Offsite data backups are centrally important to your file protection strategy.
Take a moment and think about it. What is the most important part of the computer
in front of you? It's the data, the data you've created as a computer user. You
can buy a new desktop or a new laptop, you can reinstall operating systems and software,
but you can't recreate the data easily and sometimes you can't recreate it at all.
Some of your data is not only important, from a backup point of view, it's also sensitive from a security point of view. You don't want to lose your files and you don't want to anyone to read them. Whether you are aware of it or not your computer most likely contains data that is sensitive or can easily give someone access to your sensitive data.
In order to help people become more aware of some of the steps they can take to make their files and sensitive data more secure we put together a list of five important ideas you should be aware of when it comes to your data.
Some of your data is not only important, from a backup point of view, it's also sensitive from a security point of view. You don't want to lose your files and you don't want to anyone to read them. Whether you are aware of it or not your computer most likely contains data that is sensitive or can easily give someone access to your sensitive data.
In order to help people become more aware of some of the steps they can take to make their files and sensitive data more secure we put together a list of five important ideas you should be aware of when it comes to your data.
1: Backup Your Data Often
The simplest and most important step you can take to prevent data loss it to make backups
of your data at regular intervals. The interval of time between backups depends on how
much data you have and how often it changes. There are a lot of things to consider when
backing up your data we've listed a few important ones below and how our offsite data backup
service ByteArmor may be able to help you.
a. Are you backing up your data to a different location on the same computer?
Possible Benefits:
Backing up data to a different location on the same computer can help prevent accidental deletion but won't help you if the system crashes or if a virus infects your computer. In both cases you may lose data.
How the ByteArmor Offsite Backup Service Can Help:
Our offsite backup service, ByteArmor, allows you to easily backup your files to a secure cloud, where it will reside in a safe data center, giving some piece-of-mind.
Backing up data to a different location on the same computer can help prevent accidental deletion but won't help you if the system crashes or if a virus infects your computer. In both cases you may lose data.
How the ByteArmor Offsite Backup Service Can Help:
Our offsite backup service, ByteArmor, allows you to easily backup your files to a secure cloud, where it will reside in a safe data center, giving some piece-of-mind.
b. Are you backing up your data to a type of media, optical, magnetic or other?
Possible Benefits:
Backing up your data to media, whether magnetic or optical, is generally a good idea. The media can be stored and accessed as you see fit. We should mention however that some forms of media have a shelf life and can become corrupted.
Possible Drawbacks:
Optical media such as CDs and DVDs can become scratched, cracked, or otherwise damaged resulting in data loss. Magnetic tapes can become corrupted in storage or if the tape is exposed to a strong magnet of some kind. Furthermore, magnetic media usually requires a specific type of hardware, namely the same tape backup system that wrote the tape, to read the tape.
How the ByteArmor Offsite Backup Service Can Help:
If your data is important to you, you may want to think about storing it on a type of media that you can't accidentally throw out, won't be destroyed by a scratch, a crack, or a magnet. The best media to use? Why the internet of course. Our offsite backup service, ByteArmor, stores your data securely in a data center. You'll never have to worry about losing your data again.
Backing up your data to media, whether magnetic or optical, is generally a good idea. The media can be stored and accessed as you see fit. We should mention however that some forms of media have a shelf life and can become corrupted.
Possible Drawbacks:
Optical media such as CDs and DVDs can become scratched, cracked, or otherwise damaged resulting in data loss. Magnetic tapes can become corrupted in storage or if the tape is exposed to a strong magnet of some kind. Furthermore, magnetic media usually requires a specific type of hardware, namely the same tape backup system that wrote the tape, to read the tape.
How the ByteArmor Offsite Backup Service Can Help:
If your data is important to you, you may want to think about storing it on a type of media that you can't accidentally throw out, won't be destroyed by a scratch, a crack, or a magnet. The best media to use? Why the internet of course. Our offsite backup service, ByteArmor, stores your data securely in a data center. You'll never have to worry about losing your data again.
c. Are you backing up your data to an external drive of some kind?
