In recent years, people have been talking more and more about how to keep the information on your computer safe. People talk a lot about back-up, archive, data storage, and security, but what does it all mean?
People keep more and more information on their computers, including photos, personal and financial information, business information, accounts, contacts, addresses, and much more.
Everyone needs to know that the information on their computer is very vulnerable and can be easily and completely lost if a part breaks, someone does something bad, or the computer is stolen. If losing the information you keep on your computer would upset you, you should take steps to keep it safe and make sure you could keep going even if someone stole it.
The only sure way to protect yourself from all the different kinds of threats is to make a copy of your important information and store it somewhere else. This is called a back-up. The information can then be put back on a computer from the safe back-up copy if it gets lost. A back up is a copy of this important data that is kept on a separate storage device, like a CD/DVD, an external tape drive, or a hard disc drive.
Obviously, a backup is only as good as the last time you made a copy of it, so it is common to make a new backup copy and overwrite the old one. How often you do this depends on how often your important information changes. If it changes a lot, you should do this more often. You can do a backup by hand by copying the data you want to back up to the media of your choice, or you can use back-up software programmes to automate the process. Back-up software lets you choose which files need to be backed up, when to make the backup, and where to save the backed-up files. The software can then remember this setup. Then, backing up your data is a pretty quick and easy process.
People often mix up "backing up" and "archiving." When you archive, you move data that is important enough to keep but no longer needed (like old photos or accounts) to a safe place outside of your computer for future use. The archived information is then taken off the main hard drive to make room.
Whether you're backing up or storing, you can record your copy on a variety of media:
Floppy or Zip Disk
A simple solution is to use a Floppy or Zip Disk drive. The problem with this method, though, is that it has very little space for recording and is not a very reliable or long-term solution.
CD or DVD that can be recorded on
This is a better long-term solution with more space if you have a CD or DVD recorder. The bad thing is that it's hard to record because you can't just drag and drop, and you have to use CDs or DVDs to record.
Depending on the software and the quality of the discs used, this type of backup can be hard to use, take a long time, and sometimes be frustrating.
When you use this method to back up your files, make sure you check the disc you put them on to make sure your computer can read it.
USB Pen Drives
Known by many other names as well USB Pen Drives are a great, low-cost way to back up smaller amounts of data and are also great for moving files from one computer to another.
USB external hard drives
Most people find that the USB external hard drive is the best way to store files for backup and storage. It is reliable, easy to set up (just plug it into your USB port), and easy to use (just drag and drop your files to be backed-up). USB external hard drives can be small enough to fit in your pocket or big enough to sit on your desk. They can hold anywhere from a few GB to 250 GB or more, which is a lot of recording space. As plug-in devices, they can be easily disconnected from your computer and put somewhere safe. Some external USB Hard Drives, like Iomega's, also come with software for backing up your files.
