Digital Life Insurance

Jan. 13--There was a time when pictures came from the store in little sleeves with the developed film negatives and put into boxes or books to look at when guests visited.

Music, meanwhile, came on vinyl or tape and was stored or shelves or in racks. And important documents arrived in the mail, to be filed in folders or piled on desktops.

In those days, it took a fire, flood, tornado or other disaster to separate people from the things that helped to tell their stories, entertain them or enable them to manage the business of their lives.

But no more. These days, most of those things are digital.

"I have a lot of home users, their computer's down, life is at an end." Dana Johnston, Drake Hardware Software

Music is downloaded.

Pictures are uploaded.

And important documents are emailed. Meaning a power surge, mechanical failure or other random mishap that crashes a hard drive or destroys a memory card, or the loss, theft or destruction of a computer, camera or smartphone, can result in losing everything.

Most people probably know someone who lost years of photos, entire music collections or financial records -- or all of the above -- due to one of these 21st-century tragedies; if they have not experienced it themselves.

"I have a lot of home users, their computer's down, life is at an end," said Dana Johnston, co-owner of Drake Hardware & Software in downtown Burlington.

During 13 years in the computer business, Johnston has seen a fundamental shift in how digital tools and media are used. Back in the late 1990s, it was the exception to have a computer at home. Today, she said, most people have one, and many families have several.

Which is why backing up data and protecting it from the risk of loss is so vitally important.

As backup methods go, CDs and DVDs are edging toward becoming passe, Johnston said, with ease and reliability exceeded by thumb drives, external hard drives and even the Internet, where accessing and storing data in the cloud is all the rage.

Among the more modern methods, she explained, each has its own set of advantages and disadvantages. Whatever solution a person chooses, Johnston said, it should be encryptable, redundant and automatic.

External drives

Perhaps the easiest way to back up data, Johnston said, is on an external device -- be it a thumb drive that fits in your pocket, portable hard drive you can carry in a purse or briefcase, or larger drive meant to stay plugged in at the computer.

Software included in modern computer operating systems makes backing up automatic. Turn on the backup software, plug in the storage device and let the computer do its thing, Johnston said.

What type of device to choose to back up to depends on preference, and the amount of data to be backed up.

For people with larger-scale storage needs, Johnston recommends external hard drives labeled as portable because they are more rugged and meant to be carried around. Drives that mimic those commonly found inside computers are more sensitive, and thus, more easily damaged if moved.

Future computer hardware may not be equipped to read, or even use, CDs or DVDs. Ejectable discs are starting to go the way of the floppy disk, and computer makers are not including CD/DVD drives in some new models.

Data stored on disc also is at risk of being lost if the disk is scratched, or if the disc becomes degraded over time. And encrypting the content of a disc can be difficult, Johnston said. Encrypted or password-protected external drives are available.

Cloud backups

While cloud-based backup is a viable solution, Johnston said they also come with an ongoing cost. Monthly storage and data-transfer fees can add up. Access also can be a limiting factor if the hard drive being backed up fails, requiring a lengthy download of data or getting the backup loaded onto an external drive and mailed.

Redundancy

If the most important bit of advice a computer user can receive is to backup, the second most important is to not rely on just one tool.

Backup devices, whether they be a thumb drive or external hard drive, can fail, be damaged, lost or stolen. And there is no guarantee, Johnston said, that data stored in the cloud always will be accessible.

The best thing to do is rely on multiple backups. Instead of a single thumb drive, use five and rotate them. Instead of a single external drive, use two and switch them out at regular intervals.

Other considerations

To protect against loss or damage of those duplicate backups, Johnston recommends keeping the one not in use off-site, such as in the safe deposit box at the bank, locked up at work or at a relative's house. (Keep a list of your various passwords for online services there, too, Johnston added as an aside; not just on the computer itself.)

An external drive set right next to the computer won't help much if it is stolen along with the computer, Johnston said, while a redundant backup won't help if it is in the house when the fire breaks out or the tornado rumbles through.

Another data safety issue to consider when backing up is encryption. Johnston said data stored on a device that doesn't at least require a password to access would be open to the eyes of anyone who finds or takes the device.

In addition to using multiple devices for backup, multiple methods can also be useful -- cloud plus thumb drive, for instance.

Users of mobile devices, such as smartphones, tablet computers and digital cameras, Johnston said, run the risk of total data loss if they haven't synced with their home computer and their device is lost, damaged or stolen. In the realm of photography, Johnston urges people to refrain from considering Facebook their source of cloud storage. Old photos may be available now on the popular social-networking site, she said.

But there is no guarantee that won't someday change.

Bottom line

With so much of our lives wrapped up in the digital age, backing up critical data is too important to ignore, Johnston said. Yet "we constantly see the tears come through," she said, from people who show up desperate to get their files back from a crashed hard drive or corrupted storage device.

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(c)2012 The Hawk Eye (Burlington, Iowa)

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