Possible Benefits:
If you're backing your data up to an external drive pat yourself on the back you have taken a step in the right direction. External drives or USB thumb drives are great for making backups of your data. You can copy over just the files you need and external drives these days offer a huge amount of storage space.
Possible Drawbacks:
The main problem with external drives and USB thumb drives is that they are small, can easily be lost or stolen, and often times are subjected to stresses or strains you normally wouldn't want your data involved in. Think about it, if you dropped your external drive chances are you'd lose some data if not all of it. If you misplaced your USB thumb drive, well consider all your files gone forever. Furthermore, both of these forms of backup expose your data to possible theft so unless you encrypt your files or password protect them you stand a chance of having your sensitive data exposed.
How the ByteArmor Offsite Backup Service Can Help:
The offsite data backup service, ByteArmor, sends your data encrypted across the internet and stores it encrypted in a secure data center. You can't drop it, lose it, or destroy it and you can access it from any computer with internet access.
If you're backing your data up to an external drive pat yourself on the back you have taken a step in the right direction. External drives or USB thumb drives are great for making backups of your data. You can copy over just the files you need and external drives these days offer a huge amount of storage space.
Possible Drawbacks:
The main problem with external drives and USB thumb drives is that they are small, can easily be lost or stolen, and often times are subjected to stresses or strains you normally wouldn't want your data involved in. Think about it, if you dropped your external drive chances are you'd lose some data if not all of it. If you misplaced your USB thumb drive, well consider all your files gone forever. Furthermore, both of these forms of backup expose your data to possible theft so unless you encrypt your files or password protect them you stand a chance of having your sensitive data exposed.
How the ByteArmor Offsite Backup Service Can Help:
The offsite data backup service, ByteArmor, sends your data encrypted across the internet and stores it encrypted in a secure data center. You can't drop it, lose it, or destroy it and you can access it from any computer with internet access.
d. Are you backing up your data in an encrypted format?
Possible Benefits:
If you're backing up your data in an encrypted form you are doing the right thing. Encrypting your data can deter and or prevent unwanted used from viewing your data. So instead of someone opening up a word document with all your passwords all they get is a password prompt or an error because your encrypted file cannot be accessed.
How the ByteArmor Offsite Backup Service Can Help:
We believe all transmitted data should be encrypted and all stored data should be encrypted, that's why we only send your data across the internet in an encrypted form and all data stored by the ByteArmor offsite backup service is encrypted with enhanced AES 256 encryption.
If you're backing up your data in an encrypted form you are doing the right thing. Encrypting your data can deter and or prevent unwanted used from viewing your data. So instead of someone opening up a word document with all your passwords all they get is a password prompt or an error because your encrypted file cannot be accessed.
How the ByteArmor Offsite Backup Service Can Help:
We believe all transmitted data should be encrypted and all stored data should be encrypted, that's why we only send your data across the internet in an encrypted form and all data stored by the ByteArmor offsite backup service is encrypted with enhanced AES 256 encryption.
e. How available is the data you've backed up?
All different kinds of backups are good, if your backing up data your on the right track.
That doesn't mean that all kinds of data backups are the same. The ByteArmor offsite backup
service can be accessed through a web browser from any computer connected to the internet, that's
something your DVD backup can't do.
2: Use File Level and Share Level Security
If you share your data with other people on your network or if you use a computer that other
people have access to you need to look into file security and network share security.
The following article is a great explanation of how to add security settings to your files. You can apply the information in this article to your documents that have sensitive information. You can apply the knowledge from this article can be applied to Windows Vista and Windows 7.
File Permissions Article
This article is describes the basics of adding security to network shares. You can easily follow the article and apply its knowledge to any shared folders you have on your computer. You can apply the knowledge from this article can be applied to Windows Vista and Windows 7.
Network Shares Article
How the ByteArmor Offsite Backup Service Can Help:
You can easily share files using the ByteArmor offsite backup service. ByteArmor support two subscription services you can utilize to share files with others. The file sharing service allows you to share your files with another ByteArmor user. The file publication service allows you to send download links to your published file. You can control access by setting the expiration date of the link.
