The smallest good deed is better than the grandest good intention. -Duguet
February is here. January resolutions are gone. I had an epiphany concerning my resolution to lose weight. It’s my mother’s fault! During my growing up years, she would hand me stuff and say “keep track of this”. Or give me stuff and say “don’t lose this” or “hang on to this”. I’ve been nurtured since childhood to keep this weight! I have to “hang on to it” and “take care of it”. So I’m blaming my mother! That’s my story and I’m sticking with it! (Which is also my mother’s fault.)
And speaking of hanging onto things: How are you hanging onto your data? There are several ways:
1. Create and Pray – Unfortunately, this is more common than it should be. This is the belief that you created it and it will be okay. No additional action is necessary.
2. Local File Backup – This is much better. This copies your most precious files and photos to an external backup drive that hopefully, you are detaching from the computer when the backup is complete.
3. Local File Backup with Offsite Storage– This adds an extra step to option two above. When the local backup is complete, you take the external drive to a secondary location protecting you against fire and theft.
4. Disaster Recovery – This automates the protection of your data. First, it backs up the entire computer, including all programs (ie: Word/Excel/Quickbooks) not just the documents and pictures. Second, it puts is on a timer. It can backup once a day, or several times per day (as frequently as every 15 minutes) Third, it pushes it to a secure data center in a different state. Fourth, if your computer is lost, stolen, ransomed, or otherwise becomes unusable, the backup can be virtualized.
What is virtualization? Virtualization allows us to turn the last good backup into a functional computer that is accessed via the internet. We call this working in the “cloud” . Don’t let working in the cloud freak you out. Your data is only accessible by you. It is fully protected with encryption. This is considered a Security Best Practice.
Benefits of Virtualization:
1. If your physical machine goes kaput (a word my mother taught me) you can be “back up” and running in hours, instead of days.
2. If your backup is current and complete, you don’t need to worry about paying ransoms.
3. It provides peace of mind concerning computer theft, computer failure, accidental or malicious file deletion.
4. Cyber Security Insurance Policies love to see Disaster Recovery Plans in place.
5. It’s affordable. Pricing starts at $40/month and configuration/setup is free during the month of February. Give me a call and we can get your computer protected ASAP.
Stay Safe,
Stay Healthy!
~Janet
Because It Made Me Laugh – And I Really Can’t Blame It On My Mother!
