Making one or more backups of your data is a security whatever happens. No one is safe from a blow of fate. Better to be warned. The act of taking precautions is not a guarantee in itself. However, this greatly reduces the severity of the consequences.

What problem could arise?

A hardware or system failure

Your computer will not switch on. Nothing. The time to find a solution and repair, you no longer access your data. And the data will not necessarily be recoverable.

Contamination

Your computer has been contaminated with a Worm, a Trojan, a Virus …. It must be completely decontaminated and reformatted. Or a Ransomware has taken hostage your data and demands a ransom to make you access … eventually. So you no longer access your data at all, unless there is a miracle.

Your device is damaged, destroyed or stolen

An accident happened so quickly. A gesture too fast or awkward, the device falls and breaks. It is also possible that the place where you are staying is the victim of a burglary or even a fire. You no longer have access to your data.

What data to back up?

1.Your personal data

First of all, be sure to back up your personal data, such as your documents, images, videos and music. Be sure to make backups regularly. The more your backups are up to date, the less loss will be.

2. Your Programs

Then also make a copy of your usual and specific software in executable format (.exe) such as for example, Autocad, Adobe Photoshop, MS Office, Corel Draw … etc. Don’t forget to enter the serial numbers and installation keys in a text file (.txt).

So now if you are on the move and you happen to have a “glitch”, you will then have everything in hand to reinstall or have reinstalled the necessary programs.

Where to make your backups?

  1. Make it a habit to back up your files to an external hard drive.
  2. Make then a copy of it on a cloud that belongs to you. I chose the option of a server at a IT specialist in Switzerland, who ensures the proper functioning.
  3. You can us Dropbox, GoogleDrive, or OneDrive, for the daily use of non-sensitive files like for example, for documents you are currently working on.

Here too, if anything happens to your device, your external hard drive will have preserved your data. And if it should also be out of service, you would still have the cloud to find your data.

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