Your personal computer is more personal than ever! It is responsible for managing every bit of your important data. When you save files to your computer, the only place they are located is on that physical computer. This works great as long as nothing happens to your computer. There are many different ways that the data on your computer may be rendered useless, but it all boils down to either a hardware problem like a failed hard drive, or a software problem like a virus.
The threat is real
Recently, creators of viruses have been getting much trickier in the way they make money. In the past, they made abundant use of flashing screens and popup windows. These days, hackers are taking a more of a social-engineering approach. These are using your own Internet usage behavior against you.
One trick is to display a (phony) message that you have violated a federal law, enticing you with fear to click on a virus infected link – or more recently, displaying a (phony) message that you just obtained a virus and you must call the number on the screen to have it removed. This all ends up in a very bad place: An encryption-type ransom virus. Simply put, a program runs in the background of your computer, secretly turning all of your files and pictures into random garble. One day, you click on your saved documents and they look like this, “EnCt26f012b79ba57b92b0 67bbf55acad01c5234 c97966f012b79.” After that, you’re asked to pay big money to get your personal data back. Not good.
If this happens to you…
If you encounter these strange screens or other fishy behavior, IMMEDIATELY turn your computer off and give us a call (603-524-1400) with the specific message you receive, and we will tell you exactly what steps you need to take.
This can all be avoided with a “cloud backup.”
You may have heard about cloud backups but not really known how they work and why they are important. It all starts with the idea that the files your computer are safer if they are replicated somewhere else – somewhere safe.
The answers to common questions
Questions about cloud backup usually surround security and convenience. Let’s first talk about security because the last thing anyone needs is the whole world knowing their bank account information (or that secret family recipe). Remember that encrypted sentence from before? Now it’s your turn to use the newest encryption technology to your advantage! When your data is transferred from your computer to “the cloud” though a reputable backup service, it is all encrypted, based on a password (or “key”) that only you know. If anyone tries to read your files, they will see nothing but random letters and numbers.
If your computer fails and you need to restore your files, you simply enter your key to restore them to their most recent state. The big difference between the bad guys’ encryption software and the good guys’ is that your backup software backs up your data before the bad guys can get to it!
How it works
About convenience. Cloud backup begins with a program that is installed and configured on your computer. This program first sends all your important data to the backup servers. It then continuously sends new and changed files to keep the backup up-to-date. This all happens automatically; there is no need for you to do anything. The program can be set up to backup only certain files or the whole kitchen sink if you’d like. Just want your pictures to be saved? No problem. Only care about your tax files and recipes? Easy as pie!
Truly safe and sound!
Now the real pessimists out there are thinking, “What happens when there’s an earthquake right in the city where the servers are, and that copy of my data gets destroyed too?” All good backup services will make sure your data is redundantly secured on multiple, different servers all over the world so that it will never be compromised.
Simply put, computer problems present enough of a hassle and with cloud backup as affordable as it is, there is absolutely no reason for you to lose all of your files in the process. Thousands of our customers already keep their data safe with cloud backups – and they report that they sleep better at night with that peace of mind.
Same Day Computer offers both personal and business class cloud data backup in the world’s finest data centers, with many different plans to cater to your specific needs. All computer users need a backup strategy – you may find that cloud backup is easier and safer than you ever imagined!
To learn more, feel free to email us at support@24it.co.com or call us any time toll-free at 877-GET-24IT!
