I’ve heard the story before—in fact, sometimes it’s been me!  As I was working today I read an Tweet from a friend that mentioned that she had lost three years worth of photographs and documents in a hard-drive crash.  The platters were scratched, and though I believe some of it may be salvageable, there are no guarantees that she’ll get all of them back.

We live in an age where we believe that computers are safe—because they seem to rarely fail.  Whether it’s the internet or our local PCs¹, we put a lot of faith in technology, even though we know that the technology can (and does) fail, and Murphy’s Law is still in effect.

What is it that you are doing to keep your computer safe?

Here’s a list of things that you should be doing or have running in order to have more faith that you won’t lose everything:

1. Have a Routine Backup Plan

Whether you backup to CD, backup online, or still use floppy discs or tape, make sure you have a backup plan and stick to it.  The best thing to do with your backups is to have them stored offsite (perhaps in your desk at work).

Technology is growing in this area, with websites offering offsite storage and Windows Home Servers²—which I’m really excited about and have on my list of things to get.

2. Make Sure You Have Anti-Virus, Anti-Spyware Software and a Firewall

Most viruses are contracted today through e-mail and the Internet.  If you’re connected, you’re at risk.  If you don’t already, you should find one of the many good antivirus software programs and some suites offer the complete package with firewall and anti-spam support.

Most of the time, my suite only finds spyware, but you must make sure that you’re up to date, and with the free packages that are out there you have no excuse.

3. Keep Your Computer Protected

Protect it from surges or power outages with a UPS.  If you are on a laptop, make sure you have some way to keep it safe when not in use.  Make sure that it doesn’t get too hot or overheat, and replace aging parts.

Doing all of this doesn’t mean that you’ll never have issues, it will just give you a bit more confidence that your data is safe.

1. And here I mean Macs as well [↩]
2. These boxes are sweet!  They support up to 10 PCs in your house (I believe they will also support Macs) and they only keep one version of any file—so multiple copies are only backed up once.  They can restore any PC right back to the way you left it in minutes! [↩]