Post-World Backup Day: Hardware

World Backup Day was last Sunday (March 31)! So it's been about a week. I found a handy article about backup drives (although it didn't include information about backup software). It recommends getting a backup drive that is at least double your hard drive size. So if you have a 500GB hard drive, then get a 1TB backup drive. The article also goes through some options of the hardware of backup drives. Maybe my next post will be about software? Now, speaking of World Backup Day... I think it's time for me to go and backup all my data. My laptop is a little aged, so it's always good to be prepared!

http://www.pcworld.com/article/2032508/in-honor-of-world-backup-day-how-to-protect-your-data.html

Surviving

I got a little "click-crazy" with searching articles... and I found a fun one about creating a "survival kit" with a flash drive. Seeing as how cheap they are and how most everyone has one, I thought that this would be a great idea to touch on. It kinda links back to the previous post about being prepared for disaster and having a back-up plan (or multiple back-up plans!). First, I learned that there are lots of portable apps! I don't know where I've been, but I was very excited to discover these. Second, you can use a second flash drive to store SystemRescueCD on it. It is a free live operating system, Linux-based, so you'll always be prepared.

Now I want to go buy a couple new flash drives and prepare!

http://rikkitechthoughts.blogspot.com/2013/01/encryption.html
http://www.pcworld.com/article/2021326/turn-your-flash-drive-into-a-portable-pc-survival-kit.html

Encryption

I found some really fun articles (when browsing through PC World) about how to encrypt your data and protect your laptop. They recommend passwords, but passwords can be easily broken, so even that shouldn't be your only protection. It's a basic protection procedure, much like locking your door in your home; it's not perfect, but it's a good first step.

There are some really great backup software possibilities out there, too! They mentioned Dropbox, and that is a great way to keep some documents safe. Again, though, that's typically protected by only passwords. Some other great backup software is Carbonite and Acronis. They're both going to cloud storage data, and I have heard amazing reviews for Carbonite. Check 'em out if you're looking for backup options!

My favorite back-up plan: I have an external 2TB hard drive that I use only for my backups of all my data. Only problem is when I forget to update it, which is when the cloud backups like Carbonite and Acronis come in handy.

Anyway, I hope that you guys have fun, and you should check out these articles!

http://www.pcworld.com/article/2025462/how-to-encrypt-almost-anything.html
http://www.pcworld.com/article/2025897/a-road-warriors-guide-to-locking-down-your-laptop.html