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Most people have important information on their computers. I mean, that is the nature of the beast after all. It could be tax returns, contact information, or personal photos. It might be your old university papers, your design portfolio, or chapters from the book you write in secret every night while your family thinks you are on Facebook.
Regardless of the nature of the data on your computer, one thing is clear: It matters to you. And that means you need to back it up. And the best of way of doing that is via the cloud.
Because regardless of whether your computer is brand new or a decade old, regardless of whether it’s a laptop or desktop, regardless of whether you have a love-love or a love-hate relationship with it – stuff happens. Computers break down, get infected, stop working, are dowsed with water, fall off the shelf, get stolen, are victims of electrical surges, and more.
It’s bad enough having your computer fizzle and die, but think of the level of catastrophe if all the information that you have stored on it kicks the bucket too?!
That’s where online backup comes into the picture. Online backup is the #1 way of ensuring that the information you store on your PC stays safe and sound, even if your computer goes kaput. It’s like taking out an insurance plan for your data. Here are 5 online backup myths you must forget about entirely. The safety of your data depends on it!
If you can use email, you can use online backup. If you can change your status on Facebook, you can use online backup. And even if you can’t do either of these tasks, you can STILL use online backup. Because it is really easy.
In fact, using online backup is easier than a lot of other things you probably do every day, like boiling pasta (got to get that salt / water ratio right), doing laundry (red sock ever sneak into the white laundry, anyone?). It works automatically, in the background, requiring absolutely no effort from you! Don’t you WISH your laundry machine was that simple!
Online backup comes free with all ZoneAlarm antivirus software, and signing up is easy. All you need to do is enter your name, username, email and password. The backup service automatically takes care of the rest, backing up your data according to your preference. You can decide what data will be backed up or let the feature handle that for you, too. The online backup service automatically backs up certain folders (Desktop, Documents, Music, Pictures and Videos), but you can personalize this selection if you wish. It also preselects a random after-hours schedule so you can decide when you want to schedule your backup, or let the tool choose the time. In other words, you can customize your backup to suit your needs or just let it work according to its own best intentions.
Of course you do! Because we all know that it’s LOVE and not money that makes the world go round. So all of those things that you LOVE (for example, favorite photos, old emails, university essays, wedding lists, and trip plans) are the things that really matter in life. And these are the things that most of us store, without a second thought, on our personal computer.
Of course, businesses needs to back up their information, too. But even if you’re not a business, if you have a computer and you use it, then you’ll want to keep the information you’ve saved on it safe and sound.
In the olden days, the safest place to store really private information was probably a safety deposit box. You bought one from a bank, put your personal treasures inside and walked away with the key. End of story.
Today, keeping personal information can be a bit more complicated than that. While storing it in a bank deposit box is an option, it certainly isn’t very practical when it comes to all the information on your computer. And while saving your information on a removable hard disk may be a good option for some data, it’s hardly the solution for everything. After all, removable disks can be misplaced, stolen, or damaged in floods or fires. They also deteriorate over time.
While it may seem counter intuitive to store private information on a cloud-based security system, it can actually be safer than storing it at home. Trustworthy cloud-based storage systems offer feature levels of security that you can’t possibly match in your own home. Data is stored in world-class data centers that have servers running 24/7, raised floors, HVAC temperature control systems, and seismically braced racks, all designed to ensure that your data is protected from the elements. They have state-of-the-art smoke detection and fire suppression systems, motion sensors, secured access, video camera surveillance and security breach alarms. In other words, unless you live in Fort Knox (and perhaps even then) your data is safer at a cloud-based data center than at your own home.
A good online backup program will not just give you a virtual location for storing your private data. It also protects the privacy of that data by giving you an encryption key. This effectively ensures that you are the only one who can access your private information. We know that the online backup we offer through ZoneAlarm comes with the highest level of safety, but if you opt for another service, do some research to make sure it has an impeccable reputation when it comes to safety.
First of all, hard drives are more susceptible to the elements than cloud-based systems. Second of all, this method only works if you actually remember to back up your files. But if you’re like this author, you remember to back up your files just like you remember to wash the car (only when it’s really dirty), clean the air conditioning vents (when the air conditioner stops working) and empty the bag on the vacuum cleaner (when the red light flashes).
In other words, we all have so many little tasks that we must remember to do all the time that adding the chore of Backing Up Your Files to the never ending list of Things To Do just doesn’t make sense. That’s why regularly scheduled online backups are the best solution for busy people.
Backing up your files may seem like a headache, but it’s really not. In fact, with reliable online backup such as the service offered with ZoneAlarm, it’s actually really easy. Moreover, it’s really important, and can save you the much bigger nuisance you might have on your hands if you DON’T back up your files (and discover one tragic day that you’ve lost them all).
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