Back Up Your Data Regularly

Challenge

Backups are essential. Your hard drive could fail, you could lose your device, it could be stolen, or you could get a malware infection that takes your files hostage. You could lose your papers, personal or work-related spreadsheets, artwork, music, emails, personal records, and anything else you created, purchased, or stored on your computer or device. Backups are essential.

So how do you backup your data securely?

Solutions

Follow a Backup Strategy

• Select a backup location or media (USB flash drive, external hard drive, or online file storage service).
• For University data, use Storage Service for the University Community.
• For your personal data, Amazon, Crashplan, Dropbox, or iCloud, among others, are good cloud solutions.
• Protect the backup with a password or encryption if the data is private or sensitive.
• Schedule the frequency of backups based on criticality.
• Periodically test to confirm your backups are retrievable.

Do not store the backup media in the same location as the computer or device that is backed up.