Security Tips: Backup Your Data

Sooner or later you will accidentally delete a file that you didn't intend to delete or, your disk drive will go bad. The best way to protect yourself from such an unfortunate event is to make backup copies of your data regularly. The more documents you create and the more frequently you make changes to your documents, the more often you should make backup copies of them.

The simplest way to make a backup is to copy your documents from one folder to another. However, this will not help you if your disk drive goes bad or your computer is stolen. It is better to copy your documents to another hard drive or to some other type of storage media (such as CDROM or Flash drive). You can save some storage space by compressing your backup files with a utility such as WINZIP or GZIP.

Windows comes with a greatly improved backup and restore utility that is much simpler to use than previous versions. Other vendors also provide backup and restore programs for Windows and for Mac OSX. These backup programs can compress the backup files and write them to CD/DVD-ROM, tape drives or to another hard drive.

It is best to backup the entire hard drive at a regularly scheduled time. Store your backups away from the computer in another room or in another building. Keep them locked up and out of sight. Sensitive and confidential data should be encrypted before backing up.

See also:

• CERT Coordination Center Home Network Security