With so much of our lives, photos, and videos being stored in digital form, it is important that we begin to make backups of our precious data. Ask yourself, if something went wrong today, what would you lose forever? Backing up your data is one of those easy-to-do procedures that many people ignore. Better Business Bureau (BBB) Serving Western Virginia offers simple tips to help mark off your digital spring-cleaning checklist.
According to Domo, over 53,646 gigabytes of data are created by each person on Earth during 2020. Yet only 1 in 4 people make a regular backup of their data. Unfortunately, nearly 30 percent of people have never even backed up their data. March 31st has been declared World Backup Day to encourage taking precautionary measures by following some simple, proactive steps that go a long way in safeguarding your information against any number of potentially disruptive issues. These troublesome issues such as identity theft, loss of funds, or credit card fraud can cause mayhem by compromising your data. And for small business owners, a data backup can be what saves your company.
Alarming statistics of data loss:
83% of people own a computer
More than 60,000 home computers will fail worldwide this year
89% of people own a mobile phone
More than 200,000 smartphones are lost or stolen every year
1 in 10 computers is infected with a virus each month
113 phones are lost or stolen every minute
29% of data loss are caused by accident, so you might not have any control over whether you lose data
“We all know someone who has lost critical data, whether it was videos, photos, music, book reports, or personal documents, says Julie Wheeler, president and CEO of BBB Serving Western Virginia. “Hopefully this day will make everyone think about their situation, learn about the various options, and get their files backed up.”
BBBs nationwide partnered with National Cyber Security Alliance (NCSA) and are encouraging people to check off a few items from the Digital Spring Cleaning Checklist:
Lock Down Your Login: Security is critical to protecting accounts being used for work and for home. Ensure passphrases for each account are lengthy, unique, and safely stored. Enable 2-factor authentication on all accounts that offer it.
Update Your System and Software: Avoid procrastination! Having the most current software, web browsers, and operating systems are some of the easiest and fastest ways to protect your most sensitive assets.
Back It Up: Protect your personal and workplace data by making electronic copies – or backups – of your most important files. Use the 3-2-1 rule to help guide you: 3 backup copies, 2 different media types, 1 offline in a separate location.
Clean Up Your Online Presence: When was the last time you used all the apps on your phone or tablet? Do you know what the settings are on all the social media accounts that check-in with friends and family? These are questions to ask and settings to review while checking these accounts. Then, control your role by making sure you have administrative access to your online accounts. Keep all of your passwords private.
Be careful What You Share: Quizzes are fun and keeping in touch is a necessity these days. However, watch out for apps and questions that might give away too much information about you, your location, or your family.
Did you know that protecting your identity is largely in your own hands? Many identity theft victims can trace the theft to something that was stolen from their own possession. BBB has a few guidelines to help safely dispose of electronically stored data.
How to Backup:
Backing up is easy. Once set up, your data should be backing up automatically. There are two main types of backup solutions, local and cloud storage.
Local backup – An external hard drive that can be easily retrieved at home.
How to connect an external hard drive to Windows
How to connect an external hard drive to Mac
Cloud/offsite backup – An online backup service or hard drive securely placed in a different location
Examples: OneDrive, Dropbox, Google Drive, iCloud, Amazon Cloud Drive
Businesses can also participate in World Backup Day. If you are working in a business:
Tell your bosses & colleagues about the importance of data backups
Check your backup procedures & restores to make sure everything is up-to-date and working
If don’t have one, consider creating a company data backup & continuity plan
