Data Loss Prevention 101

Own a computer? Or any electronic device which can store information and data? Mp3 players? TV recorders? Cd's and Dvd's? Cell phones?

Well, as long as you use those devices, you will always run into the chance of losing your data. We are surrounded by devices which stores data and help disseminate information.

However, with a few pointers, you can almost effectively prevent data loss from happening to you. Read on!

Avoid Extreme Environments

Never expose your hard drive or any other electronic equipment to extreme hot or cold temperature. Excessive heat can shorten the lifespan of a drive, reduce the performance of the system, and ultimately damage the electronic components.

Stable, Clean, and Safe working environment

Do not place a computer on unstable or moveable objects. During operation, computer hard drives can be damaged by any abrupt or sudden movement, especially laptops. It's important to find a stable area where there is not a lot of activity.

Dusty, dirty work conditions can clog your system ventilation and cause system overheat or even cause hard disk crash if dust infiltrates the hard disk.

Backup your data

Backup important data, files, documents and programs regularly.

You should backup important data, files, documents and programs regularly. Backups are an integral part of data loss prevention as it provides an exact copy of the data. It is the fastest way and also the easiest way of recovering from data loss if you suffer from data loss.

However, backup is useless if that redundant copy of data cannot be used. Checks should be conducted from time to time to ensure the backup is up to date and is free from virus and corruption so that it will actually come in handy when disaster strikes.

Install anti virus on your system

Take steps to protect your system from computer viruses. Computer viruses are so common nowadays that many PC's or laptop's are infected without the user's knowledge.

It is likely that in the near future a virus will spread that has the ability to actually destroy critical data in your hard drive. Keep a virus detection program on your computer, and of course, keep it updated.

System Protection

Keep your computer safe from human error (children, computer illiterates, general carelessness etc.) Use passwords on important programs or files to help prevent accidental erasure.

Vanishing or Deleted Data

If you accidentally delete or data just went missing for no apparent reasons, do not create new files, move files around, or save any old files. By doing so, you could make the recovery of lost data impossible as any of such activity might overwrite the missing data making these permanently erased from your hard disk.

In fact all activity should be stopped immediately to avoid permanent data loss.

Clicking, Grinding, or Metal Scraping Noises

If your hard drive is making clicking, scraping, or any type of strange sounds immediately switch off your system. By switching off, you avoid causing more damage to the drive or data.

When you hear all these sounds, it is a worrying sign as these sounds indicate an impending hard disk crash (if it has not occurred already. More on hard disk crash)

Remain Calm and Cool

Do not panic. Panic will get you nowhere fast. Instead calm down and think through what just happened. Write down the circumstances of the data loss, signs of loss (if any), and evaluate if you need to recover.

In this era of computer and technology, can have wide spread repercussions. It causes a ripple effect where more people are affected from any data loss. The risk of losing data is increasing daily as more people are using and relying on computers and losing data has become costlier. Here are just some ways you can lose data in computers.