SAFE BACK UP

The best backup systems are usually automatic i.e, they do their job with minimum user
intervention. They are less prone to the foibles of human forgetfulness or laziness!
An interesting trend that Computer Ambulance has noticed is that most customers who
require data recovery have computer systems that are less than 24 months old. So having a
“newish” computer does not mean to say your hard disk drive will not fail, if anything a
new computer just gives the user a false sense of data security. You always must have your
data backed up. Here are some characteristics of a good back-up system:
Reliable – it can stand the test of time and will not fail you when you need it most. Good
backup systems do not require constant maintenance and should the worst happen, you
should be able to retrieve your data back quickly and painlessly.
Up-do-Date – You can have the most sophisticated back-up system in the world, but if it is
not up-to-date it can be useless to you. Murphy’s Law applies here. The files which you
worked on two weeks ago and did not back up will be the very files you will urgently need
after a crash.
Comprehensive - Your back-up system should back-up all relevant files that are important to
you. For example, a backup system that only backs up your “My Documents” folder can
leave you with the painful discovery, after a computer crash or hard drive failure, that your
emails, contacts and accounts package data files are all missing.

Easy Verifiable – You should be able to easily and quickly check the backup medium, to
make sure the backup solution is doing the job it’s supposed to do.
Portability – You should have the ability to take your back-up medium off-site for extra
security. Potential risks in any location include flood, fire, theft and power surges. For
example, if you run a small business, you should have ability to easily take your backup files
home with you.