The following article is a great explanation of how to add security settings to your files. You can apply the information in this article to your documents that have sensitive information. You can apply the knowledge from this article can be applied to Windows Vista and Windows 7.
File Permissions Article
This article is describes the basics of adding security to network shares. You can easily follow the article and apply its knowledge to any shared folders you have on your computer. You can apply the knowledge from this article can be applied to Windows Vista and Windows 7.
Network Shares Article
How the ByteArmor Offsite Backup Service Can Help:
You can easily share files using the ByteArmor offsite backup service. ByteArmor support two subscription services you can utilize to share files with others. The file sharing service allows you to share your files with another ByteArmor user. The file publication service allows you to send download links to your published file. You can control access by setting the expiration date of the link.
3: Secure Your Documents
Most productivity applications offer some security in the form of password protection and/or encryption.
Take advantage of these offering when working with sensitive data because they can help deter most users
from casually viewing your important information.
How the ByteArmor Offsite Backup Service Can Help:
Your ByteArmor account is password protected. All the files you transfer to the offsite backup service are protected by your login information. Furthermore, all data transferred to our offsite backup service is encrypted as well as all data stored by the ByteArmor service.
How the ByteArmor Offsite Backup Service Can Help:
Your ByteArmor account is password protected. All the files you transfer to the offsite backup service are protected by your login information. Furthermore, all data transferred to our offsite backup service is encrypted as well as all data stored by the ByteArmor service.
4: Secure Your Wireless Network!!!
Wireless networks are all over the place these days. They are useful, affordable and easy to setup.
The problem is they aren't very secure. If you use a wireless network at home or at the office you
must take steps to secure your wireless network. You wouldn't let a stranger browse through all the
files on your computer would you? Well that's exactly what you're doing when you don't secure your
wireless network. The following articles provide recommendations on some steps you can take to secure
your wireless network.
Wireless Security Article 1
Wireless Security Article 2
Wireless Security Article 3
How the ByteArmor Offsite Backup Service Can Help:
Data transmitted by the ByteArmor offsite backup service is encrypted so nobody can intercept your data in transit.
Wireless Security Article 1
Wireless Security Article 2
Wireless Security Article 3
How the ByteArmor Offsite Backup Service Can Help:
Data transmitted by the ByteArmor offsite backup service is encrypted so nobody can intercept your data in transit.
5: Password Managers
Nowadays you need a password for almost everything. The one thing you should not do is use the same or
similar password for everything. Doing this is like posting copies of your credit card and social security
card on every telephone pole in your neighborhood.
Even if all you're doing is creating an account to download some free software if you have the habit of using the same or similar passwords you're leaving little clues about yourself all over the internet. While this may seem trivial to you, in reality you have no idea how that data is being stored or how secure the computers its stored on are. Password managers allow you to easily use different passwords for everything. This way you don't leave little clues about your password habits all over the internet.
How the ByteArmor Offsite Backup Service Can Help:
ByteArmor offers free software to its users including the password generator WebPass Pro.
Even if all you're doing is creating an account to download some free software if you have the habit of using the same or similar passwords you're leaving little clues about yourself all over the internet. While this may seem trivial to you, in reality you have no idea how that data is being stored or how secure the computers its stored on are. Password managers allow you to easily use different passwords for everything. This way you don't leave little clues about your password habits all over the internet.
How the ByteArmor Offsite Backup Service Can Help:
ByteArmor offers free software to its users including the password generator WebPass Pro.
Conclusion:
We hope these tips have provided you with some ideas on how to make your computer and internet experience more secure and stable. Remember ByteArmor is simple and easy to use, if you've browsed to this page you most likely posses all the skills necessary to backup your files on our offsite data backup service.
We hope these tips have provided you with some ideas on how to make your computer and internet experience more secure and stable. Remember ByteArmor is simple and easy to use, if you've browsed to this page you most likely posses all the skills necessary to backup your files on our offsite data backup service.