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Happy Thanksgiving from Datarecovery.com. While you are enjoying time with family and friends, the last thing you want to worry about is data loss — but we can say with certainty that some people will lose their files this weekend.
In fact, we often receive an uptick in cases around the holidays. People travel, which raises the risk of a dropped hard drive or snapped USB drive; people accidentally delete files while trying to make room for more family photos; businesses are victimized by ransomware gangs, which use the holiday season as leverage.
Appropriate data backup practices can provide proactive protection (and save you hundreds in data recovery fees). Below, we’ll outline some simple principles for data backup.
If you’ve lost data for any reason, call 1-800-237-4200 to speak with an expert or submit a case online.
The 3-2-1 Rule for Data Backup
The -3-2-1 backup strategy is the standard for a reason: It eliminates single points of failure.
- 3 Copies of Data: You should maintain your primary data plus two separate backups.
- (At Least) 2 Different Media Types: Do not store all copies on the same type of device. For example, use an external hard drive (HDD) for one copy and a cloud service for the other.
- 1 Copy Offsite: One version of your data must be geographically separated from your computer. If a fire, flood, or burglary occurs at your home or office, your local backups will be destroyed along with the original machine.
That’s it — if you follow the 3-2-1 rule, you’re in great shape.
Automate Your Backups
Human error is the leading cause of data loss. Even if you’re really, really good at setting up habits, we recommend automating your data backup software. Set it to run nightly or whenever your computer is idle.
Note: Ransomware is a significant threat during holidays when monitoring is lower. Ensure at least one of your backups is immutable or disconnected from the network when not in use.
Test Your Backups Regularly
Creating a backup is only half the battle. In our labs, we frequently encounter clients who diligently backed up their systems, only to find the files were corrupt when they finally needed them.
To that end, test your backups regularly. Pick a random file from your backup destination — a photo, a spreadsheet, or a video — and attempt to open it on a different computer.
If you’re following the 3-2-1 strategy, you don’t need to test very often; two or three times a year should be fine.
Even the Best Data Backup Strategies Fail
We emphasize backups because we want you to avoid data loss. Unfortunately, there’s no perfect strategy: Hard drives fail physically, ransomware evolves to target backups, and natural disasters can wipe out onsite redundancies.
At Datarecovery.com, we provide solutions when standard backups fail. Our engineers utilize purpose-built hardware and proprietary software to recover data from physically damaged media, corrupted RAID arrays, and encrypted systems. With our no data, no charge guarantee, you only pay if we recover what you need.
If you find yourself facing data loss this holiday season, don’t panic. Set up a ticket online or call 1-800-237-4200 to speak with an expert.
