If you happen to be in the throes of an “arctic vortex” it may be difficult to believe but, spring will come. It always does. Often, though, it brings with it tumultuous weather events which can create chaos in your office. Whether you work remotely from home or in a downtown office, power surges, floods, and the other hazards of spring weather can destroy your computer and the data it contains. Before the crocuses and daffodils bloom, make an investment in your data to protect it from loss.
Surge Protectors
At minimum, you owe it to your data to protect your computer with one of these inexpensive devices. They resemble all other electric power strips, but operate in the same way your bathroom ground fault circuit interrupter, GFCI, outlet does. If there is a sudden rush of electric current, the device shuts itself down and keeps the electric current away from your electronics. These are not foolproof, but they are a step in the right direction.
Battery Backup Units
For an investment of something just shy of $100, you can buy a battery back-up unit which is designed to continue to supply your computer with power when the electricity stops flowing for whatever reason. This gives you the opportunity to shutdown your computer properly and to avoid abrupt, out-of-sequence shut downs which can cause damage and data loss.
External Drives
Since backing up your data is the only solid way to preserve your precious files, it makes sense to have a system in place to regularly save your data to an external drive. Whether this drive is another computer on your office network or a simple thumb-drive, backing your data up regularly is essential. Remember, you don’t need a fire or flood to cause your computer to fail. All computers will fail eventually and data can be permanently lost. Back it up. Back it up. Back it up.
Hard Drive Backup Services
Online hard drive backup services are more prevalent now than ever. These services require you to sign up and pay a fairly nominal fee to have your hard drive and its data saved ‘in the cloud’ where it will be available to you in case of a catastrophic loss. A simple web search will net you pages of such services some of which are free. Don’t forget to read the reviews before you sign up, though.
Last Resorts
If, in spite of these safety measures, your computer fails and your data seems to be forever lost, don’t simply give up. There are an increasing number of reliable data recovery companies all around the country that can probably retrieve your “lost data” for a reasonable price. Remember, even when you ‘delete’ files from your computer, the information remains on the hard drive – just watch any real-life crime program on television. It’s all in there; you simply need to find somebody with digital forensics skills to get it back out again.
Please take one or more of these steps today to safeguard your information from permanent hard drive data loss. It’s just so easy to take your computer and its data storage duties for granted. Don’t.