If your computer or mobile device ever gets stolen or corrupted, you may never recover your files.
Only three out of one hundred victims of data theft ever do.
Here are a few steps you can take to avoid the theft of your online data
(Courtesy of Antoine S., IBM IT Architect)…..
Tip 1: Backup ALL of your important data
“Consider an external hard drive. You can purchase one for under $50. Make sure you put a password on your hard drive.
In addition, there are numerous solutions available free of charge for backing up critical data.”
Here are some free programs:
For music:
Amazon Cloud Music (5gb free)
“Upload and listen. It’s that simple.”
http://www.amazon.com/b?ie=UTF8&node=2658409011
mSpot (5gb free)
“Compresses mp3 size significantly compared to competitors. I uploaded 4 gigs of music which only translated into about 2 gigs online unlike Amazon’s service.”
For other files:
“I utilize a few services which allow me to work effectively at home with my laptop or tablet (Lenovo s10-3t) without missing a beat.
Dropbox (2gb free): One of the best tools out there and it can be utilized in a variety of ways from backing up your Firefox profile to showing off new website designs. The service always records your IP address as well.”
Adrive (50gb): If you have a ton of files, look no further.
“You can also use your email account to store files. Services like Gmail offer plenty of space.
Remember to always encrypt your most important data just in case the account gets compromised.”
Tip 2: Remove the “login” password for your user account on your personal computer
“Ironically, a password for your user account might be your biggest enemy if your computer is ever stolen.
If your computer is stolen, and a thief can’t crack the password for your user account, there’s a good chance he’ll just erase your hard drive.
“Bye Bye” critical files.“
“Furthermore, if there’s a password on your user account, you may not be able to access your hard drive remotely.
The only way to gain entry to the info on your computer’s hard drive is if the thief connects to the internet.
If you can establish a connection to your computer via the internet, there’s a chance to recover your information.
A user account password preserves privacy on a shared computer. Just understand it’s a hindrance to recovering information in the event that your computer is ever stolen.”