March 31st is World Backup Day, a day dedicated to reminding us of the importance of protecting our digital lives. In today’s world, where we create and store vast amounts of data, it’s crucial to have a reliable backup system in place to ensure that our valuable information is safe from loss or damage. A photo is worth a thousand words… but a backup is worth a thousand photos.
“A good backup strategy is like an insurance policy for your digital life.”
Darren Rowse
Why Backup Matters
Backing up your data is not just about protecting against hardware failures or malware attacks; it’s also about preserving your valuable memories and important documents.
Protects against data loss: Accidental deletions, hardware failures, or malware attacks can result in significant data loss. A backup ensures that your files are safe and can be easily restored.
Keeps important documents secure: Whether it’s a birth certificate, passport, or important business documents, a backup helps protect against loss or damage due to theft, fire, or other disasters.
Provides peace of mind: Knowing that your digital life is protected gives you the freedom to focus on other important things without worrying about data loss or damage.
“No one cares about your backup; they only care if you can restore.”
Adapted from W. Curtis Preston
How to Create a Validated Backup Plan
To create a validated backup plan, follow these steps:
- Identify critical data by ensuring you have a list of the files and folders that are essential to your digital life, such as photos, documents, and important applications.
- Choose a backup method. There are various backup methods available, including local backups on an external hard drive or cloud-based backups through services like CrashPlan. Consider factors like cost, ease of use, and data security when making your choice.
- Follow the 3-2-1 Rule. This rule states that you should save three copies of your data on two different media types, with one copy saved offline/off-site. When following this rule, you can have one copy on an on-site drive folder, another on an external hard drive, and the third copy on a dedicated cloud-based backup.
- Validate your backups. To ensure that your backups are working correctly, perform a validation test period ically. This can involve restoring a small portion of your data to verify that it’s intact and accessible.
- Document your backup and recovery plan. Keep a record of your backup method, schedule, and testing results to ensure consistency and accountability.
“Backup is not about being paranoid, it’s about being prepared.”
Scott D. Lowe
World Backup Day serves as a reminder that protecting our digital lives is essential in today’s world. By creating a validated backup plan and following it consistently, you can ensure that your valuable data is safe from loss or damage.
Remember, a good backup strategy is like an insurance policy for your digital life. So don’t wait – take action today to protect your digital life!
Give Cloud Backup a Try This World Backup Day
CrashPlan automatically encrypts and backs up your computer files to our secure cloud every 15 minutes, and make it easy to restore any previous version of a file with just a few clicks. Now’s the time to try it out. All our plans come with a 14-day free trial, so you can set it up and see what you think before you even pay a cent. Check out our three plans here.
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