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One of the most important things you
can do to make sure that your computer information is protected is
to Backup Your Data. Too often people end up having
their computers crash and have made no effort to keep a copy of
their important files. This makes it nearly impossible to
get up and running quickly, and the loss can be devastating.
Unfortunately, our computers today are wide open to failure.
Even with the newest operating systems, the latest virus and
firewall protection, and every other precaution available today,
computers still crash. To combat this risk, do a backup!
There are many types of media that
is available to make it fairly easy to back up your data.
The most common is standard writeable or re-writeable compact
discs. Almost every computer on the market now comes with a
CD burner that allows you to back up your data onto a disc.
The standard discs can hold between 70 and 80 mg's of
information. If you buy these in a pack of 50 or more, the
cost can be as low as $.20 per disk. This is a cheap and
inexpensive way to make a copy of your information.
Now if that's not enough space for
you (which it isn't for us) you can take the next leap up to DVD
burners. There are all sorts of DVD burners on the market
and the prices of these are dropping fast. You can currently
get a standard external DVD burner for around $100 (if you prefer
to simply plug it in), and internal one's are even cheaper.
A standard DVD disc contains 4.7g of information, and there are
even larger options available. The discs are also dropping
in price, and can be bought for around $.30 to $.50 each if you
buy 50 or more. This option gives you a large quantity of
space for a file backup at an affordable price.
Beyond this there are lots of other
storage mediums to choose from including Zip Drives, External
Hardrives, Tapes, and more. If the basic CD or DVD options
aren't the way you want to go, something like an external hardrive
is a great option. Once purchase, there aren't any future
costs or throw-away media. And, they can be bought as a
plug-n-play device that holds huge amounts of information.
The cost of these can be as low as $100. The only down side
is that if your computer gets hit by lighting or a huge energy
surge, the external hardrive will probably go down too.
Having "off site" media backups is always more secure.
All of the above options are great
ways to make your computer experience a safer one. By
backing up your data files, music, movies, favorites, address
book, and all the things you use every day on your computer, you
will ensure that if something does go wrong it won't be a
disaster! It's much simpler to wipe a computer clean, load
on all the software you use, and get your data back off a disk,
then it is to try to rebuild a sick computer to try to save
everything. Be ahead of the game and do a backup!
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