Data Protection Best Practices

Things to consider, avoiding data catastrophes from occurring in your organization.

This blog discusses regarding how businesses must develop an appropriate strategy, decide the right backup type from different backup options and to protect your PC.

Assign a Password to your PC
Password protect your computer to prevent unwanted access. Change your password at least every alternate month or every time you want to prevent someone who may know it (i.e. former employee) from using it.

Secure Your Email
Use a spam filter to filter unwanted email. Never send confidential information (i.e. passwords, social security numbers, credit card numbers) via email. Always verify a website's URL before submitting your private info.

End user desktop and notebook backup scheme

§  Desktop, notebook environments

§  Application programs

§  Application settings

§  Data files

§  Address books

Type of Backups – Select the Best Backup

Backup Type	Pros	Cons
Full Backup	Complete backup of entire targeted data set Restores are simple	Takes up most space
Full Backup + Incremental	Full backup made, followed by backups of only the data that has changed since the last full or incremental backup	Restores are complicated requires all backups and all incrementals Complex Storage requirements
Full Backup + Differential	Full backup, followed by a backup that captures all changes made since the last full backup	Data may be [probably will be] duplicate throughout the backup sets. Recovery requires last full backup and last differential

Protect your PC

Use antivirus and firewall software, and enable Automatic Updates for Windows Security. Make sure to have your antivirus signature file updated, as new viruses keep coming.

Protect Your Data Properly

Never rely on external/flash drives, CDs, DVDs, etc. to protect your mission critical data. They can easily fail, get lost, stolen or mishandled. Also, you can miss manual backups.

Password Safety, Your Data Safety
Remember, only you have access to your password, and without it you cannot retrieve your data. Write down the password you created during setup, and store it safely in two places.

Consider File Retention Strategies
For longer retention, create archive files and back them up. For example, create a monthly zip file with the date in the filename.

Check Backup Log Files

Periodically check the log files on your backup account to make sure all your files are backing up properly.