We Trust and Highly Recommend BOX.net for all your Online Data Backup, Storage and Access needs!

Data Loss, Backup, Security, And Recovery

What Is Data Loss?

Data loss is a big issue to businesses and individuals alike, especially those that have suffered data loss incidents. It costs American businesses alone billions of dollars every single year and is one of the biggest causes of a business going bankrupt. To an individual it can mean the loss of personal information and memories including financial information, personal letters, and family photographs. To businesses it can mean the loss of vital financial information, contact details, and ongoing work. Regardless of whether data loss happens to an individual or to a group it can be truly devastating and difficult to recover from.

Causes Of Data Loss

Data loss is typically caused by damage or erosion of physical hardware, software, or files. Hard drives may be more robust than ever before but they still contain fragile components that are potentially very easily damaged. Similarly, software and personal files can be accidentally deleted or they can become damaged or corrupt over time or through the introduction of spyware or viruses to a vulnerable system.

Prevention Or Cure?

However data loss occurs the end result is usually very damaging. Data loss can, to a large extent, be prevented through the regular creation of backups. While backing up data is not without its flaws and its possible problems it is preferable to the complete loss of information. In those cases where data loss occurs after the most recent backup it is also possible to perform data recovery in order to recover the majority or even the whole of your lost data.

Backing Up Data

Backing up data is a practice that we should become accustomed to because it can help to minimize the impact of data loss. By regularly saving work and files to a source other than your main hard drive it is possible to prepare for almost any instance of data loss. Regularly saving important files to a CD, DVD, or flash drive is both inexpensive and very simple. It's certainly a practice that can be undertaken by any computer user with any level of expertise.

Remote Backup Facilities

However, backing up data to a local source such as a CD that is kept on site is not an ideal long term solution. Another major cause of data loss is fire or natural disaster. If your computer is subject to fire, for example, and you keep your DVD backup on the same desk or even in the same building as your computer then you are likely to lose your backup as well. For this reason it is advised that users routinely make a backup that is kept off site or at a remote location. Online services exist in order to facilitate the simple and quick creation of a remote backup. Alternatively, data storage companies will store tape or other media backups at their own secure location.

Ensuring That Stored Data Is Secure

Whenever we create a backup of data for remote storage one of the most important factors is how secure that data is. Insecure data can be lost or stolen and fall into the wrong hands. It can be used, for example, to gain credit cards or bank accounts in your name or it can even be used for the purpose of identity theft. When using a remote backup it is vital that this service or location be secure.

Ensuring The Security Of Your Data

Most online backup services offer a secure server as the location for your data. Do as much research as possible into the server itself and where the server is located. No matter how secure the server is, in terms of remote access, if it is stored in an insecure environment it will be easy for unauthorized parties to gain access to the information it holds. When using a remote storage facility to store backup data it is also important to ensure that the location is as secure as possible to prevent the loss or theft of data.

Data Recovery Introduction

If the worst does happen and you lose some or all of your data then you will undoubtedly want to recover this data as quickly and painlessly as possible. Many people are surprised to learn that most instances of data loss can be reversed. Physically damaged hard drives can usually be retrieved and the necessary files removed from the source. Similarly, when files are completely deleted (even from the recycle bin on your computer) they can ordinarily be recovered and retrieved back to your computer for further use.

We Trust and Highly Recommend BOX.net for all your Online Data Backup, Storage and Access needs!

More Affordable And Accessible Than Ever Before

Data recovery has long been a practice reserved for highly experienced and specialist data recovery experts using expensive software that is difficult to obtain. Fortunately, that is not necessarily the case any longer. Software exists that is not only affordable but incredibly simple to use with many applications using a wizard type interface that Microsoft users will be more than accustomed to. These applications are available online for considerably less than you would pay a data recovery expert and they can be used over and over again.

Data Loss, Backup, And Recovery Summary

Data loss can be a real problem for individuals and for businesses alike. While backing up data is an essential practice it is often overlooked. All users are recommended to perform a CD or DVD backup of important data on a regular basis and users that keep important data on their machine are also recommended to perform a regular remote backup of data in case of fire or other disasters that would make the local storage of a disc backup impotent.

Data recovery is the final tool in the fight against data loss. Affordable and intuitive applications can be downloaded over the Internet and used to restore the vast majority of data that has been lost through whatever cause. It is unusual for data loss to be completely irreversible unless files were securely deleted using software that performs a number of overwrite passes.

Attachment too large? Use Box.net instead! Send files securely and Fast

constant-content.com | April 8th, 2008
Tags: Data Backup, data loss, Data Recovery
Categories: Data Backup

You can leave a comment, or trackback from your own site.