Protecting Your Memories

Most homes in the world have computers nowadays; one or two at least.  I have 6 computers in my home, but I’m not the typical computer user.  Besides computers, most people also have digital cameras, camcorders, and MP3 players.

Think about all that is digital in our lives: music, photos, movies, e-mail and legal or financial documents. It is becoming increasingly important that we become aware of the data we have and how we can keep it safe. The question is, “How do you protect your digital assets without becoming a computer geek?”

Its very simple:

Step 1: You need to identify where your data is currently stored. You might have a few photos still on a digital camera, some files on the computer at work and more files and music on a home computer. Take inventory of everything electronic that’s important to you including bills, bank
statements, photos, music, etc.

Step 2: Choose a second location to store backups. The most likely place to store all of your digital files is your main computer. That also solves the first problem of being able to find it all quickly. Now, you have to make sure the information is safe from a disaster, which means storing it in two locations.   Or you can back up that data to another device, so if your computer gets a virus or crashes, you have second copy.

The easiest way to do a backup is by buying a portable hard drive.  Hard drives are getting cheaper and cheaper, like this Western Digital 320GB Portable Hard Drive for less than $100.  Simply plug it in to an available USB port and the drive will show up under “My Computer.”

Step 3: You know where your important data is and you have a place to copy it to. You could copy each file manually, or install backup software that does it automatically. If you’re on a Windows machine, SyncBack is a free program that automates this process.  For my fellow Mac users, I recommend SuperDuper ($27.95) or if you’re on Leopard, just use Time Machine.

Computers are easily replaced, but the data on them aren’t always replaceable. Backing up is the only way to assure that your digital memories are not lost forever.