Golden rule of backup
March 31 IT world celebrates an unusual holiday - World Backup Day . In 2011, on the eve of the First of April, which, apart from the jokes, is famous for the abundance of hacker attacks, users of the Reddit portal decided to devote a special day to a serious attitude to digital data. The venture got accustomed, and this year the “backup” day is already the fifth time. So, what is modern backup, and why is it worth it to devote a special holiday to it?
First, some statistics. In 2014, the volume of digital information lost in 12 months grew on average around the world four times. Of course, not because users have become four times more unconscious. Just the digital universe is growing much faster than our ability to handle it.
In the late nineties, a 4-8 GB hard drive was the norm; Now many are missing 4 terabytes. At the same time, measures to protect the ever-growing volumes of data often remain at the level of the 90s. Few ordinary PC owners know in principle about the existence of special backup programs, and even more so about their capabilities. Copies of data are created in the old-fashioned way — manually and irregularly — if at all.
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According to Acronis, even in the technically advanced US, about half of the users still keep all their digital information in a single version — on a computer. As far as this is a reliable option, you can judge at least by the above figures.
The understanding of the problems associated with data protection is at a level that, perhaps, requires not one, but several “backup” days per year. If you ask the owners of the PC if their information needs additional protection, except for the antivirus, the majority will say no. Although even the most reliable "Kaspersky" and NOD will not protect a laptop or tablet from a whole series of troubles. Here are some of them:
- equipment failure;
- your own mistake;
- loss or theft of the device;
- ingress of water or fire;
- Application errors and problems when updating software.
The list can be continued. The main thing is that because of these threats, we risk losing our data at any time, no worse than a virus attack. Thus, the survival rate of hard HDDs still prevailing on the market after three years of operation ranges from 97 to 74%, depending on the brand. Not to mention the fact that every fifth user at least once lost or severely damaged his laptop. Risks are superimposed on each other, and ultimately the only question is when the “X hour” comes.
At the same time, data stored on a computer is often more important and valuable than the hardware itself. Many people remember this, and from time to time they copy the most important files to external media. But even reputable companies, for whom the preservation of information is a matter of normal operation and business survival, very often belong to careless backups. Last year, only Russian firms lost almost $ 30 billion due to this carelessness ( EMC Global Data Protection Index statistics ). Similar statistics for private users is not maintained, but we all know that, once in a regular computer accident, it is not difficult to lose time, money, data, and at the same time some nerves.
What should be backup in conditions of explosive data growth and penetration of digital format in almost all areas of life? Or rather - what is it now?
If you stick to these simple points, the chances that you will lose important information for you will be very, very small.
Much can be added to what has already been said: about such options of a modern “backup” as data encryption or the use of backup, as a subscription service, without installing a special program on the computer. But all this will be rather a “cherry on the cake” for connoisseurs. The main thing is that backing up in the modern information world is akin to basic hygiene; something like a regular brushing of teeth, without which, sooner or later, inevitably have to deal with trouble. Specially installed “backup” Day is just a good case to remind you about it.
By the way, to World Backup Day, the staff of our company prepared another musical creation, a song of his own composition - look :)
Back up it now!
One hundred ways to lose your data
First, some statistics. In 2014, the volume of digital information lost in 12 months grew on average around the world four times. Of course, not because users have become four times more unconscious. Just the digital universe is growing much faster than our ability to handle it.
In the late nineties, a 4-8 GB hard drive was the norm; Now many are missing 4 terabytes. At the same time, measures to protect the ever-growing volumes of data often remain at the level of the 90s. Few ordinary PC owners know in principle about the existence of special backup programs, and even more so about their capabilities. Copies of data are created in the old-fashioned way — manually and irregularly — if at all.
')
According to Acronis, even in the technically advanced US, about half of the users still keep all their digital information in a single version — on a computer. As far as this is a reliable option, you can judge at least by the above figures.
The understanding of the problems associated with data protection is at a level that, perhaps, requires not one, but several “backup” days per year. If you ask the owners of the PC if their information needs additional protection, except for the antivirus, the majority will say no. Although even the most reliable "Kaspersky" and NOD will not protect a laptop or tablet from a whole series of troubles. Here are some of them:- equipment failure;
- your own mistake;
- loss or theft of the device;
- ingress of water or fire;
- Application errors and problems when updating software.
The list can be continued. The main thing is that because of these threats, we risk losing our data at any time, no worse than a virus attack. Thus, the survival rate of hard HDDs still prevailing on the market after three years of operation ranges from 97 to 74%, depending on the brand. Not to mention the fact that every fifth user at least once lost or severely damaged his laptop. Risks are superimposed on each other, and ultimately the only question is when the “X hour” comes.
At the same time, data stored on a computer is often more important and valuable than the hardware itself. Many people remember this, and from time to time they copy the most important files to external media. But even reputable companies, for whom the preservation of information is a matter of normal operation and business survival, very often belong to careless backups. Last year, only Russian firms lost almost $ 30 billion due to this carelessness ( EMC Global Data Protection Index statistics ). Similar statistics for private users is not maintained, but we all know that, once in a regular computer accident, it is not difficult to lose time, money, data, and at the same time some nerves.
Modern “backup”: rules and features
What should be backup in conditions of explosive data growth and penetration of digital format in almost all areas of life? Or rather - what is it now?
- First, the “backup” should be automatic. Not only for systems of large business consumers, but also for ordinary people with their monoblocks and laptops. There are few users disciplined enough to regularly repeat the necessary, but completely routine operation: to distract from their business and manually resave gigabytes of data. Fortunately, there are many programs on the market that do all this for you.
- Few copy important files. A modern computer is a real digital environment in which we spend almost as much time as offline. The operating system, applications, drivers, screen settings, browser history and bookmarks in it, even the wallpaper on the desktop. In the event of a system failure, all this will have to be restored manually.
I have a familiar musician, for whom the biggest loss in the fall of Windows will be the painstakingly chosen settings of equalizers and mixing programs. Everyone has something different; the main thing is that modern technologies make it possible to save the entire system as a whole, and in the event of an accident or unnecessary changes to load it again from an external carrier, as if nothing had happened. On the same "hardware", or on the other - if the computer is badly damaged or stolen. - Finally, backup has a “golden rule” that is worth remembering if you want your digital environment to always remain safe and sound. We in Acronis call this the “3-2-1” rule:
1. Store your data in three versions (original and two backup copies). Three copies of the data will almost certainly be preserved, unless there is a Hollywood-scale disaster.
2. Keep copies of at least two types of media (for example, an external hard drive and cloud storage on the Internet).
3. Keep one copy handy and the other remotely.
If you stick to these simple points, the chances that you will lose important information for you will be very, very small.
Much can be added to what has already been said: about such options of a modern “backup” as data encryption or the use of backup, as a subscription service, without installing a special program on the computer. But all this will be rather a “cherry on the cake” for connoisseurs. The main thing is that backing up in the modern information world is akin to basic hygiene; something like a regular brushing of teeth, without which, sooner or later, inevitably have to deal with trouble. Specially installed “backup” Day is just a good case to remind you about it.
By the way, to World Backup Day, the staff of our company prepared another musical creation, a song of his own composition - look :)
Back up it now!
Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/254577/
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