How Safe Is Your DATA?

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What would you do if you switched your computer ...
morning, only to see an error message and to findthat some of your ... files had become ...
Youmay no longer be able to open som What would you do if you switched your computer ontomorrow morning, only to see an error message and to findthat some of your important files had become corrupted? Youmay no longer be able to open some files - or, even worse,files might have gone missing without a trace.Welcome to the world of data loss!If you rely on your computer, then this would be a totaldisaster. If you run any kind of web site or online business,things would get worse before they got better.Imagine losing your entire ezine subscriber base.
Need I saymore? Backing up your data on a regular basis is not anoption, but a necessity - for the sake of both your businessand your sanity.Consider the following statistics, which show the mostcommon reasons for data loss:42% Mechanical Failure34% Human Error15% Software Failure6% Viruses3% Natural Disaster(Statistics taken from The Security News)Repeat out loud: Backup, backup, backup!!Now that you've got the message, you'll need to know how togo about backing up your data. There are several optionsavailable, but for the purpose of this article I want toconcentrate on the different methods of online backupavailable over the internet.Basically, there are two types of online backup services.
Withthe first, once you have downloaded the software and installedit on your PC you just connect to the backup provider's serverand away you go. Just select the files you want backed upand then transfer them over the internet, rather like using FTPto upload your web pages to your web host.This option usually entails a monthly fee of anywhere from$5-$20.
The software is easy to use, and restoring your files isjust as simple as backing them up in the first place. You canback up as many files as you wish and even your entire PC ifyou like, although this will take quite some time.If the worst happened and you lost everything, you could justrestore all of your files back onto your computer.
As this maytake a while, some services will provide you with a CDcontaining everything you have backed up, though often thereis an extra charge of about $20 for this.The second option is to use a web-based backup service. You cando this from your browser window and, as with web-basede-mail, you have access to your files from any computer withan internet connection.
This kind of service will generallyprovide you with 10-20 MB of file space and is most often free.You can't back up quite as much using this system, but if youjust need to back up the odd file or two, then this could be thebest option for you.Top Tips For Backup:- Know where your important files are located.- Keep your backup disks safe.- Keep several copies of important data.- Store disks in different locations.- Decide on a backup schedule and stick to it.- START TODAY. Remember, it's better to be safe than sorry!- Replace backup disks regularly.The following are a number of different backup services.
Havea look through the list - you should find something that workswell for you. Remember the key is in having a simple systemand putting it into practice.Repeat out loud: Backup, backup, backup!!Connectedhttp://www.connected.comFreeDrivehttp://www.freedrive.comX Drivehttp://www.xdrive.comDrivewayhttp://www.driveway.comMaxisafehttp://www.maxisafe.comManaged Storagehttp://www.sgii.comE-storehttp://www.e-stor.net@Backuphttp://www.backup.comStoreActivehttp://www.storactive.netBackUpNethttp://www.backupnet.comeVault.comhttp://www.evault.comMySpacehttp://www.freediskspace.com Source: Free Articles from ArticlesFactory.com .