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Back That Drive Up

Why You Need Back Up Your Data

Don’t wait until something happens to your computer to worry about the safety of your data

Did you know that every time you enjoy an unsweetened oat milk double mocha in the general vicinity of your beloved computer, you also swing a glittering red cape in front of the Grim Data Reaper? And it’s not just sweet, delicious liquid that poses a threat to your irreplaceable data–drives fail, machines get dropped and jostled, scammers encrypt and hold your data ransom (see: Atlanta, city of), the power goes out, natural disasters wreak havoc, exes get vengeful…The list goes on, but since you’re an intelligent human being who’s already interested in backing up your data, we’ll get to the point: data loss isn’t a question of if, but when.

At this point, you might be saying to yourself, “Why are these data recovery experts advising me to back up my data? Wouldn’t it be easier for them to shoot themselves in the foot while hurling stacks of Benjamins at passersby?” And while it’s true that our customers DO pay us to recover the data they lost after a wild night of hot tea consumption, we’d much rather they not lose that data in the first place because – here’s the kicker – are you ready? – data recovery is never a guarantee. Sometimes the physical parts are beyond repair; sometimes the chips that control your data get corrupted; sometimes, sometimes, sometimes. And why put something so vital at the mercy of sometimes?

So, because we know that you don’t actually want to re-inflate your resume, attempt to fill the void of missing family photos with stick figure drawings and/or extensive therapy, or rewrite your bildungsroman, we’d like to offer some free advice, though we do accept Baked Goods of Gratitude and Bitcoin.

The Different Heads of the Backup Hydra

First (and second) things first: there are two types of backup. The first is a local backup, which is an external hard drive that you connect to your computer. While these backups can be convenient and cost-effective, they are vulnerable to the same vagaries that threaten your source data, even if you take the extra precaution of running programs to ensure regular backups. Theft, natural disasters, hardware failure, inadvertent unplugging and the like can damage or even nullify a local backup, leaving you bereft of those precious pictures from Fluffy’s puppy years.

The second type of backup is an online, or cloud-based, backup. “But what about my privacy?” you exclaim. “Facebook already exploits my proclivity for Precious Moments dolls repainted to look like Lord of the Rings characters. I don’t want them to go digging around my family reunion album and start marketing Kentucky-made BBQ sauce to me during times of emotional crisis.” We understand! We do. Most of us in this crowded humanity clown car would love to pump the brakes on our way down to People as Productville. However, any cloud-based backup service worth its weight in cryptocurrency…converted to gold… will encrypt your data in transit and during storage; some even integrate the same blockchain technology used by Bitcoin, thereby securing it further.

But which of these two options is best for you? How best to protect your files, your memories, your life as stored in 0s and 1s? We say “why choose?” The most hardened data loss survivors would even go a backup farther and recommend the 3-2-1 rule: 3 copies of anything you care about, 2 different formats, and 1 off-site backup. You know the saying: There are 2 kinds of people–people who backup their computers, and people who have never lost everything. We’re here to ensure a third kind of person: she who has never known the pain of irretrievable data, and never will.

How We Can Help

And now that you’ve had a crash course – pun intended – on the near-inevitability of loss, what can you do to protect your data and, by extension, your heart? Well, you certainly can Google around for a cloud-based back-up service that sounds amenable, and set up a local backup as well. But if you’d feel more comfortable leaving the sanctity of your data to experts, give us a call at (805) 564-3273 or e-mail us here. We’re offering a discount on comprehensive back-up services through the end of May, and we’d love to save you untold thousands in future data recovery costs (say it with me: data recovery is never a guarantee!) and Jungian Analysis wherein your lost data recurs as an unslayable dragon and you, a swordless knight.