What Is Data Backup? Why Is It Important for Everyone?
Have you ever gone through the feeling of not finding a file when you need it the most? That moment of panic when you realize that you have deleted the file unknowingly is even worse. The situation becomes more bothersome when you don’t have a copy of that file anywhere on your computer or a mobile device.
That’s when you realize the power and importance of having at least one copy of data at all times. Technically termed as backup, the additional copy of data serves as a safety net in case you lose important files.
Many users believe that data loss is limited to losing data to virus attacks, whereas its scope is wider than that. Data loss is the event when data is either corrupted, deleted, destroyed, or turned inaccessible. More to it, data loss can be accidental or intentional.
You can lose data in a network, in transit, process, or storage. If you lose a device that contains your data, it is also considered data loss. Moreover, data items that you lose in theft incidents also fall under the scope of loss.
While data loss is mostly accidental, human errors are considered the primary reason behind it. Other reasons include unforeseen software corruption, abrupt hardware breakdown, sudden power failure, severe computer viruses, and more.
Why Backing Up Data Is Important?
Because cyber threats have become more prevalent than ever, backups are the safest way to prevent your data from being lost. If the disaster strikes, all your data is safe, and you know that it exists somewhere.
A good backup system and strategy are considered an efficient solution to data loss as the possibility to recover data exists. For example, if you backup iphoto library via Time Machine backup or another third-party backup app, you prevent your images from getting lost if someone steals your iPhone or other Apple devices.
You can either use native apps or employ third-party software to backup data on your computer. If you think that nothing can happen to your data, here we enlist some of the top reasons that compel users to have data backups.
Virus Attacks & Hacking Attempts
Due to the rising number of virus and hacking attempts, the data stored on the computer remain exposed to unauthorized access. You can have the best techniques in place to safeguard your data from security breaches, but there is no full-proof solution that ensures complete security.
However, backing up data to an external drive ensures that you are not going to lose access to important information, no matter what.
Accidental Deletion
Losing data to virus attacks is common, but what if you delete a file accidentally and you need it for your next business presentation. Don’t let all your hard work and effort wipe off easily just because you were not cautious about backups. You have to start building it from scratch knowing that time is a constraint.
In this case, you should backup data to cloud storage so that it’s available on the go, and you can make edits right away, wherever necessary.
Using cloud services is free, though you are limited to a certain amount of storage, which is usually a few gigabytes. If you want, you can switch to a paid plan and get extra storage for a monthly fee.
Thefts & Loses
When you lose data due to robbery, theft, or rising pilferage attempts, there’s nothing much you can do to get your data back. If you have a backup, you can restore data to your new device; else, you have to look into your emails, messages, and other chat applications to see if any traces of lost data exist somewhere on your smartphone or other digital devices.
Storing your data on cloud media, external devices, or a paid backup service can prevent it from being lost even if the device is stolen or broken.
Application Corruption
Software crashes or malfunction is another major reason that leads to data loss. If an application crashes while in process, the data associated with it may become inaccessible. It can also happen when you are updating multiple files that get deleted without any prior notification. When the applications are not up to date and are redundant, corruption is common.
In this case, you can try to recover data and restore it using third-party data recovery software. Once you are able to recover data, make sure to back up entire contents to a storage media.
So, whatever device or operating system you use, whether it is a MacBook or a Windows computer, having a robust data backup strategy is important. In Windows, you can use the native Backup and Restore tool to safeguard your data against loss. On the other hand, you may set up a macOS native Time Machine utility to backup data to an external device.
