Storm Data Safety
Storm Preparations
With a major storm heading our way, we just wanted to make sure our readers are well prepared. Read below to review a quick crash course in protecting your computers during inclement weather!
What should you do with your computer before the storm?
From a physical stand point, make sure the computer is not on the floor to prevent any potential floods from physically destroying your computer. If possible, unplug the computer to prevent any power surge complications. If it is not possible to unplug your computer, make sure that it is plugged into a surge protector that has a warranty.
For many of us, more important than the physical hardware of their computer is the valuable data. How do you ensure that the data remains safe?
Under ordinary circumstances setting up RAID (having two hard drives in your desktop, both having the identical information) or setting up a local backup to a flash drive or external hard drive may suffice. However, if the room in which the computer and all the backups are stored get flooded – what do you do then? Therefore, we highly recommend setting up and implementing an online data backup system for all of your computer data.
What if you have an external hard drive plus an online backup already setup?
Make sure they are working properly! Confirm the backups are still being taken, you’re up to date with your dues (to make sure you will be able to access the online backups if need be) as well as testing the recovery options to make sure your data is retrievable in the format you need and in a timely fashion.