Information backup is carried out to safeguard and protect data.
Information backup is a notion that refers to the safeguarding of certain data . The concept is usually used in relation to digital data (which is housed on the hard drive of a computer), although it can also be linked to the protection of physical documents .
It should be noted that the backrest is the sector of a chair that allows you to support your back or, in a symbolic sense, that which provides support, protection or support . Information , on the other hand, is knowledge or knowledge .
Tools and resources for information backup
There are various methods to back up information. One possibility is to copy the digital data to different physical formats: a DVD , a CD , a pendrive (also known as a USB stick ), a memory card , etc.
The safeguarding of information can also be carried out by uploading the information to an online service : in this case, what is done is to copy the documents to a server and protect access to the documents through a password .
Cloud computing is an increasingly popular resource for information backup.
A common practice
Information backup is generally a practice of people with a certain degree of experience and knowledge in the field of computing , although it is important for all technology users.
Programmers and graphic designers, for example, usually have the habit of saving backup copies of their work on the computer and in the cloud (a space on a remote computer that can be accessed through various services, many of them free. , to obtain more space than our own local disk provides us).
Information backup and disk durability
It is important to note that backing up information is not as simple as creating more than one copy of our files. First of all, one of the most common problems due to which data is lost is the failure of the hard drive (also known as a hard drive ); Let us not forget that this storage medium is very delicate and has a relatively short useful life, since it is made up of mechanical parts that wear out much more than flash memories (which use a technology based on electrical impulses, which is why it has no moving parts). That said, we should not minimize the importance of choosing a reliable means of storing our most precious documents.
In addition to assessing the durability of the disk , we must think about creating several versions of each project; This technique, called versioning , is widely used in software development companies, and offers multiple advantages, ranging from the possibility of returning to any point in a project if we want to change direction, to overcoming an eventual physical problem on the disk that affect some version. Backups should therefore complement the practice of creating a new version of our documents every time we make a major modification.
The photocopies
The backup of information that is captured on paper can be carried out by making a photocopy of it. It is important to note that, for greater security , you can choose to make a physical and digital backup simultaneously: for example, a printed document can be photocopied (to obtain several copies of it) and digitized (through a scanner). Once the information already has its digital backup, this new document can be protected through the systems already mentioned: hosting it on an Internet storage service, copying it to a DVD , etc.
Photocopies and digitization using a scanner are often used to preserve invoices and purchase documents that are essential for claims and warranty requests , since paper can deteriorate, tear or be lost. Furthermore, in many cases the ink erases over time, and that is why commercial stores themselves recommend this way of backing up information for the benefit of their customers.
It must be considered that backing up information is important to protect valuable data from a possible virus or attack by a computer criminal , if we focus on the information stored on a computer .