The Importance of Regular Data Backups: Protecting Your Data from Disaster

Today data can sometimes be a more valuable asset than money, gold, or other physical items. We create, store, and use both personal sensitive data and corporate documents and highly rely on them. Unfortunately, digitally stored data can also be lost due to hardware and software failures, natural disasters, hacker attacks, or even human mistakes. As we make copies of physical documents in order not to lose them, we can make copies or backups of our digital assets as well. So, let’s check out how to guarantee the integrity of your personal information and give a second life to your data if it is lost.

What Is Data Backup

Data backup is an archive that contains digital information and is stored separately on another PC, mobile device, HDD, or even in the cloud. It is needed to provide a complete copy of your information if the original data is lost or damaged.

Data backup can have a form of a file or even the whole database and be stored on a local device or remotely. You can make a backup with special software offered by various manufacturers, transfer data just on the USB flash drive, or send it automatically to the cloud according to a set schedule. Read more to find out what types it can be and what can b eleven more important than just creating a data backup. 

What Types of Backup to Choose

Before starting to make a back up you need to figure out what type of backup you need. There are three of them: 

• Full Backup. It is a complete copy of all data, files, and folders and it is a guaranteed best type of backup if you make it for the first time. Though it requires the most storage space and time to create, you will have a comprehensive backup copy of all your information. We recommend making a full backup periodically within a certain period of time or after some significant changes in stored data. 
• Incremental Backup. This type of backing up your data may suit you when you’ve already made a backup before and have some changes in the stored data. With an incremental backup only the new updated data that has changed since the last backup will be copied. As a result, you will need less free space and less time to make a backup compared to a full one. This kind of backup is recommended to do daily or weekly.
• Differential Backup. This is similar to an incremental type of backup. the Only difference is that it copies all the data that has changed since the last full backup. So it requires less free space than a full backup, but more than an incremental backup. The best practice is to do this type of backup weekly or monthly.

Ways to Make Data Backups

Great, we’ve figured out what backup is and what types it can be. But how to make it? Where to store these regular backup files? Here are the available options.

Cloud-Based Backups

Cloud-based backup is the first option to store backups available. You can easily copy your data to cloud storage and reliably store it there. All major services provide an extra layer of protection like encryption and password minimizing the risk of data being accessed by unauthorized parties. There is a myriad of services that allow you to reach your backup files remotely like Google Drive, iCloud, or Dropbox. You can store and share data from anywhere with an internet connection. And with its seeming convenience, it brings the main drawback - if you have no internet connection you will not be able to access your data.  

Local Backups

Local backup is a rather popular type of backup in areas with limited internet connectivity. It means a copy of your data stored on your PC, laptop, mobile phone, or hard drive. As a result, you can have control over your data whenever you need it, and sometimes even at a more reasonable price than cloud-based backup. But the main drawback is that this type of backup is vulnerable to physical impact and it can be stolen, lost, or damaged.  

Backups to Removable Storage Devices

And the last method to make a backup is to save all your data on a USB drive or SD card. In this case, your storage device is portable and easy to use. It is less expensive than cloud-based or local backup but it requires more manual work and can be not as reliable as other methods. It can be also lost or damaged and doesn’t provide any kind of encryption or security protection.

How to Protect the Security and Integrity of Backed-Up Data

When you’ve made a copy of sensitive data and have chosen one of the methods mentioned above, you’ve come to the main part - how to store this backed-up data securely. Here are some steps you can take to protect your data from unauthorized access or accidental loss.

1. Use Encryption. This will guarantee that unauthorized parties will not be able to have access to your data. You can use flash drives with hardware encryption or protect your backup with encryption offered by cloud services.
2. Use Password Protection. Choose a strong password or generate it with special tools and protect the backup with it. You can set up a password on an archive file or on your flash drive. In this case, it will be impossible to get access to your backup file on the flash drive. Some cloud-based backup solutions offer to use two-factor authentication, which also adds an extra layer of protection to your data.
3. Use Physical Security Measures. If you're using a USB drive or SD card to back up your data, just keep it in a secure place to minimize the risk of loss. If you are using local storage to keep your backup file, don’t forget to lock your PC or mobile device.
4. Test Your Backups. Once you’ve made a backup file it is important to check its performance from time to time. This will help you to ensure that they're working correctly and that you can restore your data if needed. If you use a cloud-based service and automatic update, check out the settings to guarantee that you have the latest backup version.
5. Have Multiple Copies of Your Backups. The best practice is to create multiple copies of your backup. This will help you not to lose your data if one backup is lost or damaged, or in the case of natural disasters.

Conclusion

To sum up, backing up your data is one of the main methods to keep the integrity and access to your data. But what’s more important is to securely protect this backup file from third parties and unpredictable circumstances. Luckily there are various methods to do this, from encryption to passwords and multiple copies.