Storing your backup safely

Fire, flooding, theft, hardware failure, viruses, there are many reasons why data can be lost. That’s why it’s important to back up your files. This does not only apply digital files, scanning or photographing important hard copy documents can be very useful if these documents are  somehow lost. But there are a few things to look out for.

Location

Do not store your backup in the same location as your main storage. Storing a backup in the same room can expose your backup to the same threats as your primary storage (Fire, flooding, theft, etc). Store your backup at a different location, such as your office, car, family, etc. This will generally increase the time between the backups, because they are harder to access.

Layers

Having just one backup can also cause problem. The backup drive can be compromised, especially when stored nearby your primairy storage.  I like a full back up on a hard drive, but having hard drives placed everywhere can be a bit expensive. So a backup of only the important documents is also made on a USB flash drive and stored at a separate location.

Physical protection

A backup can fail when exposed to heat, water, impact, etc. So to improve the chances of you data from these dangers, you can take several approaches to do this:
 - A sturdier hard drive; for example the ‘LaCie Rugged series ‘or ‘Freecom Though drive’ (impact resistant) or protected USB flash drive for example the ‘Corsair Flash survivor’ waterproof and impact resistant). If you have a little more to spend the IoSafe is a pretty nice solution.(Heat and waterproof.

- A proper waterproof and impact resistant hard case, with foam interior (waterproof and impact resistant)
- A data safe (waterproof, impact resistant and heat proof) Some expensive models even have a USB external port, so you won’t even need to take out the hard drive, for example the Sentry safe QE5541.

You can obviously also combine these options. Unfortunately, the better the protection, the pricier it gets.

Encryption

Having all your data stored in a single device can expose you to identity theft. So adding encryption to your data can be very useful. I would not only encrypt my backup, but also sensitive information on my computer. This also makes it easier to back up the file, by just copying over the encrypted files. Although I leave non/sensitive information open, so it won´t slow down my computer. (for example; I don’t mind if somebody knows my music playlist). There are corporate tools for this, but for most individuals I would suggest to use a program like TrueCrypt. I do recommend to look at the tutorials of TrueCrypt first, since it can be a little bit hard to understand if you just read the instructions. If you use encryption software, also add the CryptKey installers to the drive.  

Drive speed

Not essential, but having a high-speed connection on you backup drive can make backup your files a lot quicker. So if you are buying a new drive, I would suggest getting a drive with USB 3.0 (backwards compatible with 2.0) connection (or Thunderbolt, but isn't as common yet). If it’s fast, you will more likely to keep your backup up to date.