For several years, March 31 has been recognized for an event, World Backup Day, “a day for people to learn about the increasing role of data in our lives and the importance of regular backups.” The day was created to remind consumers that personal data needs to be saved and secured by regularly making a separate, backed-up copy of essential records and other information.
What exactly is a data backup and why is it worth having one?
According to World Backup Day’s website, “A backup is a copy of all your important files — for example, your family photos, home videos, documents and emails. Instead of storing it all in one place (like your computer or smartphone), you keep a copy of everything somewhere safe.”
The examples of files mentioned above are digital files, and they could also include many, many other types of digital information—data—music collections, legal documents (will, powers of attorney, living wills) and medical records, scans of older print documents, artwork, schoolwork, copies of materials from a job, financial account information—really almost anything that can exist in electronic format. Preserving precious memories, safeguarding highly sensitive personal and family information and protecting the value of music collections are just a few of the reasons to invest some time, effort, and money in backing up your data. Paper documents can be converted to digital versions by scanning them with a printer/photocopier or a cellphone.
Because our personal information and files are always changing, World Backup Day doesn’t mean that someone’s files should be safely copied just one day a year. The site emphasizes that rather than being an annual activity “…World Backup Day is every day! A good backup plan will be continuous and include multiple layers to not only recover your data but also include steps for data preservation.”
So how can you start backing up and securing your personal digital information?
There are a number of popular options for copying and securing data, and these are a few:
- Online (Cloud) back-up service. Several of the world's largest and most well-known software and computer hardware companies (and several smaller ones) offer online services that will automatically back up and encrypt your files and folders from a personal computer (and other devices), either at a pre-set time or continuously, and then let you access your documents from your computer, tablet or cellphone. If something should happen to your computer, if it’s lost or destroyed, you will be able download and recover your files from online storage. Many of the most popular services have a free tier of service for a limited amount of storage, then offer annual subscriptions for varying fees based on the yearly amount of data capacity you're leasing, such as 500 gigabytes (GB) or one (or more) terabytes (TB), which is 1,000 gigabytes of storage and can hold a large number of documents and other types of files.
- Local backup, with an external, encrypted back-up device. An external hard mechanical or solid-state drive, a USB flash drive or an SD memory card are a few of the most common types of portable media that can be used to back up data periodically; they are readily available from a wide variety of computer and electronics retailers. A separate, external drive is safer than having your backup stored on the same computer that is being backed up; since if the computer is lost, stolen, destroyed, or otherwise fails, then the backup is lost with the computer. Backup functions are built into some computer operating systems, and there is paid backup software—along with free versions—that will back up your data automatically to an external drive after a schedule has been set. Some typical backup schedules are continuous, hourly, weekly and monthly. The backup software can also encrypt and password-protect the backed-up data.
- Network-attached Storage (NAS). NAS is a more sophisticated local backup, where many of your home devices (such as multiple family computers) are connected to a single or combined array of backup drives that often has a wireless (wi-fi network) connection to transfer and store data. A NAS system with multiple hard drives can have greater storage capacity and possibly more data security, since there are redundant drives, and one can take over if another one fails. A NAS allows authorized users on the network, such as all—or just some—family members, to share (including storing and retrieving) stored files and folders, either just their own, or folders of shared files, such as photographs, video or music.
Think about the cost of backing data up vs. the cost not having a backup when you need it
What would be the cost of losing vital medical records, legal documents, historical family photographs and videos, or a large digital music collection? If you have only one copy of some files and your primary computer drive becomes corrupted, then some files may be completely unrecoverable. Other materials could be replaced, but likely at a far greater cost—in time, effort and money—than performing a periodic, automated backup.
Protecting data isn’t very difficult and doesn’t have to be expensive. With sophisticated, reliable backup software (some of which is available free with most key features intact), backing up important information can get close to the low-effort ideal of “set it and forget it”. For local storage, the cost of physical storage media—such as backup hard drives and solid-state drives—has gradually been decreasing, while competition among online storage subscription services has reduced prices, while also adding new account features.
Reputable software with basic features for backing up data from well-known companies can be free, but should be thoroughly researched to find legitimate options that don’t contain malware.
Can you back up for a second for some advice on data, computer and online safety?
More information on protecting yourself and your accounts—along with financial guidance—is available from free Delta Community Financial Education Center webinars on many different money-related topics. You can visit the Financial Education Center's Events & Seminars page to register for its no-cost, on-demand webinars.
Delta Community’s blog and security posts have a lot of advice on handling online personal security:
