PreparingforComputerDisastersASummary:Whenhomeofficecomputersgodown,manysmallbusinessesgrindtoahalt.Fortunately,takingstepstorecoverfromdisastersandminimizetheireffectsisquitestraightforward.BFires,powersurges,andfloods,they'reallfactsoflife.Wereadabouttheminthemorningpaperandseethemontheeveningnews.Wesympathizewiththevictimsandcommiserateovertheirbadluck.Wealsoshakeourheadsatthedigitalconsequences—meltedcomputers,systemfailures,destroyeddata.Yet,somehow,manyofuscontinuetolivebythatoldmantraofdenial:"Itwon'thappentome."Well,thetruthis,atsomepointyou'llprobablyhavetodealwithatleastonedisaster.That'sjusthowitgoes,andinmostaspectsofourliveswedosomethingaboutit.Webuyinsurance.Westowawayprovisions.Weevenmakedisasterplansandrundrills.Butforsomereason,computerdisasterrecoveryisablindspotformanyofus.Itshouldn'tbe.Homecomputerscontainsomeofourmostimportantinformation,bothbusinessandpersonal,andmakingcertainourdatasurvivesadisastershouldbeapriority.Moreover,eventhesmallestdisastercanbeaseriousdisruption.Personalcomputershavebecomeanintegralpartofthesmooth-runninghousehold.Weusethemtocommunicate,shop,anddohomework,andthey'reevenmorevitaltohomeofficeusers.Whenhomeofficecomputersgodown,manysmallbusinessesgrindtoahalt.Fortunately,takingstepstorecoverfromdisastersandminimizetheireffectsisquitestraightforward.Withagoodoffsitestorageplanandtherighttools,youcanbouncebackquicklyandeasilyfromminorcomputerdisasters.And,shouldamajorcalamitystrike,youcanrestassuredyourdataissafe.OffsiteStorage:MajorDisastersCHousefiresandfloodsareamongthemostdevastatingcausesofpersonalcomputerdestruction.That'swhyasolidoffsitebackupandrecoveryplanisessential.Althoughmanyhomeusersfaithfullybackuptheirharddrives,manywouldstilllosealltheirdatashouldtheirhousefloodourburn.That'sbecausetheykeeptheirbackupsinrelativelyclosetotheircomputers.Theirbackupdisksmightnotbeinthesameroomastheircomputers—tuckedawayinaclosetoreventhegarage—butthey'renotnearlyfarenoughawayshouldaseriousdisasterstrike.So,it'simportanttobackupyoursystemtoaremovablemediumandtostoreitelsewhere.DTherearemanywaystoapproachoffsitestorage.Itstartswithchoiceofbackuptoolsandstoragemedium.Disastersituationsarestressful,andyourrecoverytoolsshouldn'taddtothatstress.Theymustbedependableandintuitive,makingiteasytoscheduleregularbackupsandtoretrievefilesinapinch.Theymustalsobecompatiblewithyourchoiceofbackupmedium.Dependingonyourtools,youcanbackuptoavarietyofdurabledisktypes—fromCDstoJazdrivestoremotenetworkservers.Althoughmanyofthesestoragemediahavehighcapacity,abackuptoolwithcompressioncapabilitiesisabigplus,eliminatingtheinconvenienceofmultipledisksorlargeuploads.EOnceyouselectyourtoolsandasuitablemedium,youneedtofindaremoteplacetostoreyourbackups.Theoptionsareendless.However,nomatterwhereyouchoose,besurethesiteissecure,easilyaccessible,andagooddistanceawayfromyourhome.YoumayalsowanttoconsiderusinganInternet-basedbackupservice.Moreandmoreserviceprovidersareofferingstoragespaceontheirservers,anduploadingfilestoaremotelocationhasbecomeanattractivealternativetoconventionaloffsitestorage.Ofcourse,beforeusingoneoftheseservices,makecertainyoucompletelytrusttheserviceprovideranditssecuritymethods.Whateveryoudo,schedulebackupsregularlyandstorethemfarawayfromyourhome.ComeWhatMay:HandlingtheGardenVarietyComputerCrisisFNotallhomecomputerdamageresultsfromphysicald...
