If you had a short or long term local disaster, would you be able to access your computer files? Do you have your emergency documents available somewhere else other than your own personal computer? Make a plan to back them up to a secondary source! Here are some options:
This week’s Preparedness Quick Tip is all about your e-memory. While we always read about post apocalyptic scenarios where there are no working electronics because of an EMP or other disaster, the likelihood of your own personal disaster or local one creating a situation where no one has computers any longer is small. However, you may be involved in a natural disaster or a house fire or even a burglary where you no longer have access to your own computer any longer. Even a minor thing like a computer hard drive failure is cause enough to lose everything.
Save Your Computer Files to a Secondary Drive
Keep your most treasured photos, files, documents and records on a backup drive of some sort, whether it’s on a cloud or backup system if you’re comfortable with that, an external hard drive, or even a flash drive. None are guaranteed to last for life, so these should never be your sole source of backup, but they are handy to keep in your emergency bag or even on a keychain just in case.
External Hard Drives
You can get external hard drives so inexpensively now. They aren’t always as reliable as internal hard drives, so be sure to get the best rated one that you can. Here is the best rated list from PC Magazine. This allows you to put a massive amount of data on and keep handy at your desk, or transport as needed.
Flash Drives
Flash drives are inexpensive and can carry a lot of information so they’re a great choice to have multiples of to carry in case one fails or you don’t have a particular bag with you. They are not meant for permanent storage, though you can. They come in handy for moving files around, loading media up for car trips, and having your emergency information stored for emergencies. They also lend themselves to have multiple backups for the whole family or many locations.
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This is a tiny thumb drive or flash drive that you can hide away anywhere.
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This is a model that’s a little larger and can fit on a keychain, and you won’t lose the cap because it has a rotating cap that stays attached!
There are a host of good drives that you can find. Get the biggest you can afford and get a few to have the duplicate backup.
SAVE YOUR COMPUTER FILES TO CLOUD STORAGE
You can also use cloud storage on any number of data backup sites on the web. This will allow you access to your files anywhere in the world if you can just get online. Whether you use Google, Back Blaze, Amazon, Dropbox or a plethora of other services, make sure you can access from different locations and that you understand their download requirements. Here’s a list of the Top 10 Personal Cloud Storage Services.
Just remember, with any of these drives, keep them away from magnets, water and debris!
Quick, easy, cheap! You can do this one today!
See the rest of the Preparedness Quick Tips here:
Last update on 2024-09-07 at 20:52 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API