搜索
PreparingforComputerDisastersASummary:Whenhomeofficecomputersgodown,manysmallbusinessesgrindtoahalt.Fortunately,takingstepstorecoverfromdisastersandminimizetheireffectsisquitestraightforward.BFires,powersurges,andfloods,they'reallfactsoflife.Wereadabouttheminthemorningpaperandseethemontheeveningnews.Wesympathizewiththevictimsandcommiserateovertheirbadluck.Wealsoshakeourheadsatthedigitalconsequences—meltedcomputers,systemfailures,destroyeddata.Yet,somehow,manyofuscontinuetolivebythatoldmantraofdenial:Itwon'thappentome.Well,thetruthis,atsomepointyou'llprobablyhavetodealwithatleastonedisaster.That'sjusthowitgoes,andinmostaspectsofourliveswedosomethingaboutit.Webuyinsurance.Westowawayprovisions.Weevenmakedisasterplansandrundrills.Butforsomereason,computerdisasterrecoveryisablindspotformanyofus.Itshouldn'tbe.Homecomputerscontainsomeofourmostimportantinformation,bothbusinessandpersonal,andmakingcertainourdatasurvivesadisastershouldbeapriority.Moreover,eventhesmallestdisastercanbeaseriousdisruption.Personalcomputershavebecomeanintegralpartofthesmooth-runninghousehold.Weusethemtocommunicate,shop,anddohomework,andthey'reevenmorevitaltohomeofficeusers.Whenhomeofficecomputersgodown,manysmallbusinessesgrindtoahalt.Fortunately,takingstepstorecoverfromdisastersandminimizetheireffectsisquitestraightforward.Withagoodoffsitestorageplanandtherighttools,youcanbouncebackquicklyandeasilyfromminorcomputerdisasters.And,shouldamajorcalamitystrike,youcanrestassuredyourdataissafe.OffsiteStorage:MajorDisastersCHousefiresandfloodsareamongthemostdevastatingcausesofpersonalcomputerdestruction.That'swhyasolidoffsitebackupandrecoveryplanisessential.Althoughmanyhomeusersfaithfullybackuptheirharddrives,manywouldstilllosealltheirdatashouldtheirhousefloodourburn.That'sbecausetheykeeptheirbackupsinrelativelyclosetotheircomputers.Theirbackupdisksmightnotbeinthesameroomastheircomputers—tuckedawayinaclosetoreventhegarage—butthey'renotnearlyfarenoughawayshouldaseriousdisasterstrike.So,it'simportanttobackupyoursystemtoaremovablemediumandtostoreitelsewhere.DTherearemanywaystoapproachoffsitestorage.Itstartswithchoiceofbackuptoolsandstoragemedium.Disastersituationsarestressful,andyourrecoverytoolsshouldn'taddtothatstress.Theymustbedependableandintuitive,makingiteasytoscheduleregularbackupsandtoretrievefilesinapinch.Theymustalsobecompatiblewithyourchoiceofbackupmedium.Dependingonyourtools,youcanbackuptoavarietyofdurabledisktypes—fromCDstoJazdrivestoremotenetworkservers.Althoughmanyofthesestoragemediahavehighcapacity,abackuptoolwithcompressioncapabilitiesisabigplus,eliminatingtheinconvenienceofmultipledisksorlargeuploads.EOnceyouselectyourtoolsandasuitablemedium,youneedtofindaremoteplacetostoreyourbackups.Theoptionsareendless.However,nomatterwhereyouchoose,besurethesiteissecure,easilyaccessible,andagooddistanceawayfromyourhome.YoumayalsowanttoconsiderusinganInternet-basedbackupservice.Moreandmoreserviceprovidersareofferingstoragespaceontheirservers,anduploadingfilestoaremotelocationhasbecomeanattractivealternativetoconventionaloffsitestorage.Ofcourse,beforeusingoneoftheseservices,makecertainyoucompletelytrusttheserviceprovideranditssecuritymethods.Whateveryoudo,schedulebackupsregularlyandstorethemfarawayfromyourhome.ComeWhatMay:HandlingtheGardenVarietyComputerCrisisFNotallhomecomputerdamageresultsfromphysicaldisaster.ManylessmenacingproblemscanalsohobbleyourPCordestroyyourinformation.Systemscrash,kidsrearrangedata,adultsinadvertentlydeletefiles.Althoughtheseeventsmightnotseemcalamitous,theycanhaveseriousimplications.So,onceagain,it'simportanttobeprepared.Aswithphysicaldisasters,regularbackupsareessential.However,someofthesesmallerissuesrequirearesponsethat'smorenuancedthanwholesalebackupandrestoration.Todealwithless-than-totaldisaster,yourtoolsetmustbebothpowerfulandagile.Forexample,whenasmallnumberoffilesarecompromised,youmaywanttoretrievethosefilesalone.Meanwhile,ifjustyoursettingsareaffected,you'llwantasimplewaytorollbacktoyourpreferredsetup.Yet,shouldyouroperatingsystemfail,you'llneedawaytobootyourcomputerandperformlarge-scalerecovery.Computercrisescomeinallshapesandsizes,andyourbackupandrecoverytoolsmustbeflexibleenoughtomeeteachchallenge.TheRightToolsfortheRightJob:GearingupforDisasterGWhendisasterstrikes,thequalityofyourbackuptoolscanmakethedifferencebetweenutterfrustrationandpeaceofmind.Symantecunderstandsthisandoffersarangeoftopqualitybackupandrecoverysolutions.NortonGoBackistheperfecttoolforrandomsystemcrashes,failedinstallations,andinadvertentdeletions.Withthispowerfulandconvenientsolution,it'ssimpletoretrieveoverwrittenfilesortobringyoursystembacktoitspre-crashstate.NortonGhostisatime-testedhomeofficesolution.Equippedtohandlefull-scalebackups,it'salsohandyforcloningharddrivesandfacilitatingsystemupgrades.AfavoritechoiceforITprofessionals,it'stheidealtoolfortheburgeoninghomeoffice.YoucanbuyNortonGhostandNortonGoBackseparately,orgetthembothwhenyoupurchaseNortonSystemWorks.HLife'sdisasters,largeandsmall,oftencatchusbysurprise.However,withalittl