| Is your carefully backed up data ready for a house | | | | It needn't be difficult. For example you might just burn |
| fire? | | | | an extra backup CD every so often and give it to a |
| You probably already understand the importance of | | | | friend or family member. |
| backing up and even encrypting your sensitive data. | | | | As perhaps another example, say your spouse |
| And while losing your data is bad, having your sensitive | | | | operates a business where you maintain the computer |
| personal data in the hands of a thief can be even | | | | equipment. Consider using two identical external USB |
| worse. | | | | drives such that the computers at both your home and |
| So by now you're keeping your data safe by backing | | | | the business each have one. Every night each |
| up regularly and keeping those backups in a safe | | | | machine backs up normally to its external drive. Then, |
| place, right? | | | | every so often just swap the external drives - take |
| And your safe place is... in your house? Which is the | | | | the one at home to work, and take the one at work |
| same safe place you keep your computer? | | | | back home. That way not only is your home data |
| What happens to all your backups and computers if | | | | backed up off-site (at your business), but the |
| your house burns to the ground? Or a flood damages | | | | business's data is also backed up off-site (at your |
| everything? Or a mudslide buries it in goo? Or an | | | | home)! |
| earthquake levels it? | | | | Using on-line backup services in addition to your routine |
| We don't like to think about those scenarios, but it's | | | | in-house backup might be an additional alternative for |
| important that we do. | | | | perhaps more limited amounts of data. In addition to |
| The bottom line that results from thinking about those | | | | being available after a catastrophe, these are also |
| situations is simply that just backing up isn' t enough. | | | | often convenient ways to access backed up files |
| Copies of backups also need to be stored | | | | from any location even when there's no problem at all. |
| somewhere else - in a different physical location than | | | | Whatever your solution, you need to have a disaster |
| your computer. Should the worst ever happen, you'll still | | | | plan that takes this extreme level of potential loss into |
| have your data safely backed up. | | | | account. |
| Backed up, somewhere else, that is. | | | | Especially if your business depends on it. |