Don’t lose what’s important…
Backing your computer up is possibly the most important security measure you can take. There’s usually only three things scammers can permanently take away from you:
1) Money
2) Personal Information
3) Files that matter to you.
Money can be easily taken care of – steps like only paying online if it’s a reputable website, not giving your card details out to people who have called you, and keeping your physical card/ login details on person and not sharing them come to mind. Regularly checking your transactions to ensure no one else is using your details is an important step too.
Personal Information is more difficult to manage as in order to verify yourself, you have to lend this information to others. Sometimes even reputable businesses are under attack and your information is revealed – think of the Optus debacle and more recently, Dymocks. Keeping copies of this information on your computer isn’t always the best idea if it’s not encrypted correctly.
Although having money and personal information taken off you is annoying, it’s not really the end of the world. The bank can usually refund the funds if it’s electronic, and you can change some of your personal information – think new cards and new driver’s licenses.
In my opinion, the worst thing a scammer can take from you is files that matter to you. Imagine your physical wallet got stolen. Sure, it’s frustrating to have to replace your cards, get a new wallet, and you might lose $50, but what about the only copy of that one photo of a loved one you’ve had in there for 30 years? That one receipt from your first date, or a portrait your Grandchild has drawn for you. There’s no way of retrieving them. No bank has a copy of it and there’s no 1800 number to call to get a new one printed.
On the computer, photos, typed letters and your digital life record (if you have written one) are the equivalent of such pieces in your wallet. Scammers know this. They can hold your files hostage if you have somehow granted them physical or remote access to your computer. They will ask for a large sum for renumeration and there is no guarantee it will be returned to you if you do pay. There’s not a lot the ACCC can do!
But, what if there was a way to alleviate this risk of destruction altogether? Thankfully, some smart cookie invented the art of backing up. It can save you this stress and you can keep your files comfortably knowing that if you get scammed, you have a fresh copy ready to set up again. No red-faces here.
Back in the day, you’d have a Hard Drive and you would manually copy your files across to it. This is still a viable option if you’re not quite sure what to do. Simply copy your home file and paste it across to your external drive. Make sure your key files have been copied.
Now, most modern computers have the option of an easy back up. Apple Macs have TimeMachine which keeps a constant backup of your computer and can be configured to backup even every hour. Windows Computers have File History which takes very regular backups of your computer. These take the guess work out of it, and mean that you can roll back your computer to a time. It’s a good idea to back up regularly. Personally, I back up daily, but weekly or monthly may suit your needs.
Hard Drives used to be the best external drive to copy across to. We all know how unreliable they have been, and how slow the process would take. Plus, they are bulky! The current technology is Solid State Drives (SSD). On the surface, they function very similarly to a Hard Drive – they store files. Technically speaking, they are far more reliable as they don’t have moving components like a Hard Drive meaning less can break when dropped or sitting on a shelf for a few years – the difference between a CD player and a USB. SSDs are not 100% reliable, however, they have bounds on Hard Drives. It’s recommended to plug them in at least every 6 months to keep them working.
You might have heard of “The Cloud”. This scary place is really just another word for the internet. Think of it like a secure website that only you have access to. For example, OneDrive, iCloud and DropBox. It is great in theory for personal backups, however, if you have access to it on your computer, if under attack, so will your scammer. This means that it is not a viable option for a security back up.
Although it can be convenient to keep your external drive always plugged into your computer, this is not recommended as if under attack, they might be able to take over it too. Only plug it in when you want to back up, and then unplug. If under attack and it’s plugged in, unplug it immediately.
I really cannot stress the importance of keeping a regular back-up of your files. It is such a small step to take every now and again to save you an immense amount of frustration, anger and sadness in the future. Contact Greyology today if you need assistance with this.
Edin Read.
Founder & Chief Technician.
0401 018 615
edin@greyology.com.au
Greyology. Tech Support for Seniors.
www.greyology.com.au
