Data Backup

One of the foundational things we preach in cyber Security, whether for business or personal information, is to back up you data regularly. There’s nothing worse than losing precious family pictures, finances, or even that job proposal you worked so hard on.
*This tip is for your PERSONAL data only. NOT NMHS data, if you are unsure if your work information is currently being backed up contact us.*First you must decide if you want to backup and store your information locally or on the web (Cloud). There are pros and cons to both.

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Let’s say you want to go with your information backed up LOCALLY here’s what you’ll need:

  1. An external harddrive. These can be bought locally at Walmart, Target, any computer store, or online. They vary in price but are inexpensive nowadays. You can get a 1TB drive (which will store a LOT of information) for around $30
  2. You can manually click and drag your information to the hard drive each month but I recommend a backup software so you can automate the process. “Personal Backup” (FREE) is a good choice because it is easy to setup and use, let’s you automate your computer backup, and the really cool feature it doesn’t duplicate files. It checks to see if the file has been changed and only backs up new or changed file.

Personal Backup Software (Free)

http://download.cnet.com/Personal-Backup-64-bit/3000-2242_4-75864351.html

Let’s say you choose instead to store your backup data in the CLOUD (basically on the web) here’s what you’ll need

  1. Choose a cloud provider. There are literally thousands. Below is a list of sites which have been reviewed and give a short detail of each.
  2. Some provide the option of automating the process others do not. Most have a fee but are minimal for the amount of space you get.

Cloud Services

http://pcsupport.about.com/od/maintenance/tp/online_backup_services.htm

Either option is good, you should decide what works best for you and your family.