Just a short newsletter this month, what, with holidays, a home move and a recent surge in windows 10 related repairs! I have barely had time to get keyboard to LCD…

At the end of this sentence, please stop reading this email, grab a pen and paper and write down exactly how you are backing up your data.

So, how’s that paper looking? Hopefully you’ve got 50 lines detailing exactly how each of your devices, computers, phones, tablets, camera’s are being backed up, right? No? Don’t panic, but do be concerned, making a data backup, in my opinion should go right to the top of your to do list. If, however, you’re happy with your backup plan, knowing your data is safe in the event of disaster, here are some relaxing sounds LINK so sit back and relax for five minutes and think about nothing.

You can now pin that paper to the wall as a constant reminder how well, or not, your backing up your precious data…!

This issue has been highlighted to us many times in the past couple of weeks, either through, encryption virus and ransomware, spillages on laptops, accidental deletion or just sudden breakdown, we have had to break the bad news to several customers that their precious pictures or documents have been lost, possibly permanently.

For those without a backup plan or if you want to just improve on what you’re already doing here are a few practical things that you can implement today.

Copy and Paste

Possibly the easiest way to backup, though far from perfect.  Find yourself a memory stick or external hard drive and copy then pastes your precious files to the stick, bear in mind size constraints. Keep the disk in a draw, don’t use it for anything else…! Do this once a month/week/day..!

Semi-Automated Local Backup

Apple Mac’s offer a built in backup tool called Time Machine, it is pretty easy to set up. Just buy yourself an external disk, with at least the same storage capacity as your computer’s hard drive, though large is probably better. Plug it in to your mac, launch Time Machine from the System Preferences and follow the on screen instructions. (Be aware, if it is the first time using the disk on a Mac your computer may need to ‘Format / Erase’ the hard drive to set it up.

Windows 7,8,10 computers offer built in a built in backup tool as well, it’s called Windows File History. It can be found through clicking the Start Menu > Settings > Update & Security > Backup (when you have plugged in an external drive it will be offered here in the menu, follow the onscreen instructions to start backing up.

Cloud Synchronisation

Many of you may be familiar with services such as Dropbox, OneDrive, Google Drive, iCloud Drive et al… the list goes on… These services provide buy means of an account and a small installed program a way to store files, photo’s etc online and keep them synchronised on multiple computers. In the event that one of your devices breaks or is lost you can retrieve your files on another device or buy logging in to your account through any internet connected machine. These services are quite easy to use, however the free access come with limited storage capacity unless you pay for the premium services.

Online Backup (Cold Storage)

Another type of online backup, constantly uploads your data to the cloud keeping it safe this is not the same as cloud syncing, online backup tends to be slower to access, but offer higher storage capacity for your money, and also protects from accidental changes such as making a change to a document that will be synchronised across all connected computers. Have a look here LINK for one of these types of backup.

If you are worried about your backup plan and want some help setting up a synchronisation service. We are now offering 45min training sessions here in the shop. Prices are £29.99 for 45min: give us a call on 01442 800126 or fill out this ‘contact us form’ for availability and bookings.