data security
General,  IT Professionals

Data Recovery: 10 Tips For Keeping Your Information Safe

We all know some of the most basic tips for keeping information safe and maybe even a little bit about what to do if you need data recovery. You want to keep all of your passwords, financial, and other personal information safe and protected from outside intruders through whatever means are possible – passwords, encrypted data, and even off-site storage.

However, it is even more important than ever to ensure that data recovery is considered when you are keeping your information safe. You want to use best practices to keep your sensitive personal information safe and secure as well as the personal information of employees, clients, and family members.

To help you, we’ve compiled a list of some facts to help you keep your information safe.

1. For Data Recovery, Backing Up Your Data Is The Most Important

One of the most basic yet overlooked tips to help you when it comes to data recovery is simply backing up your data. This will create a duplicate copy of your data so that if something does happen and you need to recover it, you won’t lose much at all. It is best to back up on a separate device such as an external hard drive so that you can recover your information if the original device was compromised.

2. Update Your Operating System Regularly

Operating system updates can be a pain in the butt, let’s be honest. However, they are absolutely a necessary evil. These updates contain crucial security patches that will help to keep your information safe.

If there is ever a need for data recovery, you want to ensure that the data is as safe as possible – meaning there aren’t any obstructions or intrusions on that information. To do this, keep your operating system updated.

3. Secure Your Wireless

If you don’t already, you should absolutely secure your wireless network with a password. Not only will this prevent everyone who passes by from using it, but it will also help to prevent unauthorized people from hijacking your information. You absolutely do not want to share private information with other people.

You want to ensure that your network is secure, encrypted, and hidden. Set up the wireless access point (router) so that it does not broadcast the network name. This is known as the Service Set Identifier (SSID). Then, you want to password protect access to the router.

4. Turn Off Your Computer: A Key Part Of Data Recovery

When you are finished using your computer or laptop, power it off. When you leave it on and connected to the internet, it opens the door for hackers and attackers to get in.

What can they do? They can install malware and commit cybercrimes. They can get your information. To be safe, turn it off when you aren’t using it.

5. Using A Firewall – Always

Firewalls are necessary to help you from blocking dangerous programs that can cause you to lose data, as well as viruses or spyware. The firewall will catch those things before they infiltrate your system. There are many options out there that can help you to get Firewall protection – but you certainly want to look for hardware-based Firewalls, which are much better.

6. Don’t Store Your Passwords

We get it – remembering your passwords can be difficult. However, it becomes much easier for someone to break into your accounts if you store your passwords.

You also don’t want to leave your password written down on a piece of paper anywhere. You can write hints down in a designated notebook, but that should be the most you do.

7. Make Sure Your Smartphone and Tablets Are Locked

Just because there isn’t anything that sensitive on your phone or tablet doesn’t mean you shouldn’t lock it. You certainly use passwords there, you answer emails, and you probably have more sensitive information there then you think you do.

All it takes is one single misstep and your information could fall into the wrong hands. Take steps to protect your data in case you ever lose your phone or tablet. Make sure that everything is password protected with a password that is hard to guess and that is changed regularly.