If you are like most PC users, you probably have some very treasured data stored on your computer. This could be anything from photos, music files, personal documents, scanned photos etc. If you have thought about the possibility that your PC will crash, you need to wake up NOW. If you are making regular backups of your personal computer utilizing a USB drive or even an external backup drive, then you are a bit ahead of your friends. But .. is an external drive the ideal solution to safeguard the information on your PC ?
I am here to tell you that backing up your data to an external hard drive or USB drive is definitely not the best way to protect your data.
Imagine this : A fire or natural disaster like an earthquake or tornado, or even a burglar strikes your residence it till take away both your computer and your backup device. Unless you are extremely organized and careful enoughto remove the backup device from the vicinity of your computer soon. I would imagine only a very very small percentage of people give thought to this scenario.
Come to think of it.. there is surely a better way to backup your computer – its called an online backup service.
These services lets you backup the important data on your PC to a backup server using your internet connectionon your computer. Its both secure, safe and dependable. Here are some of the important aspects of an online pc backup service :
- The data from your computer is encrypted and sent over the internet to a remote location where the data center of the service is located.
- A few backup services will even send your backup data on a DVD in case of a complete meltdown of your computer .
Here are some majore features of an online pc backup service :
So how can you be sure that only you could view your sensitive data ? The answer is encryption.
Utilizing Encryption:
The online backup service utilizes a program that encrypts your data Prior to its despatched over the internet. The encryption formula is extremely complex and you need a digital key to both encrypt and decrypt the information. The encrypted files are so secure that nobody (including the service provider) can open it. The digital key is generated by a program that is run on your computer, the backup service provides this program.
Secure communication:
In addition to encryption nearly all PC back-up providers use secure internet connections – which creates a secure tunnel through the internet to send out the computer files to the datacenter.
Actual security for the Datacenter
Wherever your data center is located is also significant. Is that location safe from natural disasters, do they backup the servers ? How is their support ? Most data centers are constructed just like a castle. They are protected by gated perimeter access, twenty-four x 7 x365 on-site security, electronic card key access, and strategically placed, monitored by securitycameras 24 hours a day.
Well these are a few of the points you need to understand and learn about backup services. There are lots more to learn to keep your data protected and accessible whenever you need. Learn about some other features as well as evaluate online backup services.
Author Tom Romano writes about technology for the rest of us.
