Today, most people have a bunch of pictures from their vacations, stories they wrote over the years, letters from old crushes, or even some business data. In short, most people have a lot of important information on their computers. If this information were lost for any reason (accident, virus, hard disk failure), there is probably no way to get it back. So why backup your salesforce data
What to backup?
All files should be backed up regularly, but only the most important ones should be backed up often. The following list contains suggestions on what kind of data to save: Pictures Documents Emails System images (Windows 7/Vista only) Downloads Most programs Some settings Some offline webpages?
Remember that the backups should only contain your data. It is vital to backup files in their original format because otherwise, you might not read them later. It also means that all your documents, images, and music won’t be backed up automatically if you use an online backup service like Dropbox or Google Drive (because they are stored somewhere else than on your computer).
Backing up manually
The most time-consuming way of backing things up is by doing it manually. You start by saving one file into a folder and then move on to the next one until everything is saved. This procedure can be automated, however since Windows 7 by using libraries (go to ‘Computer’ -> right-click -> Properties -> ‘Advanced system settings’ -> tab ‘advanced’ -> button ‘Environmental Variables’ then click on the blue text that says ‘New…’ and name it ‘User’) which group your files together.
The simplest way to backup everything is by using Windows Backup (go to Control Panel -> System and Security -> Backup). It allows you to create an image of your whole computer, which will be saved onto an external hard disk, for example. You don’t have to worry about backing up all data every day because it does so automatically whenever your entire hard disk has been idle for at least 10 minutes. So
Backing up automatically
Suppose you want to backup all data regularly (for example, once a week), there are software solutions like ‘CrashPlan’ ready to help you. They usually cost a small amount of money, but when everything saved onto a hard disk could disappear within a second, there is no price high enough for it.
What will happen when your computer crashes?
In case your computer suddenly breaks down, all data will be lost forever because regular backups have been neglected. In the future, try not to let this happen because, according to Murphy’s Law, if something can go wrong, it actually will go wrong at some point.
Why not just save your data onto a cloud server?
This has been asked for some time now, and the answer is simple: because we don’t own it. It might be fine to store pictures on services like Dropbox while they are relatively small. Still, when you have thousands of them stored, there’s a big chance that some of them include sensitive information, and once you lose control over what kind of data is stored on the server (by law or by technical failure), it can become very risky. The only way to ensure that your data is safe is by backing it up yourself.
So what kind of backups to do?
Local backups are always preferable because they don’t rely on internet connections. If you own an external hard disk, save your data onto it now and then (when you change your computer or use your computer at home). Another good option is to buy a NAS, which stands for ‘network attached storage’. It allows you to connect all kinds of devices like printers and external hard disks directly to the network so that everyone who’s connected can access them. Setting it up is pretty complicated, but it should be no problem if there are technically skilled people in your house.
If these options aren’t convenient one way or another, consider using online backup services like CrashPlan, where your files are saved onto the company’s servers. They are encrypted before being sent, so you don’t have to worry about your data being seen by anyone else.
In this case, it is vital to backup regularly because if something goes wrong after a week, it might already be too late. If you still feel unsure about how to proceed, go for an online solution like CrashPlan, which has the added benefit that some of the money spent on it will go towards good causes (like funding research into cystic fibrosis). It might seem more expensive than just buying an external hard disk and setting up a local backup yourself, but you’ll probably never use all of its features, and some companies offer discounts if you pay for a year upfront.
What if I don’t back up my files regularly?
There are laws in some countries that state that every company is obliged to keep backups of their customers’ data for a certain time; this is why larger corporations usually spend millions of pounds on building several redundant servers to ensure that even if one crashes, other ones could take over thanks to an automatic fail. If you don’t want to miss out on such an opportunity, then make sure that everything important to you ( work-related stuff) gets backed up regularly while there is still time! Then all the time and effort you spent creating your data will be lost, and it can also become a legal issue.
In this day and age, it is unthinkable not to back up your data. The question isn’t if but how often you should do it. , Whether that means using an external hard disk, buying a NAS, or subscribing to online services that back up your stuff onto secure servers is entirely up to you – as long as you do it! Even the most careful users lose their files every once in a while, so better save them twice just to be on the safe side.
Think again! What if Dropbox gets hacked? Or Google Drive? Or One Drive? Then you have nothing to worry about? There is a very high chance that your pictures will be lost. And the worst of it is that once this happens, there’s absolutely nothing you can do about it – all state-of-the-art security measures didn’t help one bit. So whatever you do, make sure you back up your data regularly without having to rely on third party companies!
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