - moving these data files to the server is a job best left to professionals.

Data on a server should reside on a separate hard drive from the system files – and should be backed up separately too.
Laptops that connect to a network occasionally are better off storing data locally, for easy access when away from the network connection. But offline folders can allow even laptop users to back up their data on the server if necessary.

Where to back up

So far so good - once you have decided to implement a backup schedule, the next question is - To where do you back up? In principle, a backup must always be done to a separate location from the data being backed up. There are several choices:

• CD or DVD - A good choice when the backup set is small, typically less than 4.5Gb. Media are cheap and easily portable. But optical burning can be tricky, and discs are fragile.

• FTP or Online - Again best for smallish data sets, there are several companies that offer online backup storage. Secure and convenient, but can be extremely slow, and often expensive.

• Network location - Backing up to a location on your network costs nothing, but is only as secure as your site and often needs specialised software.

• Removable or external hard drive - For larger capacity and high speed, these are a good solution. Use cheaper flashdrives for data up to 4Gb in size. Alternate two or more drives, always keeping one offsite. Also works best with dedicated backup software

 
Take your precious data seriously – you may only realize how important it is after it’s gone. Have your systems assessed, and choose the right tools for the job. Leave the management of your systems to us – ensure that your valuable data assets are professionally protected.

Call now to plan a backup strategy for YOUR data.