The most difficult thing is the decision to act, the rest is merely tenacity. —Amelia Earhart
Déjà vu? Remember last month when I told you about the horrors of hard drive recovery? We had another distress call in February. This time the data recovery process was complicated by the sensitivity of the data. Apparently, if you are working with sensitive data you are not allowed to send your failed hard drive to just any data recovery specialist. And you might need permission from all the people in your database to even start the recovery process. Getting permission is near impossible when the only copy of the data is on a dead hard drive. So, if you missed last months newsletter about how to do a backup, I would suggest you scroll down to the previous post: No Backup? No Problem! Posted on February 7.
If you are good with keeping current backups, then I would also remind you to check the backup occasionally. Automating backups is a true life saver but if the automation goes wonky it is no better than no backup. Assuming, the backup is good, I suggest doing a sample restore occasionally. You don’t need to do a full restore, just pick a file or two and restore to a new location (so you don’t overwrite the existing files). Having done a practice restore a time or twice, will also give you confidence, if and when the time comes for you to do a real life restore.
Other things that crossed my desk last month:
https://haveibeenpwned.com/ Have I been Pawned? Type in your email address and this site will list the data breaches and what personal information has been exposed for your email address. The rule of thumb is: if your email address has been exposed, it is a good idea to change passwords. Which is a real pain in the rear, and brings us to the second thing that crossed my desk last month:
https://www.dashlane.com/ DashLane is a password manager, form filler, digital wallet and more. It’s free for use on a single device and for $40/year it will sync your passwords across multiple devices. It has some wonderful features, one of which is the ability to change passwords at multiple sites. It also allows you to share select passwords and give emergency access to someone you trust.
In the past I have recommended LastPass. Available at: www.lastpass.com. It has similar features and is less expensive at $24/year. Both platforms have business editions as well.
That’s all for this month. If you need a good belly laugh watch this 10 second video of a toddler feeding a pigeon: https://youtu.be/T9JudgrUsEI. If you need assistance protecting your data, call Comp-U-Talk. (541-756-8770)
Keeping the New Year Happy!!
Janet
Because it made me laugh:
