Tag Archives: back up

World Back Up Day: Five Tips for choosing a Cloud Storage Provider

Billions of people use the Internet every day. We use it to work, play, create and share memories. World Back Up Day is an annual reminder to protect our most precious files from being lost forever.

After all, what would you miss if you lost everything?

Cloud based back up services are incredibly cost effective and most allow you to access your files from anywhere in the world.

So if you’re ready to celebrate World Back Up Day, I have five tips on how you can pick a secure cloud storage service.

Is it for business or personal use?

There are plenty of free options, before you trust a service with your personal or critical business files you should make sure it is reliable and secure.

What type of files are you storing and why?
Different cloud services offer various features and options that might suite your particular need. For example video or photos back up.

What level of encryption do they offer?

Does the cloud storage service offer encryption? If the provider is hacked, your data will be vulnerable. If the provider don’t provide encryption then you should consider encrypting it yourself before you upload.

Are there additional security features?
If possible, use additional security features like two-factor authentication and login notifications to help prevent unwanted breaches.

Do you have adequate backups?
Don’t rely on a single backup, especially for your critical files. You should also backup regularly.

 

Until next World Back Up Day, stay safe out there.

Stop what you’re doing and back up your work

Today, we celebrate World Backup Day with a reminder of how important it is to back up our data.

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Data loss can occur when least expected, and it’s a shame that so many irreplaceable digital memories are lost. For businesses, it can be costly – the kind of costs that can close the doors!

So take the pledge today, and then get busy.

“I solemnly swear to back up my important documents and precious memories on March 31st.”

What is a backup?

A backup is a second (and sometimes third) copy of all your important files — for example, your family photos, home videos, documents and emails. It’s not something you do once a year and forget about; a good backup plan will be continuous and include multiple layers to not only recover your data but also include steps for data preservation.

The rule of thumb for backing up is

  • 3 copies of anything you care about – Two isn’t enough if it’s important.
  • 2 different formats – Example: Dropbox + DVDs or Hard Drive + Memory Stick or CD + Crash Plan, or more
  • 1 off-site backup – If the house burns down, how will you get your memories back?

Experts advise that you store two copies of your files in external storage media. That can be a local drive on your computer, an external hard drive, you could print documents, burn a DVD, etc. You can backup important files or your entire computer. Another copy should be kept off-site. Many people use an “online drive” like Drop Box or Google Drive. “Cloud” backups are great for people who want to keep only their most important documents safe because there is usually only a certain amount of storage that’s free.

Don’t forget to back up the data on your mobile devices

Thirty seven percent of respondents we surveyed said they do not back up their data. Don’t wait until your device is lost or destroyed – today is the day to do your first backup!

If you have an Android mobile phone or tablet, install our free Avast Mobile Backup to back up your contacts, call logs, SMS text messages, and other data to your Avast account or Google Drive.